Constructing Sandstone Provenance and Classification Ternary Diagrams Using An Electronic Spreadsheet

Abstract

Abstract We present and describe a Microsoft Excel-based method of plotting sandstone provenance and classification-related ternary diagrams. Although commercial software is available for plotting ternary diagrams, none of these programs are especially designed to generate plots with specific provenance fields or classification schemes. Currently, many sedimentologists use electronic spreadsheets for storing point-count data and software for generating ternary diagrams, and finally use separate image-drafting software to generate publication-quality figures. The technique demonstrated in this paper does all, in a single step requiring only widely available programs such as Microsoft Excel. This spreadsheet will allow users to generate diagrams suitable for various other provenance-related plots as well as develop new ideas for various geochemical ternary plots.