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                                                                                   C







         B                                                                 C            D            E







         Figure 4. Example of a reproducible, quantitative lithofacies data set. (A) The lower Ordovician Kinblade Formation outcropping in Ardmore Oklahoma (GPS
         location: 34.372821, –97.145353) is a 791 m succession of carbonate strata containing 1,922 beds. (B) Following bed-by-bed field study, sampling, and geo-
         chemical measurement, we epoxy 1 cm  chips from each sample for efficient grinding, polishing, and imaging. The chip size is chosen to best encapsulate
                                    2
         the dominant grain, fossil, and bedform sizes in the data set. The resulting ~2,000 images (examples C–E, shown here in red-green-blue space, but all are
         8-channel multispectral images) now are a documentation of the lithofacies in the measured section at Ardmore and ready for image analysis, classifica-
         tion, segmentation, and interpretation.

         data that quantify spatio-temporal patterns   tend to be documented primarily in field   sions. We also appreciate the constructive feedback
         in grain, crystal, and fossil characteristics,   notes or illustrative outcrop/sample photo-  received from reviewer Sarah Jacquet and editor
         while allowing new tests of geochemical   graphs. For corroboration or expansion upon   James Schmitt.
         interpretations (e.g., Geyman and Maloof,   previous outcrop-based studies, this system
         2021; Ahm et al., 2019).            requires workers to visit the locality them-  REFERENCES CITED
          At the same time, amassing a standard-  selves. Instead, open access to standardized   Ahm, A.S.C., Bjerrum, C.J., Blättler, C.L., Swart,
         ized, multispectral image library with   petrographic  image  collections  will  allow   P.K., and Higgins, J.A., 2018, Quantifying early
         annotated examples (Deng et al., 2009) of   broader groups of researchers to measure   marine  diagenesis in shallow-water carbonate
                                                                                  sediments: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta,
         geologic features from many localities will   and interpret features in rock formations from   v.  236, p.  140–159,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca
         help train more general machine learning   around the world, enhancing both reproduc-  .2018.02.042.
         models for petrography. These  collections   ibility (Baker, 2016) and diversity, equity,   Ahm, A.S.C., Maloof, A.C., Macdonald, F.A., Hoff-
         of slab and thin-section images are a first   and inclusion (Fernandes et al., 2020) in geol-  man, P.F., Bjerrum, C.J., Bold, U., Rose, C.V.,
         step toward the goal of automated routines   ogy. Although our archives are not contin-  Strauss, J.V., and Higgins, J.A., 2019, An early
                                                                                  diagenetic deglacial origin for basal Ediacaran
         to measure features in rock samples from   uous records like IODP cores, they benefit   “cap dolostones”: Earth and Planetary Science
         pictures. Curated image libraries also can   from the added spatial context available at   Letters, v. 506, p. 292–307, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/
         serve as a classroom tool for teaching petrog-  rock outcrops and provide a zoomed-in per-  j.epsl.2018.10.046.
         raphy, and student work to classify images   spective to supplement constantly improv-  Ahm, A.S.C., Bjerrum, C.J., Hoffman, P.F., Mac-
         can provide training examples for machine   ing aerial survey techniques (Shah et al.,   donald, F.A., Maloof, A.C., Rose, C.V., Strauss,
                                                                                  J.V., and Higgins, J.A., 2021, The Ca and Mg iso-
         learning—a crowdsourcing technique that   2021). In concert with satellite, drone-derived,   tope record of the Cryogenian Trezona carbon
         has seen recent success in several fields   and hand-held imagery, our pipeline for sys-  isotope excursion: Earth and Planetary Science
         (e.g., van den Bergh et al., 2021).  tematic imaging, classification, and mea-  Letters, v. 568, 117002, https://doi.org/10.1016/
          In addition to improving lithofacies data,                              j.epsl.2021.117002.
         we see our camera and petrographic images   surement of rock samples can form an   Baker, M., 2016, Reproducibility crisis: Nature,
                                             important layer in multiscale digitization
                                                                                  v. 533, p. 353–366.
         as a vehicle to improve access and reproduc-  and interpretation of physical rock properties.  Becker, K., Austin, J.A., Exon, N., Humphris, S.,
         ibility in geology. Open access to archives                              Kastner, M., McKenzie, J.A., Miller, K.G., Suye-
         like Integrated Ocean Drilling Program                                   hiro, K., and Taira, A., 2019, 50 Years of Scien-
         (IODP) cores has expanded the number of   ACKNOWLEDGMENTS                tific  Ocean  Drilling:  Oceanography  (Washing-
                                              The authors would like to thank NSF EAR-
         people producing complementary data sets   1028768 and Princeton University for funding.   ton, D.C.), v. 32, p. 17–21, https://doi.org/10.5670/
                                                                                  oceanog.2019.110.
         and provided for deeper, more reproducible   Arnab Chatterjee and Peter Siegel at Digital Transi-  Bergmann, K.D., Zentmyer, R.A., and Fischer,
         studies of Earth’s climate and oceans in   tions, Nolan Greve and Jeremy Brodersen at Smart-  W.W., 2011, The stratigraphic expression of a
         recent geologic periods (Becker et al., 2019).   Vision Lights, Mark Harfouche and Gregor Horst-  large negative carbon isotope excursion from the
         A similar framework should exist for rock   meyer at Ramona Optics, and Dave Crawford and   Ediacaran Johnnie Formation, Death Valley:
         outcrops  that  span  deeper into  Earth’s his-  Jenifer Powell at Moxtek provided support with the   Precambrian Research, v. 188, p. 45–56, https://
                                             camera, lights, light table, and polarizers, respec-
                                                                                  doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2011.03.014.
         tory, where, currently, the observations that   tively. We thank Bolton Howes, Cedric Hagen,   Bishop, J.L., Bell, J.F., III, and Moersch, J.E., edi-
         form geologic maps and stratigraphic sections   Brad Samuels, and Michael Eddy for useful discus-  tors, 2019, Remote Compositional Analysis:
         8  GSA TODAY  |  September 2022
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