The measurement of sediment color using the Colortron(TM) spectrophotometer

An inexpensive digital color scanner with a 3 x 2 mm viewing window is used to measure the color of sediments in two marine cores with the objective of determining variations in sediment provenance and depositional history. We focus mainly on the three Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) Laboratory designations of color, sometimes referred to as L a* b*. In one core, comparisons were made between measurements on color photographs and on dry sediment fractions, and in the other example, we compared measurements on the sediment surface itself versus color measurements on glossy and matte photographic finishes. In the case of core HU87033-015 from the Labrador Shelf, the color measurements correlate significantly with changes in the detrital carbonate content of the sediment and with the rock magnetic susceptibility. Comparisons between a scanned gray-scale photographic image and a detailed 1 cm sampling by the spectrophotometer indicate a close correlation between the gray-scale and the ''brightness'' parameter, L.