Ontologies and representation spaces for sketch map interpretation

In this paper, we present a systematic approach to sketch map interpretation. The method decomposes the elements of a sketch map into a hierarchy of categories, from the material sketch map level to the non-material representational sketch map level, and then interprets the sketch map using the five formal representation spaces that we develop. These spaces (set, graph, metric and Euclidean) provide a tiered formal representation based on standard mathematical structures. We take the view that a sketch map bears information about the physical world and systematises this using extensions of existing formal ontologies. The motivation for this work is the partially automatic extraction and integration of information from sketch maps. We propose a set of ontologies and methods as a first step in the direction of a formalisation of partially automatic extraction and integration of sketch map content. We also see this work as a contribution to spatial cognition, where researchers externalise spatial knowledge using sketch mapping. The paper concludes by working through an example that demonstrates the sketch map interpretation at different levels using the underlying method.     

Reassessing southern African silcrete geochemistry: implications for silcrete origin and sourcing of silcrete artefacts

A synthesis of the geochemistry of silcretes and their host sediments in the Kalahari Desert and Cape coastal zone, using isocon comparisons, shows that silcretes in the two regions are very different. Kalahari Desert silcretes outcrop along drainage-lines and within pans, and formed by groundwater silicification of near-surface Kalahari Group sands. Silicification was approximately isovolumetric. Few elements were lost; silicon (Si) and potassium (K) were gained as microquartz precipitated in the sediment porosity and glauconite formed in the sub-oxic groundwater conditions. The low titanium (Ti) content reflects the composition of the host sands. Additional elements in the Kalahari Desert silcretes were supplied in river water and derived from weathering of silicates in basement rocks. Evaporation under an arid climate produced high-pH groundwater that mobilized and precipitated Si; this process is still occurring. In the Cape coastal zone, pedogenic silcretes cap hills and plateaus, overlying deeply weathered argillaceous bedrock. Silicification resulted from intensive weathering that destroyed the bedrock silicates, almost completely removing most elements and causing a substantial volume decrease. Some of the silica released formed a microcrystalline quartz matrix, and most Ti precipitated as anatase, so the Cape silcretes contain relatively high Ti levels. The intense weathering that formed the Cape silcretes could have occurred in the Eocene, during and after the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, when more acidic rainfall and high temperatures resulted in intensified silicate weathering worldwide. This could have been responsible for widespread formation of pedogenic silcretes elsewhere in Africa and around the globe. Trace element sourcing of silcrete artefacts to particular outcrops has most potential in the Cape, where differences between separate bedrock areas are reflected in the silcrete composition. In the Kalahari Desert, gains of some elements can override compositional differences of the parent material, and sourcing should be based on elements that show the least change during silicification. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Artificial Lineaments in Digital Terrain Modelling: Can Operators of Topographic Variables Cause Them?

Digital terrain modeling is widely used in geological studies. In some cases, orthogonal and diagonal linear patterns appear on maps of local topographic variables. These patterns may be both portrayals of geological structures and artefacts. Some researchers speculated that possible anisotropy of operators of local topographic variables might be a cause of these artefacts. Using a principle for testing derivative operators in image processing, we gave proof to isotropy (rotation invariability) of operators of a majority of local topographic attributes of the complete system of curvatures (i.e., slope gradient, horizontal curvature, vertical curvature, mean curvature, Gaussian curvature, accumulation curvature, ring curvature, unsphericity curvature, difference curvature, minimum curvature, maximum curvature, horizontal excess curvature, and vertical excess curvature). Rotating an elevation function about z-axis and then applying these operators cannot lead to variations in both values of the topographic variables and patterns in their maps, comparing with results of applying these operators to an unrotated elevation function. This demonstrates that linear artefacts with preferable directions in maps of the topographic attributes specified cannot be caused by intrinsic properties of their operators. Other possible sources for false linear patterns in maps of topographic variables are briefly discussed: (a) errors in the compilation of digital elevation models (DEMs), (b) grid geometry of digital terrain models (DTMs), (c) errors in DEM interpolation, (d) imperfection of algorithms for DTM derivation, and (e) aliasing errors.