Determination of reflectance of organic matter by digital image processing

The reflectance of organic matter is a basic parameter for source rock assessment and thermal evolution history study in a basin. At present, the main technique for reflectance measurement is manual despite heavy operator influence on the results. This paper discussed the relationship between vitrinite reflectance and grey level determination by digital image processing, and tried to determine the vitrinite reflectance by grey level. Simultaneous measurements of vitrinite reflectance values and grey levels were implemented on standard materials and geological samples. The trends of vitrinite reflectance values and grey levels coincide with each other, which demonstrate that it is feasible to quantify the vitrinite reflectance using grey level. For high-over maturity, however, more research is needed.