Research on the assignment mapping method of seabed sediment types based on Folk classification

Seabed sediment type maps play a crucial role in marine environmental analysis, marine engineering construction, and the exploration of marine mineral resources. This paper proposes a novel mapping method for seabed sediment type assignment based on the Folk classification. Using spatial interpolation analysis of surface sediment data from the southwestern waters of Hainan Island, a Folk classification system was developed. After data classification, a grid was overlaid to integrate with the Folk classification system. Subsequently, grid erosion was performed to generate the seabed sediment type map. In a comparative analysis of interpolation methods, including Sibson, IDW (inverse distance weighting), Kriging, and Spline, the Sibson method was used as the foundation for mapping in this study. This method features a simple operational process, high mapping efficiency, and is unaffected by subjective factors, resulting in relatively accurate mapping and strong practicability. It can be applied to the mapping of seabed sediment types at different scales or with different sampling station spacings, demonstrating broad potential for practical application.