What is the CMP file output for?
Geologists and others frequently describe the presence and abundance of components in a sediment, like shell debris, quartz, heavy minerals, etc. They do this by grain counts or in their descriptions. dbSEABED assesses the abundances of these components and outputs some of them in the CMP file. Users of the software can select which components will be output. Counting grains (and gauging their volumes or weights) is not an accurate process, and neither is conveying the abundance of a component in a description. The results in the CMP file are therefore only an approximate guide to abundances. The CMP file also carries fuzzy membership values for some features of the seabed, like odors (for example, H2S), and bioturbation and ripples.
