A new multidimensional scaling technique based upon associations of triple objects—Pijk and its application to the analysis of geochemical data

A new multidimensional scaling (MS) technique, referred to as the Pijk model, is formulated on the basis of associations among triple objects (samples or variables), instead of pairs of objects as used in the usual MS methods, such as factor analysis. The computational scheme provided for this method is the reduction of an original problem to a standard eigenvalue-eigenvector problem. The major goal of the technique is simplification and reduction of data structures and the rescaling of original objects into a new and reduced space, so that patterns and relations of the original objects can be conventiently examined in two-dimensional “factor” plots. The Pïjk method is illustrated and tested by using a set of geochemical data related to the epithermal gold and silver vein deposits in the Walker Lake quadrangle of Nevada and California. The characteristics of element associations suggested in the Pijk analysis are consistent with field observations. A preliminary comparison between the new method and the ordinary factor analysis also is made on the basis of the same data set. Results are encouraging in that analysis by the Pijk model captures triple-object associations that might be missed by the ordinary factor analysis which considers only pair-variable correlations