Raman spectroscopy in provenance studies

Raman spectroscopy is an innovative tool with tremendous potential in provenance studies, serving as a complement to classical petrographic and mineralogical analysis as well as to other techniques including detrital geochronology. Thorny long-standing problems such as the identification of opaque and weathered grains can be finally addressed. Even more important, the Raman technique allows us to reliably determine silt-sized detrital grains, thus opening up new frontiers in sedimentary petrology.