Abstract
The study of particle size distributions is commonly used to investigate sedimentary processes and environments. Originally such work concentrated on typifying these distributions by their sample moments, while more recent statistical studies have proposed fitting parametric models to sample data and then using the resulting parameter estimates. We have investigated the use of log-hyperbolic and skew log-Laplace models to distinguish between beach and dune sands, with the aim of classifying the depositional environment of some mesolithic middens. We found that the former models were unsatisfactory for various numerical and physical reasons, while the latter provide a simple and robust method which is useful for the classification of sand sediments.
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Fieller, N., Gilbertson, D. & Olbricht, W. A new method for environmental analysis of particle size distribution data from shoreline sediments. Nature 311, 648–651 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/311648a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/311648a0
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