COMPUTER-AIDED ANALYSIS OF VISUALLY COMPLEX ICHNOFABRICS IN DEEP-SEA SEDIMENTS

Ichnofabrics typically represent the overprinting of multiple episodes of bioturbation (and sometimes also bioerosion), which can be quite difficult to sort out. Deep-sea ichnofabrics demonstrate this problem most strongly, since rates of sedimentation are low and rates of bioturbation often are high. Computer-aided analysis of ichnofabrics can be a useful aid in their description and interpretation. Digital enhancement, involving point-by-point modification and spatial convolution of computer-scanned images, can improve the visualization of key features of an ichnofabric. Specific aspects of the visual texture can be extracted from the image, or all aspects of the ichnofabric can be represented with more equal emphasis than in the original image. Histograms of image properties and image parameters are useful ways to represent complex aspects of a visual texture in a compact fashion. They can be employed to describe and compare large numbers of ichnofabric images, especially when individual burrow forms are difficult to resolve.