Image analysis and mass petrography

图像分析和岩相学

• 批准号: 2902350
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Leicester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2902350
• 关键词: Image; analysis; mass; petrography

Petrography - the optical microscopic analysis of thin sections of materials - is the fastest and most cost-effective tool for investigating the mineralogy and microtexture of rocks, ceramics, and other solid materials. Rock, soil and archaeological thin sections have been studied for over 150 years, with samples in archives around the world. The data produced from petrographic analysis underpins the exploration for and processing of natural resources - including the metals we will need for renewable energy technologies - materials used in construction, and forensic studies of objects both recent and ancient.Petrographic analysis has traditionally required an appropriate optical microscope, access to the physical thin section samples, and an expert user to classify, measure and interpret the specimen. Samples could be viewed, and thus analysed, only one-at-a-time. Expert users can obtain qualitative data within minutes using a basic microscope, but quantitative analysis is time consuming. However, ground-breaking new optical microscopy technology (see figure) allows multiple sections to be scanned simultaneously to produce high quality images very rapidly. We will pair this advance with computer-based image analysis for classification and quantification, enabling thin section archives and previously-unavailable derived data to be brought into a digital environment.This PhD will develop a new, highly automated, workflow that will unlock the full value of optical analysis and combine human levels of identification and classification with superhuman levels of speed and reproducibility. These approaches will allow for quantitative and statistically-robust approaches to mineralogy and petrology, and for the rapid development of reference databases for archaeological materials. These in turn unlock the potential for new research in geology, archaeology and material science, with deeper insight into textural and mineralogical diversity of natural and archaeological materials.

岩石学——对材料薄片的光学显微分析——是研究岩石、陶瓷和其他固体材料的矿物学和微观结构的最快和最经济的工具。岩石、土壤和考古薄片已经被研究了150多年，样本保存在世界各地的档案中。岩石学分析产生的数据为自然资源的勘探和加工提供了基础，包括可再生能源技术所需的金属、建筑材料以及对近代和古代物品的法医研究。岩石学分析传统上需要一个合适的光学显微镜，接触到物理薄片样品，以及一个专家用户对样品进行分类、测量和解释。每次只能查看和分析一个样本。专业用户可以在几分钟内使用基本的显微镜获得定性数据，但定量分析是耗时的。然而，突破性的新型光学显微镜技术（见图）允许同时扫描多个切片，以非常快速地产生高质量的图像。我们将把这一进步与基于计算机的图像分析相结合，用于分类和量化，使薄片档案和以前不可用的衍生数据能够被带入数字环境。该博士学位将开发一种新的、高度自动化的工作流程，将释放光学分析的全部价值，并将人类水平的识别和分类与超人水平的速度和可重复性相结合。这些方法将有助于对矿物学和岩石学采取定量和统计上可靠的方法，并有助于迅速发展考古材料参考数据库。这些反过来又开启了地质学、考古学和材料科学新研究的潜力，更深入地了解了自然和考古材料的纹理和矿物学多样性。