QFL diagram

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Ternary diagram showing the relative abundance of quartz, feldspar, and lithic grains and views of what selected compositions would look like. QFL Ternary Plot.jpg
Ternary diagram showing the relative abundance of quartz, feldspar, and lithic grains and views of what selected compositions would look like.

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.

QFL triangle showing schematic plots of common sand compositions QFLtriangle.svg
QFL triangle showing schematic plots of common sand compositions

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.

See also

References

  1. Dickinson, William R.; Suczek, Christopher A. (December 1, 1979). "Plate Tectonics and Sandstone Compositions" . AAPG Bulletin. 63 (12): 2164–2182. doi:10.1306/2F9188FB-16CE-11D7-8645000102C1865D.