Accounting for spatial patterns of multiple geological data sets in geological thematic mapping using GIS-based spatial analysis

This paper presents a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based spatial analysis scheme to account for spatial patterns and association in geological thematic mapping with multiple geological data sets. The multi-buffer zone analysis, the main part of the present study, was addressed to reveal the spatial pattern around geological source primitives and statistical analysis based on a contingency table was performed to extract information for the assessment of an integrated layer. Mineral potential mapping using multiple geological data sets from Ogdong in Korea was carried out to illustrate application of this methodology. The results obtained from the case study indicated that some geochemical elements and residual magnetic anomaly dominantly affected spatial patterns of the mineral potential map in the study area and the dominant classes of input data layers were also extracted. This information on spatial patterns of multiple geological data sets around mines could be used as effective evidences for the interpretation of the integrated layer within GIS.