Abstract: A system and a process are disclosed for the quantitative characterization of organic matter concentrates and of petrographic thin sections or polished fragments of rocks found in oil reservoir samples. The system includes a video camera for capturing images from a microscope or a series of photographs. An electronic digitizer for digitizing and storing the images, and a microprocessor for performing digital image processing operations. Morphological data such as area, perimeter, width, length, and orientation of particles are obtained from the digital representation of the particles by means of algorithms based on the principles of connectivity and the theory of moments. The process permits the automation of quantitative sedimentological and palynological analyses and the stastistical characterization of the samples based on widely-used geological parameters derived from the morphological data.