Towards 3-D petrography: application of microfocus computer tomography in geological science

Microfocus computer tomography (mu CT) is a non-destructive technique for i maging internal features within an opaque object. Among the most important recent improvements of mu CT is its resolution of about 10 mum in three dim ensions, which is much better than that obtainable with medical CT. The adv antage of mu CT versus classical light microscopy is that three-dimensional petrographical information becomes available. The results from two complem entary microfocus instruments are presented. The two instruments can accept different object sizes, ranging from a few millimetres to several centimet res in diameter. As a consequence, downscaling of petrographical features i s possible both from medical CT to mu CT and within mu CT research. Apart f rom the possibilities of visualisation. attention is paid to the quantitati ve measurements that can be obtained from mu CT research which enables petr ographical data to be linked to petrophysical data. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd. All rights reserved.