Segmentation and Classification of Sediment Cores Using Computed Tomography

The goal of the internship project with Quester Tangent Corp., a designer and manufacturer of software products and hardware systems that allow clients to manage large amounts of data, is to research and develop techniques for identifying and classifying the composition of sediments in core samples from the sea floor. Core samples are taken from the sea floor by dropping a cylindrical tube into the sediments, closing a door to lock the sediments into the tube and returning the sample for analysis. Traditional analysis methods remove the sediments from the tube, destroying some of the information contained in the sample. Before destroying the sample, it is possible to take a computed tomography (CT) scan which provides a three- dimensional image using advanced image processing techniques. Using the scan, the intern will try to provide meaningful quantitative information about the structure and composition of the sediment core.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Ross Chapman

Student:

Anthony Christney

Partner:

Quester Tangent Corporation

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

Mining and quarrying

University:

University of Victoria