Gazzi-Dickinson method

The Gazzi-Dickinson method is a point-counting technique used

in geology to statistically measure the components of a sedimentary
rock, chiefly sandstone. The main focus (and most controversial)
part of the technique is counting all sand-sized components as
separate grains, regardless of what they are connected to. Gazzi-
Dickinson point counting is used in the creation of ternary
diagrams, such as QFL diagrams.

Contents
Technique
History
See also
References A sand grain that could be used for
the Gazzi-Dickinson method. Scale
box in millimeters, plane-polarized
Technique light on top, cross-polarized light on
bottom. Landing on the large
To perform a point count using the Gazzi-Dickinson method, a phenocryst of amphibole (center,
randomly selected thin section from a sedimentary rock is needed, clear in plane light, orange in cross-
with a slide advance mechanism that will randomly select points on polarized light) would count as a
the slide with a petrographic microscope. A minimum of 300 mineral grain in the Gazzi-Dickinson
representative points (preferably 500 points) should be used to method because it is sand-sized.
perform the count. On each randomly selected point that lands on a Landing on the plagioclase-rich
sand grain, the operator must determine the make-up of the area groundmass surrounding the grain
chosen, i.e. whether it is a mineral grain that is sand sized (larger would count as a volcanic lithic
than 62.5 micrometers) or a finer-grained fragment of another rock fragment. It would count as a
type, called a lithic fragment (e.g. a sand-sized piece of shale). volcanic rock fragment in the Folk
Classification/QFR classification
These counts are then converted to percentages and used for
regardless of where the microscope
compositional comparisons in provenance studies. Typically, only
landed in the point count.
framework (non-matrix) grains are counted, or non-framework
grains are counted and then excluded from percentages when using
descriptive devices such as QFL triangles. This can create problems
with pseudomatrix, which are lithic grains that have been deformed and thus blend in with (or have
become) matrix.

History
The Gazzi-Dickinson method came out of separate work by P. Gazzi in 1966[1] and William R. Dickinson,
starting in 1970.[2][3] Dickinson and his students (most notably Raymond Ingersoll, Steven Graham, and
Chris Suczek)[4][5][6] at Stanford University in the 1970s established the method and its use to use the
composition of sandstones to infer tectonic processes. This was in contrast to ideas presented by
sedimentary geologists at Indiana University at the time, who used the more traditional "QFR" or "rock
fragment" method of Robert Folk (1974)[7] (which later grew into the Folk classification scheme), in which
all grains that are connected are considered rock fragments, and the individual components are disregarded.

The best way to explain the differences in these two schools of thought is with an example: A sand rich in
grus, or a granitic sand, when point counted with these two methods would yield drastically different
results. A QFR-style count would be rich in rock fragments, whereas a Gazzi-Dickinson point count would
show the sand rich in quartz and feldspar. Proponents of the Indiana University method would say that
information is lost by not counting rock fragments. Proponents of Gazzi-Dickinson point counting would
say that small changes in erosional transport would change the composition of the sand.

See also
Folk classification

References
1. Gazzi, P., 1966, "Le Arenarie del Flysch Sopracretaceo dell'Appennino Modenese:
Correlazioni con il Flysch di Monghidoro". Mineralogica e Petrografica Acta 12:69 97.
2. Dickinson, W.R., 1970, 2Interpreting detrital modes of graywacke and arkose": Journal of
Sedimentary Petrology, v. 40, p. 695–707.
3. Dickinson, W.R., 1985, "Interpreting provenance relation from detrital modes of sandstones",
in Zuffa, G.G. (ed.), Provenance of Arenites: NATO ASI Series, C 148, D. Reidel Publishing
Company, Dordrecht, 333–363.
4. Dickinson, W.R., Suczek, C.A., 1979, "Plate tectonics and sandstone compositions":
American Association of Petroleum Geologist, 63, 2164–2182.
5. Graham, S.A., Dickinson, W.R., and Ingersoll, R.V., 1975, "Himalayan-Bengal Model for
Flysch Dispersal in Appalachian-Ouachita system", Geological Society of America Bulletin,
vol. 86, pp. 273–286.
6. Ingersoll, R.V., Bulard, T.F., Ford, R.L., Grimn, J.P., Pickle, J.P., Sares, S.W., 1984, "The
effect of grain size on detrital modes: a test of the Gazzi-Dickinson Point Counting method":
Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 54, 103-116.
7. Folk, R.L., 1974, Petrology of Sedimentary Rocks: Austin, Texas, Hemphill Press, second
edition, 182 p.

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