Geochemical mapping and databases in Finland

Regional geochemical maps in Finland have been produced from many different programmes. The scale of sampling, the material collected and the analytical methods used varied according to the aim of the study. The entire country was covered at a reconnaissance scale using glacial till, groundwater, surface water and organic stream sediments as sampling media. Glacial till was sampled throughout the country at a regional scale. Local scale mapping and detailed geochemical studies are carried out in selected areas. The main analytical methods have been ICP-AES and ICP-MS, but other methods were used when necessary. In assaying solid material, both total decomposition and strong acid (aqua regia) leaching were used. The results are stored in ALKEMIA, a database developed in the geochemistry department of the Geological Survey of Finland. The data are available as tabulated ASCII files and as digital image files on diskettes, or as various types of symbol and colour maps from desired areas or map sheets. Two examples of the application of geochemical mapping data in prospecting and in environmental research are presented. Indications of the presence of gold and multiple-sulphide ore deposits have been the most useful results obtained from a prospecting standpoint. On the environmental side, reconnaissance scale geochemical mapping data gave more reliable information on the base cation concentration than bedrock maps, making them particularly valuable in devising an acidification assessment model.     

Multipurpose geochemical maps produced by integration of geochemical exploration data sets in The Paraná Shield, Brazil

Old geochemical datasets from the Paraná Shield of southern Brazil have been integrated into a new geochemical database and the results are presented as a series of multipurpose geochemical maps. Although the 24 datasets retrieved were analysed by three different laboratories, the maps produced correlate surprisingly well with bedrock geological features.The retrieval of old geochemical exploration data sets for the purpose of generating maps showing element depletions and enrichments is a powerful tool with a wide range of applications: trace elements such as Zn, Cu and Mo can significantly affect crop productivity; areas with high abundances of harmful elements such as As and F can be delineated in order to identify public health hazards; heavy metals such as Cd, Pb and Hg can be measured in order to better constrain knowledge of chemical background levels for environmental monitoring. The integration and manipulation of different data sets can however be complicated by the heterogeneity in sampling and analytical procedures.     

The Forum of European Geological Surveys Geochemistry Task Group inventory 1994–1996

The Forum of European Geological Surveys (FOREGS) includes representatives from 33 European countries and is responsible for co-ordinating Geological Survey activities in Europe. The FOREGS Geochemistry Task Group was established in 1994 to develop a strategy for the preparation of European geochemical maps following the recommendations of the International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP) Project 259 ‘International Geochemical Mapping’ (now the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) /International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry (IAGC) Working Group on Global Geochemical Baselines).The FOREGS geochemistry programme is aimed at preparing a standardised European geochemical baseline to IGCP-259 standards. The principal aims of this dataset will be for environmental purposes, as a baseline for the assessment of the extent and distribution of contaminated land in the context of variations in the natural geochemical background, but it will also have applications in resource assessment and for the development of policy for the sustainable management of metalliferous mineral and other resources.The first phase of the programme was the compilation of an inventory of geochemical data based on the results of a questionnaire completed by Geological Surveys and related organisations throughout the FOREGS community. The results show that the sample types which have been used most extensively are stream sediment (26% coverage), surface water (19% coverage) and soil (11% coverage). Stream sediments have been collected using a narrow range of mesh sizes (< 150–< 200 μm), but soil samples have been collected according to two different conventions: some surveys used a similar mesh size range to that used for stream sediments while others employed the < 1000 or < 2000 μm fractions traditionally used by soil surveys. Sample densities range from 1 sample per 0.5 km² to 1 per 3500 km². Various analytical methods have been used, but most of the available data have been calibrated using international reference materials, and data for the most important of the potentially harmful elements (PHEs) are available for most datasets. Systematic radiometric data are available for only a small proportion of Europe, a situation which compares very unfavourably with that in Australia, North America, the former Soviet Union and many developing countries.Recommendations are made for increasing the compatibility of geochemical methods between national geochemical surveys as a basis for the preparation of a series of European geochemical maps. The next stage of the FOREGS Geochemistry Task Group will be the collection of the Global Reference Network of samples against which to standardise national datasets according to the methods recommended in the final report of the IGCP 259 programme.     

Application of multivariate statistical analysis and a geographic information system to trace element contamination in the Chungnam Coal Mine area,Korea

In order to examine contamination in the Chungnam Coal Mine area, rock, stream sediment and water samples were collected and analyzed for trace elements. In order to compile the drainage-based geochemical maps, catchment basins were calculated using aspects of DEM (data elevation model) and stream-line segments. The constructed DEMs with 3 types of resolution were examined, these need to be properly used for well-shaped and accurate catchment basins. The stream-line segments and sampling points were also considered as a target image for watershed segments and it was found that the stream-line segments as target images were better role at reflecting the catchment area rather than the sampling points. It is important that the geochemical databases were manipulated to present the various phenomena. Factor analysis in R-mode was used to integrate geochemical data, and the input data for factor analysis were the concentrations of 12 trace elements in stream sediment and 3 anion concentrations and pH values in stream water. Using a maximum likelihood scheme, eigenvalues that explained about 90% of total variance were established and 4 factors were selected. Factors 1 and 2 indicated relative enrichment of trace elements, factor 3 was explained by human activities of residents and factor 4 was related to the pH of stream water. The drainage-based geochemical maps with 4 kinds of factor scores were compiled.     

Tectonic terranes, metallogeny and regional geochemical surveys: an example from northern British Columbia

This study utilizes three major data sources: distribution of geological units; density, type, age and distribution of mineral deposits; and elemental analyses from regional geochemical stream sediment surveys to define parameters that ‘characterize’ tectonic terranes in northern British Columbia. A similar approach could be applied anywhere in the Canadian Cordillera.This area, NTS map sheets 104N, 104O and 104P along the British Columbia-Yukon border, forms a transect through allochthonous terranes into North American rocks. These are: the allochthonous island-arc Stikine, oceanic Cache Creek, cataclastic Yukon/Tanana, and island-arc Quensel terranes, the pericratonic Dorsey terrane; the parautochthonous oceanic Sylvester allochthon; and the autochthonous miogeoclinal North American Cassiar terrane. Plutonic rocks of Jurassic-Cretaceous to Tertiary age intrude all terranes.Data sources used in the study are geological base maps and reports, the Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources' mineral deposit database (MINFILE) and analytical data from the National Regional Geochemical Survey stream sediment and water sampling program.Geological maps were compiled from various sources and plotted to act as bases for geochemical and mineral deposit overlays for analysis and interpretation.Geochemical samples were separated into background and anomalous populations and compared according to their source terranes. We found that mean concentrations from background sample populations for some elements are statistically distinctive for different terranes. Unfortunately, elemental correlation coefficients for the terranes are similar so cannot be used to characterize each terrane.Data on mineral deposits and occurrences were compiled from minfile and other sources. Particular attention was paid to deposits with histories of production or significant reported reserves. Deposits were sorted by type and commodity to produce synoptic metallogenic maps.The combined data from geological, geochemical and mineral deposit databases form a strong tool for interpreting and predicting patterns of mineralization.     

Heavy metals in stream sediments: Error versus concentration

A regional geochemical mapping program in southern Norway carried out by the Geological Survey of Norway is based on sampling of stream sediments at road/stream intersections. At each site two individual subsamples have been taken. The subsamples were treated independently during the chemical analysis. This procedure enables an estimation of the reproducibility of the element concentration at each sample site. The paper gives results for the average relative total, sampling and laboratory errors at various levels of metal concentration using data for HNO₃ -soluble Mn, Pb and Cu as examples. For Mn and Pb the relative total error reaches a minimum near the median concentration and increases toward both the high and low concentrations. For Cu the relative total and laboratory errors decrease with increasing concentration throughout the whole concentration range, while the sampling error is fairly constant. The results suggest that the models which are commonly used for error determination in geochemical data, are too simple as far as relationships between error and concentration are concerned.     

1:50 000山东毕郭幅地球化学数据集

该数据集依托中国地质调查局“山东莱州-招远地区金矿整装勘查区矿产调查与找矿预测”项目,在充分收集地质、物探、化探、遥感及矿产等资料基础上,开展毕郭幅矿产地质调查。项目共采集1 875件水系沉积物样品,采样粒级为-10～+80目,平均采样密度4.5个/km²。采用电感耦合等离子质谱法（ICP-MS）、原子荧光光谱法（AFS）、粉末发射光谱法（ES）和石墨炉原子吸收光谱法（GF-AAS）分析了16种元素,最终形成1：50 000山东毕郭幅地球化学数据集,数据集包含有1 875件样品×16种元素的原始分析数据表格一个,图集一套（含有1张矿产地质图、一张采样点位图和16张元素地球化学图）。区内共新发现单元素地球化学异常149处,综合异常10处,结合地质、矿产、物探、化探、遥感等信息并圈出金矿找矿靶区5处。     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112000886

Six national-scale, or near national-scale, geochemical data sets for soils or stream sediments exist for the United States. The earliest of these, here termed the ‘Shacklette’ data set, was generated by a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) project conducted from 1961 to 1975. This project used soil collected from a depth of about 20 cm as the sampling medium at 1323 sites throughout the conterminous U.S. The National Uranium Resource Evaluation Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (NURE-HSSR) Program of the U.S. Department of Energy was conducted from 1975 to 1984 and collected either stream sediments, lake sediments, or soils at more than 378,000 sites in both the conterminous U.S. and Alaska. The sampled area represented about 65% of the nation. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), from 1978 to 1982, collected samples from multiple soil horizons at sites within the major crop-growing regions of the conterminous U.S. This data set contains analyses of more than 3000 samples. The National Geochemical Survey, a USGS project conducted from 1997 to 2009, used a subset of the NURE-HSSR archival samples as its starting point and then collected primarily stream sediments, with occasional soils, in the parts of the U.S. not covered by the NURE-HSSR Program. This data set contains chemical analyses for more than 70,000 samples. The USGS, in collaboration with the Mexican Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Canada, initiated soil sampling for the North American Soil Geochemical Landscapes Project in 2007. Sampling of three horizons or depths at more than 4800 sites in the U.S. was completed in 2010, and chemical analyses are currently ongoing. The NRCS initiated a project in the 1990s to analyze the various soil horizons from selected pedons throughout the U.S. This data set currently contains data from more than 1400 sites. This paper (1) discusses each data set in terms of its purpose, sample collection protocols, and analytical methods; and (2) evaluates each data set in terms of its appropriateness as a national-scale geochemical database and its usefulness for national-scale geochemical mapping.     

Low-density geochemical mapping in Portugal

This paper reports the first results of a low-density geochemical survey covering the whole continental area of Portugal, taking both topsoils and active stream sediments as the sampling media. The data were obtained in a consistent way from 653 sites at a sampling density of 1 site/135 km². The samples were analysed for 31 elements by ICP-AES and after quality control the following 19 were selected: Al, As, Ba, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, Sr, Th, V and Zn. The baseline levels for these elements are presented. The first geochemical maps of Portugal were prepared and the geochemical patterns are generally well correlated to geological factors sometimes combined with anthropogenic influences. Some general trends can be observed between geochemical patterns and soils distribution.     

基于等高线的水系沉积物采样点自动布设方法

以往水系的勾绘、采样点位的布设工作均由人工在地形底图上手工完成,工作量大,且影响化探工作进度。通过规则网格的数字高程模型生成水系网,实现了精确度较高的水系网提取算法。该算法先按照水系级别和水系长度进行样点初布,然后检测样点的数量及密度是否达到要求,再根据布样要求进行样点的补充与修改,据此研究水系沉积物采样自动化布置方法,实现基于等高线的水系沉积物采样点的自动布设,提高了化探采样工作效率。     

A geochemical atlas of North Carolina, USA

A geochemical atlas of North Carolina, U.S.A., was prepared using National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) stream-sediment data. Before termination of the NURE program, sampling of nearly the entire state (48,666 square miles of land area) was completed and geochemical analyses were obtained.The NURE data are applicable to mineral exploration, agriculture, waste disposal siting issues, health, and environmental studies. Applications in state government include resource surveys to assist mineral exploration by identifying geochemical anomalies and areas of mineralization. Agriculture seeks to identify areas with favorable (or unfavorable) conditions for plant growth, disease, and crop productivity. Trace elements such as cobalt, copper, chromium, iron, manganese, zinc, and molybdenum must be present within narrow ranges in soils for optimum growth and productivity. Trace elements as a contributing factor to disease are of concern to health professionals. Industry can use pH and conductivity data for water samples to site facilities which require specific water quality.The North Carolina NURE database consists of stream-sediment samples, groundwater samples, and stream-water analyses. The statewide database consists of 6,744 stream-sediment sites, 5,778 groundwater sample sites, and 295 stream-water sites. Neutron activation analyses were provided for U, Br, Cl, F, Mn, Na, Al, V, Dy in groundwater and stream water, and for U, Th, Hf, Ce, Fe, Mn, Na, Sc, Ti, V, Al, Dy, Eu, La, Sm, Yb, and Lu in stream sediments. Supplemental analyses by other techniques were reported on U (extractable), Ag, As, Ba, Be, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, K, Li, Mg, Mo, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Se, Sn, Sr, W, Y, and Zn for 4,619 stream-sediment samples. A small subset of 334 stream samples was analyzed for gold.The goal of the atlas was to make available the statewide NURE data with minimal interpretation to enable prospective users to modify and manipulate the data for their end use. The atlas provides only very general indication of geochemical distribution patterns and should not be used for site specific studies. The atlas maps for each element were computer-generated at the state's geographic information system (Center for Geographic Information and Analysis [CGIA]). The Division of Statistics and Information Services provided input files. The maps in the atlas are point maps. Each sample is represented by a symbol generally corresponding to a quartile class. Other reports will transmit sample and analytical data for state regions. Data are tentatively planned to be available on disks in spreadsheet format for personal computers.During the second phase of this project, stream-sediment samples are being assigned to state geologic map unit names using a GIS system to determine background and anomaly values. Subsequent publications will make this geochemical data and accompanying interpretations available to a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary users.     

分形求和法及其在地球化学数据分组中的应用

分形建模广泛地应用于具有自相似性不同尺度测量的地质现象空间分布特征。分形分布的特点要求大于等于某一尺度的数目,与物体大小之间存在幂函数关系,这种关系具有尺度不变性。这里提出的分形求和法可以确定地球化学数据分组界限。应用澳大利亚新南威尔士东北地区汇水沉积物地球化学数据,采用分形求和法确定其分组界限,并与传统的概率图模型结果进行比较。铜(Cu)元素数据划分二个部分,一部分是元素含量少于20 ppm的正态分布数据,另一部分是元素含量大于20 ppm的多个对数正态分布数据,能识别第三纪玄武岩区域和铜的主要矿化区。这一结论与使用传统的概率图模型方法得到的结论一致。该方法不仅适用于地球化学铜元素数据,而且还适用于其它元素和地质数据,具有普遍的意义。     

National-scale estimation of potentially harmful element ambient background concentrations in topsoil using parent material classified soil:stream–sediment relationships

Regulatory authorities require estimates of ambient background concentrations (ABCs) of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in topsoil; such data are currently not available in many countries. High resolution soil geochemical data exist for only part of England and Wales, whilst stream sediment data cover the entire landscape. A novel methodology is presented for estimating soil equivalent ABCs for PHEs from high-resolution (HR) stream sediment geochemical data grouped by common parent materials (PM), using arsenic (As) as an example. Geometric mean (GM) values for local PM groups are used to investigate different approaches for transforming sediment to soil equivalent concentrations. Holdout validation is used to assess: (i) the optimum number of samples for calculating local GM values, and (ii) the optimum scale at which to group data when using linear regression analysis to estimate GM soil ABCs from local sediment geochemical values. Holdout validation showed that the smallest differences were generally observed when five observations were used to calculate the GM and that these should be grouped over the smallest possible area in order to encompass soils over PMs with elevated GM As concentrations. Geometric mean ABCs are estimated and mapped for As in mineral soil across all of England and Wales within delineations of PM polygons. Errors for the estimation of soil equivalent GM As ABCs based on sediment data for an independent validation set were of a similar magnitude to those from holdout validation applied to the original data suggesting the approach is robust. The estimates of soil equivalent ABCs suggest that As exceeds the regulatory threshold used in risk assessments for residential land use (20 mg kg⁻¹) across 16% of the landscape of England and Wales. The applicability of the method for cognate landscapes, and potential refinements is discussed.     

全国铀矿资源潜力评价化探数据应用研究

全国铀矿资源潜力评价化探数据应用研究是全国铀矿资源潜力评价工作的重要组成部分,采用了放射性水文地球化学（以下简称放射性水化）资料和区域地球化学数据（水系沉积物）完成了几十个预测工作区和上百个预测区的化探预测评价工作。本文介绍了全国铀矿资源潜力评价化探数据应用研究的技术流程、数据处理、化探图件编制、地球化学评价的基本方法和预测评价的内容。该成果形成了一套成熟的方法技术,在全国铀矿资源潜力评价中发挥了重要作用,也是今后矿产资源预测评价必不可少的重要方法。     

化探数据处理的新技术

本文论述了一种新的空间点数据处理系统（ＮＡＳＳＤ）在化探数据处理扣的应用效果，以ＮＡＳＳＤ处理平均采样密度为每１５０００ｋｍ＾２一个，样品总数为５２９个泛滥平原沉积物数据，制作 的中国铜和银地球化学图，可以较清晰地指示出中国已知大型，超大型铜和银矿床的分布，以传统的数据处理方法无论是处理上述的极低密度采样数据处理还是每１ｋｍ＾２～５０ｋｍ＾２一个的区域水系沉积物测量数据，在制作（以相同含量间隔表示     

Use of Regional Geochemical Survey Data and exploratory statistics to estimate natural condition concentrations for trace metals in stream sediments: a case study for the Cook Inlet watershed,Alaska

The United States and other nations use the term natural conditions or reference conditions in legislation providing for the protection of aquatic ecosystems. Natural or reference conditions are generally used to describe environmental conditions in an aquatic resource before any human introduced pollution. The natural or reference conditions are used in establishing water quality criteria for protection of aquatic resources, helping classify aquatic resources within a regulatory category, and for assessing effectiveness of aquatic resource restoration actions. Regional scale geochemical mapping of stream sediments is available for many countries that when combined with exploratory data analysis and geospatial data can be used to establish screening level natural conditions for trace metals in stream sediments. This approach is applied to the Cook Inlet watershed in Alaska using the US Geological Survey National Geochemical Survey stream sediment trace metals data. Upper concentration limits are developed for As, Cr, Cu, Pb, Hg, Ni, and Zn in the Cook Inlet watershed to aid in screening sediments for potential anthropogenic contamination.     

A comparison of regional geochemical data from lakes and streams in northern Labrador; implications for mixed-media geochemical mapping

Labrador has been covered by reconnaissance-scale geochemical surveys under the National Geochemical Reconnaissance program. Lake sediment and water were the chief sample media, but stream sediment and water were employed in the mountainous terrain of northern Labrador. The main objective of these surveys was mineral resource assessment, but the data are also relevant to geological and environmental studies, and would be most useful to the non-specialist if the data from the two drainage types could be combined to produce unified element distribution maps for the whole region.A comparison of stream and lake data for a 5,700-km² area where both drainage types were sampled suggests that only the pH of the lake and stream waters are directly comparable, showing a common range and similar spatial distribution. Comparing the two types of sediment, most elements show obvious differences in either median content or range or both, indicating that stream and lake sediment are geochemically distinct media, and their element contents cannot be compared directly. The distribution patterns of Cu, Ni and U reflect similar bedrock features in both sediment types. In contrast, Co, F, Fe, Hg, Mn, V and Zn show little or no spatial correlation between stream and lake sediment, but are strongly intercorrelated in the stream sediment data set.The sediments collected from lakes in Labrador represent disturbed column, about 40 cm in length, of organic debris that accumulated over the past several hundred years. Metal accumulation in the sediment is largely through fixation from inflowing surface and groundwater by microorganisms, coprecipitation with hydrous Fe and Mn oxides, sorption by clay minerals and chemical and biochemical processes at and just below the sediment/water interface. The stream sediments in this study were collected from active sediment, and represent principally the mechanical-weathering products of bedrock, with variable amounts of organic matter and hydrous Fe and Mn oxides. Considering the difference in the two sediment types, it is probably not surprising that there is rather limited spatial correlation between the geochemistry of the two sediment types indicating that to a large extent each medium reflects a different facet of the bedrock geochemistry. Only for a few elements should the data sets be merged. The degree of spatial correlation for U, Ni and Cu increases as the data are generalized by averaging into larger blocks, suggesting that the combined data sets will be more successful in defining broad crustal geochemical features rather than local details. The implication of this study for international geochemical mapping is that geochemical patterns for many elements are strongly dependent on the sample medium chosen. Therefore, when it is necessary to change sample media in passing from one terrain type to another, a comparative study must be carried out to determine how the geochemistry of the different sample media compare spatially.     

小汤山地热田热水地球化学特征

小汤山地热田已开采２０多年,热田范围已扩大到４４平方公里。根据２０多年来的地球化学监测资料,水文地质及热水开采资料,用水－岩平衡及其它地球化学方法,研究热水的水化学变化以及热水的成因,水龄和运动方向等规律。     

Visualization of geochemical data on maps at the Geological Survey of Finland

Software for presentation of geochemical data on maps has been integrated into a user-friendly package, ALKEMIA, at the Geological Survey of Finland (GSF). ALKEMIA contains procedures for generating dot maps, colour surface maps, shaded relief maps, and vector images, and for interpolating and smoothing irregularly gridded data. Combining dots and colour surfaces provides a means of visually integrating up to three variables on a map, revealing the spatial relationships between them. The methods employed are described in detail, particularly the moving weighted median, which has been widely used at the GSF for interpolating and smoothing geochemical and other numerical data. Several geochemical and oncological atlases and series of maps have been produced with these methods.