Application of multi-element statistical analysis for regional geochemical mapping in Central Japan

Some 434 stream sediment samples were collected in Central Japan for a nationwide geochemical mapping project. The resulting geochemical maps are compared with geological, mineral resource and land use maps. Spatial distribution patterns of elemental concentrations in stream sediments are determined mainly by surface geology. Elevated elemental concentrations of alkali elements, Be, Ga, Y, Cs, Ba, lanthanide (Ln), Tl, Th, and U are consistent with outcrop areas of granite, felsic volcanic rock, and accretionary complexes. High concentrations of MgO, Al₂O₃, P₂O₅, CaO, 3d transition metals, Zn, and Sr are present in sediments supplied from mafic volcanic rock, high pressure metamorphic rocks, and mafic-ultramafic rocks in accretionary complexes.A procedure is established and guidelines are set for a statistical test suite for geochemical mapping. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparison tests are effective for comparing means among the data subsets that are classified by parent lithological materials. Among the many procedures that have been proposed for multiple comparison tests, the Holm procedure was selected for this study. Multiple comparison statistically confirmed the correspondence of elemental abundance in stream sediments with surface geologies. However, visual interpretation of some elements is inconsistent with results of multiple comparison. According to the Holm procedure, the U content in stream sediments is affected not by granite, but by felsic volcanic rock. The Holm procedure clarifies that As, Sb, and Bi, that are not explained by the presence of mineral deposits, are enriched significantly in samples derived from accretionary complexes. Hydrothermal activity on the ocean floor might affect their levels of enrichment. Significant enrichment of Cu, Zn, Cd, Sn, Sb, Hg, and Pb observed in urban areas are also supported by the Holm procedure. The authors inferred that these sediment samples had been contaminated.     

The mapping of geochemical provinces in China based on Pb isotopes

The comparison of Pb isotopic compositions for various ores and rocks has revealed that the lateral variation between different terranes is greater than the vertical variation between crust and mantle, which is useful for geochemical mapping. Based on a three dimensional topological diagram of Pb isotopes, six geochemical provinces can be recognized in China, namely southern China, Yangtze, northern China, northern Xinjiang, Jiamusi and Tibet. The application of Pb isotopes to regional mapping provides important background data for geochemical prospecting as it establishes the tectonic boundaries of terrenes and identifies the source regions of mineralization, magmatism and sedimentation. It also provides information on the origin of pollution and cultural relics.     

因子分析在地球化学数据处理中的应用

因子分析是一种多元统计分析方法,以往地质研究中常用其解决复杂的地质成因及矿化叠加问题。本文利用R型因子分析对岷县寨上-马坞调查区的1:20万水系沉积物样品数据进行处理,计算因子得分,圈定因子得分异常图,并与区内的各种地质作用相联系,取得了一定的效果;利用R-Q型因子分析对寨上及附近的原生晕样品进行分析,通过对矿体及构造带样品的分析,可以划分矿化类型;通过对地层样品的分析,可以划分地层并得出各地层的特征组合元素。因此利用因子分析可以为地球化学数据解释提供重要信息。     

The application of fuzzy c-means cluster analysis and non-linear mapping to geochemical datasets: examples from Portugal

In the interpretation of relatively small multivariate datasets, deviations from homogeneity may cause severe problems. In these cases fuzzy c-means cluster analysis (FCM) and non-linear mapping (NLM) are conceptionally suited to discern structure in the datasets. Particularly, the combined use of FCM and NLM furnishes a powerful method to find meaningful data groupings within a dataset. This is illustrated with two case studies, for water and combined water and stream sediment analyses, respectively, where FCM and NLM were applied. The results are easily related to geology, mineral occurrences and environmental factors.     

Landslide susceptibility mapping using GIS-based weighted linear combination,the case in Tsugawa area of Agano River,Niigata Prefecture,Japan

A spatial database of 791 landslides is analyzed using GIS to map landslide susceptibility in Tsugawa area of Agano River. Data from six landslide-controlling parameters namely lithology, slope gradient, aspect, elevation, and plan and profile curvatures are coded and inserted into the GIS. Later, an index-based approach is adopted both to put the various classes of the six parameters in order of their significance to the process of landsliding and weigh the impact of one parameter against another. Applying primary and secondary-level weights, a continuous scale of numerical indices is obtained with which the study area is divided into five classes of landslide susceptibility. Slope gradient and elevation are found to be important to delineate flatlands that will in no way be subjected to slope failure. The area which is at high scale of susceptibility lies on mid-slope mountains where relatively weak rocks such as sandstone, mudstone and tuff are outcropping as one unit.     

Application of geoecological monitoring data for multipurpose geochemical mapping: a case history of North Caspian

This paper discusses some techniques and results of investigating of seafloor geochemical field in the Russian part of the North Caspian Sea. Conclusions on the present (2001–2002) level of heavy metal pollution and on the nature of hydrocarbon gase anomalies are presented.     

海南抱板金矿铅同位素化探评价

通过对海南抱板金矿几个切穿矿脉剖面的矿石和围岩的铅同位素组成分析。发现铅同位素组成与矿的产出具有相关关系。铅同位素的异常可能反映了成矿物质来源深度的差异，据此可进行铅同位素化探评价，提出了“正异常以深部找矿为主。负异常注意扩大横向找矿”的原则，土外山地区是地表的浅层金矿化，而二甲，北牛为深源金矿化，在土外山地区深部应可能找到对应于二甲，北牛的深源金矿化层。     

Wavy lamination in a mixed sand and gravel foreshore facies of the Pleistocene Hosoya Sandstone, Aichi, central Japan

Although sandy foreshore facies are generally characterized by parallel lamination, wavy lamination is predominant in the mixed sand and gravel foreshore facies of the Pleistocene Hosoya Sandstone, which crops out along the Pacific coast of the Atsumi Peninsula, Aichi, central Japan. The foreshore facies consists of three sedimentary subfacies; interbeds of gravel and parallel laminated sand of the lower foreshore facies, parallel laminated fine to medium sand beds containing scattered pebbles and cobbles of the middle foreshore facies, and wavy laminated fine to medium sand beds containing scattered pebbles and cobbles of the upper foreshore facies. A lack of erosional surfaces in the middle foreshore facies indicates the continuous accumulation of sand in flat beds under upper plane bed flow. The wavy laminated sands of the upper foreshore facies exhibit erosional surfaces indicative of repeated deposition and erosion. The erosional surfaces are undulatory, with depressions (10 cm wide and 3 cm deep) that contain scattered pebbles and cobbles. These depressions reflect backwash erosion of sand around and below the pebbles and cobbles. Sand draping over the undulating erosional surfaces forms the wavy lamination. The wavy laminated sand with scattered pebbles and cobbles is a key facies of an upper foreshore or swash zone, and is a good sea-level marker.     

Large-scale landslides in Toyama Prefecture,central Japan,and their probable relationship with earthquakes

Large-scale landslides along the Kubusu and Besso rivers in Toyama Prefecture are developed in the Miocene Iwaine Formation, which is composed of andesitic lava, tuff, and tuff breccia. In the middle member of this formation, the tuff is easily altered to montmorillonite-bearing rock, and subsequently plays an important role in the development of landslides events, which tend to be large-scale events, as the massive lava of the upper member forms a cap rock over the tuff. The Kiritani and Koinami basins, which are flat intermontane basins located along the Kubusu and Besso rivers, respectively, are interpreted as landslide-dammed lakes, later filled with sediment. Accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C ages show that the landslides forming each dam occurred simultaneously, at approximately 2500 BP. These ages were measured from wood fragments embedded in the landslide material of Kiritani, and from an in situ stump drowned during the impoundment of Koinami. If the trigger of these landslides was an earthquake, it is most likely to have been the penultimate event along the Atotsugawa fault zone.     

Application of Lead Isotopes to Geochemical Exploration of Gold Deposits in Baoban , Hainan Province, China

Lead isotopes have been widely applied in geochemical exploration and evaluation of ore deposits, as well as in ascertaining the age of mineralization and the source of ore fluids.Long-term practice showed that the method of lead isotope targeting is somewhat efficient for macroscopic evaluation of forecasting areas, but not powerful enough for for ecasting concealed orebodies. As the contents of U and the variation of U/Pb ratio sharply decrease with depth in the lithosphere, U-Th-Pb isotopic differentiation must have occurred during the crust-mantle e-volution. Lead isotopic ratios show a wide variation range, varying in the front of mineralizationand shallow-derived ores, but maintaining very stable in the major orebody and being usuallyclose to the average isotopic composition of the crust and mantle of the continent block fromwhich the ores were derived. Therefore, the lead isotopic composition can serve as a measure for identifying the position of mineralization. The lead isotope geochemistry was applied to the ex-ploration and evaluation of the Baoban gold deposits of Hainan Province, China. The an alyticalresults of ore veins and adjacent rocks showed that there is a correlation between the lead isotopedata and the position of orebody. Based on the experience from the Baoban gold deposits and other ore deposits in Yunnan Province, an exploration principle has been established, that is,positive anomalies of lead isotope eigenvectors for prospecting deep-seated orebodies and nega-tive anomalies of eigenvectors for enlarging lateral exploration surrounding the known deposit.The ore beds in the Erjia and Beiniu mining districts should be as signed to the deep part of the orebody and those in the Tuwaishan mining district should be the shallow part, so ore beds cor-responding to those in the Erjia and Beiniu mining districts may be found in the Tuwaishan min-ing district.     

焦家金矿田构造蚀变岩填图及其地球化学特征分析

以蚀变岩作为重要填图图例,首次完成了焦家金矿田构造岩相成矿图(1∶5万)。通过区域填图结合大量的巷道剖面实测,厘定了硅化蚀变带、黄铁绢英岩化蚀变带、强钾化蚀变带和弱钾化蚀变带的分带特征。对两类金矿蚀变带的地球化学特征分析发现,绢英岩化蚀变阶段是矿化元素富集的主要阶段。通过岩石矿物计算方法建立了蚀变带主要成岩矿物的交代剖面,结果显示蚀变岩型金矿主要发生硅化和钾长石化,而石英脉型金矿的形成主要伴随硅化和去钙化作用。     

因子分析与地统计学在化探数据分析中的应用

以铜陵矿集区土壤勘查地球化学数据为实例,应用因子分析方法获取了地球化学数据中的多个主因子信息,并利用地统计学方法开展了各主因子的空间变异分析和插值研究。研究结果显示,因子分析得到的各主因子对应于不同的成矿信息,将因子分析与地统计学分析和插值方法相结合,可以更好的展现各主因子得分的空间分布趋势以及与已知成矿信息的关联程度,进而服务于成矿预测和找矿勘探工作。     

Soil and stream sediment based geochemical mapping: A case study in Goa

Geochemical mapping has been carried out in Goa using soil/laterite and stream sediment as media. The geochemical maps for U, Th, Nb and Ta show a conspicuous pattern in the NW part of Goa. The anomaly axis shows a NE-SW trend which is across the formational trend. The nickel and copper distribution around Usgaon area, east of Ponda, have indicated anomalous signature in the northern continuation of the Usgaon ultramafic complex.     

Application of geochemical mapping techniques to a complex Precambrian shield area in Labrador, Canada

Lake sediment and water geochemical data from a complex area of the Canadian shield in Labrador, Canada, display spatial variation patterns that can be linked to bedrock geology. Composite variables derived by R-mode factor analysis are effective in discriminating large-scale lithotectonic divisions, but single-element raw or residual data (corrected for effects of lake depth, Fe, Mn and LOI) provide better resolution of smaller-scale features and major tectonic boundaries.Archean high-grade gneiss regions are typified by high pH and Ni, coupled with depletion of U and F. This signature is developed most strongly over mafic igneous rocks, but is present also over Archean granitoid orthogneisses. Archean crust affected by Proterozoic structural and thermal reworking retains a high Ni signature, but is not depleted in U and F. An Early Proterozoic belt of felsic intrusive and extrusive rocks is defined by enrichment in F, U, Mo, Pb and Zn. Single-element variations suggest large-scale zonation of the belt, with the strongest enrichment over blocks interpreted to represent high crustal levels. Prominent geochemical boundaries coincide with major faults within this belt. High-grade metamorphic terranes comprising Early to Middle Proterozoic crust affected by the 1.0-Ga Grenville Orogeny show low geochemical relief, and are characterized by strong depletion in incompatible elements.In addition to reflecting the dominant rock types in each domain, some of these patterns may be related to the age, erosion level and orogenic history of the crust. For example, the Archean signature may reflect fundamental contrasts in the compositions of Archean and Proterozoic crust, suggested also by lithogeochemical and petrogenetic studies. Geochemical zonation over Early Proterozoic igneous rocks may be a function of crustal level, with the most differentiated granites, volcanic rocks and hydrothermal mineralization present in the uppermost levels of the belt. Depletion of incompatible elements over both Archean and Proterozoic high-grade metamorphic rocks may reflect expulsion of these elements by dehydration and anatexis.     

Application of singularity mapping technique to identify local anomalies using stream sediment geochemical data,a case study from Gangdese,Tibet, western China

Identifying geochemical anomalies from background is a fundamental task in exploration geochemistry. The Gangdese mineral district in western China has complex geochemical surface expression due to complex geological background and was chosen as a study area for recognition of the spatial distribution of geochemical elements and separating anomalies from background using stream sediment geochemical data. The results illustrate that weak anomalies are hidden within the strong variance of background and are not well identified by means of inverse distance weighted; neither are they clearly identified by the C–A method if this method is applied to the whole study area. On the other hand, singularity values provide new information that complements use of original concentration values and can quantify the properties of enrichment and depletion caused by mineralization. In general, producing maps of singularities can help to identify relatively weak metal concentration anomalies in complex geological regions. Application of singularity mapping technique in Gangdese district shows local anomalies of Cu are not only directly associated with known deposits in the central part of the study area, but also with E–W and N–E oriented faults in the north of the study area. Both types of anomalies should be further investigated for undiscovered Cu mineral deposits.     

放射性成因同位素地球化学参数的误差计算:以Hf-Nd-Sr同位素为例

放射性成因同位素地球化学中的参数大多不是直接测量量,而是由几个直接测量量经计算所得,其误差也受到这几个测量量误差的影响,涉及到比较复杂的误差传递问题。本文在介绍方差、标准偏差和标准误差等概念基础上,阐述误差合成与传递的基本原理与方法,然后以Hf-Nd-Sr同位素为例论述若干重要同位素地球化学参数的误差计算问题,并给出方便读者使用的Excel计算表格,对放射性成因同位素地球化学研究与应用有一定的使用价值和参考意义。     

Sr, Nd and Pb isotopes in Proterozoic intrusives astride the Grenville Front in Labrador: Implications for crustal contamination and basement mapping

We report Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic compositions of mid-Proterozoic anorthosites and related rocks (1.45-1.65 Ga) and of younger olivine diabase dikes (1.4 Ga) from two complexes on either side of the Grenville Front in Labrador. Anorthositic or diabasic samples from the Mealy Mountains (Grenville Province) and Harp Lake (Nain-Churchill Provinces) complexes have very similar major, minor and trace element compositions, but distinctly different isotopic signatures. All Mealy Mountains samples have I_Sr = 0.7025−0.7033, ε_Nd = +0.6 to +5.6 and Pb isotopic compositions consistent with derivation from a mantle source depleted with respect to Nd/Sm and Rb/Sr. Pb isotopic compositions for the Mealy Mountains samples are slightly more radiogenic than model mantle compositions. All Harp Lake samples have I_Sr = 0.7032−0.7066, ε_Nd = −0.3 to −4.4 and variable, but generally unradiogenic ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb compared to model mantle, suggesting mixing between a mantle-derived component and a U-depleted crustal contaminant. Crustal contaminants are probably a variety of Archean high-grade quartzofeldspathic gneisses with low U/Pb ratios and include a component that must be isotopically similar to the early Archean (>3.6 Ga) Uivak gneisses of Labrador or the Amitsoq gneisses of west Greenland. This would imply that the ancient gneiss complex of coastal Labrador and Greenland is larger than indicated by present surface exposure and may extend in the subsurface as far west as the Labrador Trough. If Harp Lake and Mealy Mountains samples were subjected to the same degree of contamination, as suggested by their chemical similarities, then the Mealy contaminants must be much younger, probably early or middle Proterozoic in age. The Labrador segment of the Grenville Front, therefore, appears to coincide with the southern margin of the Archean North Atlantic craton and may represent a pre mid-Proterozoic suture.