QFL diagram

QFL triangle showing schematic plots of common sand compositions

A QFL diagram or QFL triangle is a type of ternary diagram that shows compositional data from sandstones and modern sands, point counted using the Gazzi-Dickinson method. The abbreviations used are as follows:

In general, the most contentious item counted is chert, which is usually counted as a lithic fragment, but is sometimes better suited in the Q pole. When this happens, the pole is renamed 'Qt' instead of Q.

The importance of a QFL triangle is mainly demonstrated in tectonic exercises. As first demonstrated in the 1979 paper by Bill Dickinson and Chris Suczek,[1] the composition and provenance of a sandstone is directly related to its tectonic environment of formation.

References

  1. Dickinson, W.R., Suczek, C.A., 1979, Plate tectonics and sandstone compositions: American Association of Petroleum Geologist, 63, 2164–2182


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