Shepard_Ternary_Plo​t

Shepard ternary plot for sand, silt, clay distributions
3.3K Downloads
Updated 11 Jun 2012

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This function plots sand, silt and clay fraction data on a ternary plot that is marked with the Shepard classification scheme labels from his article:

Shepard, F.P., 1954, Nomenclature based on sand-silt-clay ratios: Journal Sedimentary Petrology, v. 24, p. 151-158.

This function is merely a modification of the Ternplot function available on the Mathworks site authored by Carl Sandrock (20020827).

To use the function, type
Shepard(Sand,Silt,Clay),
where the sand, silt and clay fractions are given by column vectors. The fractions can be given either in % (0 to 100), or as a unitless fraction (0 to 1).
For each point, the data are normalized to insure they sum to 100%. If the data contain <10% gravel, the remaining sand, silt and clay fractions can be given to the Shepard function, and they will be renormalized and treated as though there were no gravel present. If the data contain more than 10% gravel, the Shepard plot should not be used. The ternary plot designed by Schlee should be utilized instead:
Schlee, J., 1973, Atlantic continental shelf and slope of the United States - sediment texture of the northeastern part: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 529 - L, 64 p.

Cite As

William Waite (2024). Shepard_Ternary_Plot (https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/10139-shepard_ternary_plot), MATLAB Central File Exchange. Retrieved .

MATLAB Release Compatibility
Created with R14SP1
Compatible with any release
Platform Compatibility
Windows macOS Linux
Acknowledgements

Inspired by: alchemyst/ternplot

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Version Published Release Notes
1.1.0.0

This version updates the U.S. Geological Survey disclaimer.

1.0.0.0