WlCount: Geological lamination detection and counting using an image analysis approach

The manual identification and count of laminae in layered textures is a common practice in the study of geological records, which can be time consuming and carry large uncertainty for dense or disturbed lamina textures. We present here a novel image analysis approach to detect and count laminae in geoscientific imagery, called WlCount. Based on Dynamic Time Warping and Wavelet analysis, WlCount firstly aligns persistent vertical elements to increase the continuity of the lamina structure. Then, using a graphical interface, the user extracts the most significant signal frequencies and allows the automatic count of the laminae. The software, tested on a series of stalagmite cut images showing different types of laminations and a tree-ring image, provides an estimation of the laminae detection and count comparable to the manual one. WlCount presents as a useful open-source tool to help geoscientists, sensibly speeding up the lamination count process.

Automated summary

This study presents a novel image analysis approach, WlCount, for detecting and counting laminae in geoscientific imagery. The method combines Dynamic Time Warping and Wavelet analysis techniques, and enables automatic counting through user-extracted signal frequencies. Experimental results demonstrate that WlCount provides comparable detection and counting results to manual counting.