Effects of Fluvial Abrasion on Shapes of Quartz Sand Grains

Mark Peterson, Jim Mazzullo

The effects of abrasion on the shapes of medium and fine quartz sand grains that are transported through a 300-mi (500-km) stretch of the Mississippi River were determined by Fourier grain-shape measurement and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate that the abrasion of medium and fine quartz sand grains in this low-gradient stream does not significantly affect their source-inherited shapes.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91042©1987 GCAGS and GC-SEPM Section Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, October 28-31, 1987.