Geochemical Anomalies Identified by Multifractal Modeling: Implications for Mineral Exploration in the Ziyoutun Cu-Au District, Jilin Province, China

The Ziyoutun Cu-Au district is located in the Jizhong–Yanbian Metallogenic Belt and possesses excellent prospects. However, the thick regolith and complex tectonic settings present challenges in terms of detecting and decomposition of weak geochemical anomalies. To address this challenge, we initially conducted a comprehensive analysis of 1:10,000-scale soil geochemical data. This analysis included multivariate statistical techniques, such as correlation analysis, R-mode cluster analysis, Q–Q plots and factor analysis. Subsequently, we decomposed the geochemical anomalies, identifying weak anomalies using spectrum-area modeling and local singularity analysis. The results indicate that the assemblage of Au-Cu-Bi-As-Sb represents the mineralization at Ziyoutun. In comparison to conventional methods, spectrumarea modeling and local singularity analysis outperform in terms of identification of anomalies. Ultimately, we considered four specific target areas(AP01, AP02, AP03 and AP04) for future exploration, based on geochemical anomalies and favorable geological factors. Within AP01 and AP02, the geochemical anomalies suggest potential mineralization at depth, whereas in AP03 and AP04 the surface anomalies require additional geological investigation. Consequently, we recommend conducting drilling, following more extensive surface fieldwork, at the first two targets and verifying surface anomalies in the last two targets. We anticipate these findings will significantly enhance future exploration in Ziyoutun.

Models of Spatial Structures of Regional Multi-element Geochemical Anomalies over Copper-Polymetallic Orefields

Regional stream sediment surveys at a 1:200,000 scale reveal positive andnegative regional multi-element geochemical anomalies over medium to large copper-polymetallicorefields of different genetic types in China. Regional geochemical anomalies of orefield refer tothose geochemical anomalies that are related to metallogenesis of an orefield in a certain area. Theanomaly area is typically 10 to 100 km^2. The regional multi-element anomalies related tomineralization can be divided into three groups, that is, the ore-element anomaly association,indicator element anomaly association, and metallogenic environmental element anomaly association.Their common spatial distributions over ore deposits or orefields possess unique structures. Themodel of spatial structure of regional multi-element geochemical anomalies (RAGSS) of an orefielddelineates structural feature possessed by orderly spatial distributions of different groups ofmulti-element anomaly associations related to orefield metallogenesis. It is used to outline thecommon metallogenetic anomaly visage that is composed of the orderly spatial distribution ofdifferent groups of multi-element anomaly associations. The orderly spatial distribution ofmulti-element anomalies over an orefield reflects element distributions as they are changed from adispersed 'out-of-order' state into a concentrated 'orderly' state during the mineralization of anorefield. Three different patterns of the spatial anomaly structure related to mineralization in anorefield can be concluded: (1) nested pattern; (2) eccentric pattern and; (3) peripheral pattern.There are marked differences between multi-element anomaly patterns related and not related tomineralization. RAGSS models of orefields can be used to better understand and evaluate regionalmulti-element anomalies and identify ore types.

Selection of Multifractal Scaling Breaks andSeparation of Geochemical andGeophysical Anomaly

Spatially superimposed multiple processes such as multiplicative cascade processes often generate multifractal measures possessing so-called self-similarity or self-affinity that can be described by power- law type of functions within certain scale ranges The multifractalities can be estimated by applying multifractal modeling to the measures reflecting the characteristics of the physical processes such as the element concentration values analyzed in rock and soil samples and caused by the underlying mineralization processes and the other geological processes. The local and regional geological processes may result in geochemical patterns with distinct multifractalities as wall as variable scaling ranges. Separation of these multifractal measures on the basis of both the distinct multifractalities and the scaling ranges will be significant for both theoretical studies of multifractal modeling and its applications. Multifractal scaling breaks have been observed from various multifractal patterns. This paper introduces a technique for separating multifractal measures on the basis of scaling breaks. It has been demonstrated that the method is effective for decomposing geochemical and geophysical anomalies required for mineral exploration. A dataset containing the element concentration values of potassium and phosphorus in soil samples was employed for demonstrating the application of the method for studying the fertilizer and yield optimization in agriculture

Application of isolation forest to extract multivariate anomalies from geochemical exploration data

Constructing a statistical model that best fits the background is a key step in geochemical anomaly identification. But the model is hard to be constructed in situations where the sample population has unknown and/or complex distribution. Isolation forest is an outlier detection approach that explicitly isolates anomaly samples rather than models the population distribution. It can extract multivariate anomalies from huge-sized high-dimensional data with unknown population distribution. For this reason,we tentatively applied the method to identify multivariate anomalies from the stream sediment survey data of the Lalingzaohuo district,an area with a complex geological setting,in Qinghai Province in China. The performance of the isolation forest algorithm in anomaly identification was compared with that of a continuous restricted Boltzmann machine. The results show that the isolation forest model performs superiorly to the continuous restricted Boltzmann machine in multivariate anomaly identification in terms of receiver operating characteristic curve,area under the curve,and data-processing efficiency. The anomalies identified by the isolation forest model occupy 19% of the study area and contain 82% of the known mineral deposits,whereas the anomalies identified by the continuous restricted Boltzmann machine occupy 35% of the study area and contain 88% of the known mineral deposits. It takes 4. 07 and 279. 36 seconds respectively handling the dataset using the two models. Therefore,isolation forest is a useful anomaly detection method that can quickly extract multivariate anomalies from geochemical exploration data.

A Study of the Method for the Recognition of Anomalies in Geochemical Hydrocarbon Exploration

The greatest difficulties in recognizing geochemical hydrocarbon anomalies are: (1) how to objectively and accurately separate anomalies from background; (2) how to distinguish hydrocarbon pool related apical anomalies from lateral anomalies controlled by faults; and (3) how to eliminate interferences. These uncertainties are serious obstacles for the wide acceptance and use of geochemical techniques in hydrocarbon exploration. In this paper, the features of hydrocarbon anomalies were analyzed based on the micro migration mechanisms. In most cases, there are two anomalous populations or point groups, which are produced by two distinct mechanisms: (1) a population that directly reflects oil and gas fields, and (2) one that is related to structures such as faults. Statistical studies show that background anomalous populations and the boundaries between them can be described by the population means, prior probabilities, which are the proportions of population sizes, and covariance matrices, when background and anomalous populations have normal distributions. When this normality condition is met, a series of formulas can be derived. The method is designed on the basis of these allows: (1) univariate anomaly recognition, (2) elimination of interferences, (3) multivariate anomaly recognition, and (4) multivariate anomaly combination which depicts a more representative picture of morphology of the anomalous target than individual anomalies. The univariate and multivariate anomaly recognition can not only separate anomalies from background objectively, but also simultaneously distinguish the two types of anomalies objectively. This method was applied to the hydrocarbon data in Yangshuiwu region, Hebei Province. The interferences from regional variation of background were eliminated, and the interpretation uncertainty was reduced greatly as the anomalous populations were separated. The method was also used in Daxing region within the confines of Beijing City, and Aershan and Jiergalangtu regions in Inner Mongolia.

Geochemical Anomaly at the Devonian/Carboniferous Boundary, Huangmao, Gnangxi, China

The abundances of nearly 40 elements, Ir included, have been measured using radio-chemical and instrumental neutron activation analysis (RNAA and INAA) across a Devonian/Carboniferous (D/C) boundary section at Huangmao, Guangxi, China. The Ir anomaly has been found in the D/C boundary bed. Its peak value is 156 ppt, richer by a factor of 12 than that in the underlying strata. Besides, as with Ir, other siderophile and chalcophile elements such as Au. Ni. Co. As and Sb are also enriched. The cause for the abundance anomalies of Ir and other elemets is discussed. Neither volcanic eruption nor extraterrestrial impact can explain it satisfactorily. The real mechanism for the anomalies awaits further study.

Mineralization-related geochemical anomalies derived from stream sediment geochemical data using multifractal analysis in Pangxidong area of Qinzhou-Hangzhou tectonic joint belt, Guangdong Province, China

Distinguishing geochemical anomalies from background is a basic task in exploratory geochemistry. The derivation of geochemical anomalies from stream sediment geochemical data and the decomposition of these anomalies into their component patterns were described. A set of stream sediment geochemical data was obtained for 1 880 km 2 of the Pangxidong area, which is in the southern part of the recently recognized Qinzhou-Hangzhou joint tectonic belt. This belt crosses southern China and tends to the northwest (NE) direction. The total number of collected samples was 7 236, and the concentrations of Ag, Au, Cu, As, Pb and Zn were measured for each sample. The spatial combination distribution law of geochemical elements and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to construct combination models for the identification of combinations of geochemical anomalies. Spectrum-area (S-A) fractal modeling was used to strengthen weak anomalies and separate them from the background. Composite anomaly modeling was combined with fractal filtering techniques to process and analyze the geochemical data. The raster maps of Au, Ag, Cu, As, Pb and Zn were obtained by the multifractal inverse distance weighted (MIDW) method. PCA was used to combine the Au, Ag, Cu, As, Pb, and Zn concentration values. The S-A fractal method was used to decompose the first component pattern achieved by the PCA. The results show that combination anomalies from a combination of variables coincide with the known mineralization of the study area. Although the combination anomalies cannot reflect local anomalies closely enough, high-anomaly areas indicate good sites for further exploration for unknown deposits. On this basis, anomaly and background separation from combination anomalies using fractal filtering techniques can provide guidance for later work.

Laboratory Simulation of the Formation Process of Surface Geochemical Anomalies Applied to Hydrocarbon Exploration

The formation mechanisms and processes of geochemical anomalies used as proxies in surface geochemistry exploration （SGE） have not been well understood. Previous studies cannot realize 3D measurement of microseeping hydrocarbons from reservoirs to the surface, which made it difficult to understand the features and pathways of deep hydrocarbon microseepages. Understanding the processes of hydrocarbon microseepages will contribute to the acceptance and effectiveness of surface geochemistry. Based on a simplified geological model of hydrocarbon microseepages, including hydrocarbon reservoir, direct caprock, overlying strata and Quaternary sediments, this work established a 3D experimental system to simulate the mechanisms and processes of deep hydrocarbon microseepes extending to the surface. The dispersive halos of microseeping hydrocarbons in the subsurface were adequately described by using this 3D experimental system. Results indicate that different migration patterns of hydrocarbons above the point gas source within the simulated caprock and overlying strata can be reflected by the ratio of i-butane to n-butane （i-C4/n-C4）, which follow diffusion and infiltration （buoyancy） mechanisms. This is not the case for vertical measurement lines far from the point gas source. A vertical gas flow in the form of a plume was found during hydrocarbon microseepage. For sampling methods, the high-density grid sampling is favorable for delineating prospecting targets. Hydrocarbon infiltration or buoyancy flow occurs in the zones of infiltration clusters, coupling with a diffusion mechanism at the top of the water table and forming surface geochemical anomalies. These results are significant in understanding hydrocarbon microseepage and interpreting SGE data.

Post-subdution evolution of the Northern Lhasa Terrane, Tibet: Constraints from geochemical anomalies, chronology and petrogeochemistry

Bangong-Nujiang collisional zone(BNCZ)is an older one in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and resulted in the famous Bangong-Nujiang metallogenic belt,which plays an important role in evaluating the formation and uplift mechanism of plateau.The northern and central Lhasa Terrane composed the southern part of the BNCZ.Since ore deposits can be used as markers of geodynamic evolution,the authors carried 1∶50000 stream sedimental geochemical exploration in the Xiongmei area in the Northern Lhasa Terrane to manifest the mineralization,and based on this mineralization with geochemical and chronological characteristics of related magmatic rocks to constrain their geodynamics and connection with the evolution of the Lhasa Terrane.The authors find Early Cretaceous magma mainly resulted in Cu,Mo mineralization,Late Cretaceous magma mainly resulted in Cu,Mo,and W mineralization in the studying area.The results suggest a southward subduction,slab rolling back and break-off,and thickened lithosphere delamination successively occurred within the Northern Lhasa Terrane.

Identification model of geochemical anomaly based on isolation forest algorithm

The methods for geochemical anomaly detection are usually based on statistical models, and it needs to assume that the sample population satisfies a specific distribution, which may reduce the performance of geochemical anomaly detection. In this paper, the isolation forest model is used to detect geochemical anomalies and it does not require geochemical data to satisfy a particular distribution. By constructing a tree to traverse the average path length of all data, anomaly scores are used to characterize the anomaly and background fields, and the optimal threshold is selected to identify geochemical anomalies. Taking 1∶200 000 geochemical exploration data of Fusong area in Jilin Province, NE China as an example, Fe2O3 and Pb were selected as the indicator elements to identify geochemical anomalies, and the results were compared with traditional statistical methods. The results show that the isolation forest model can effectively identify univariate geochemical anomalies, and the identified anomalies results have significant spatial correlation with known mine locations. Moreover, it can identify both high value anomalies and weak anomalies.

Elemental Geochemical Anomaly in the Sinian Doushantuo Formation-Dengying FormationBoundary in Miaohe, Hubei

: No research has been made on such a lower rank boundary as the Sinian Doushantuo Formation-Dengying Formation boundary in the eastern region of the Yangtze Gorges. Elemental geochemical determination has revealed anomalies of REE and other trace elements around the boundary, which have relatively high contents than those in its overlying and underlying beds. The authors therefore think that a catastrophic event once occurred in the Miaohe area at the end of the Doushantuoan Period, which caused the mass extinction of the Miaohe biota.

Platinum and Palladium in Coal Rock and Geochemical Anomaly in Eastern Yunnan Province,Southwest China

A series of geochemical anomalies of Pt and Pd were found in 1 358 recombined samples from a geochemical stream sediment survey in eastern Yunnan （云南） Province, China. Chemical optical emission spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence analysis, and inductively coupled plasmas atomic emission spectrometry analyses of 22 elements and chemical compositions of 21 samples from coal-bearing strata from the Late Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic show Pt and Pd concentrated to some extent in coal rocks, with Pd/Pt〈1. As, Pt, B, Au, Pd, V, Sb, U, Pb, and W are enriched in the Lower Carboniferous coal-bearing strata of the Wanshoushan （万寿山） Formation; B, Mo, As, Pt, U, W, Pb, Pd, and V are enriched in the Lower Permian coal-bearing strata of the Liangshan （梁山） Formation; Pt, Cu, Mo, Pd, As, V, and Ag are enriched in the Upper Permian coal-bearing strata of the Xuanwei （宣威） Formation; As, B, Pb, Pt, Pd, U, W, Sb, Mo, Zn, and Ag are enriched in the Upper Triassic coal-bearing strata of the Xujiahe （须家河） Formation; and Pt, As, and Pb are enriched in the lignite of the Pliocene Ciying （茨营） Formation. Combining analyses of the sedimentary environment and local volcanic activity reveal that the coalbearing strata in the Xuanwei Formation are possibly related to the Permian Emeishan （峨眉山） basalt.

Evaluation of Gold Geochemical Anomalies in the Liaodong Paleorift

89 Au geochemical anomalies are delineated by using 1/200000 regional geochemical exploration data. By researching regional geochemical characteristics and the relationship with the geological background, the author points out that： the main factors causing high background of Au geochemical anomalies are Gaixian and Dashiqiao formation of Liaohe group, intrusions of Mesozoic intermediate-acid intrusive rocks. The elements combination types of typical anomalies are determined by using factorial analysis,cluster analysis and other mathematical methods with the combination of elements association in typical anomalies：the composite anomaly of Baiyun gold deposits is Au-As-Sb, Maoling gold deposit is Au-As- Bi-Mo, Wulong gold deposits is Au-As-Bi-W, Xiaotongjiapuzi gold deposit is Au-As-Bi-Mo-Sb. By using multivariate statistical analysis method,62 ore-caused anomaly are preferred in 89 Au geochemical anomalies delineated. On this basis, the 62 anomalies are divided into 4 kinds of anomaly types reference to elements combination types of typical anomalies,the classification results of ore-caused anomalies are： 4 geochemical anomalies of Baiyun type,36 geochemical anomalies of Maoling type,11 geochemical anomalies of Wulong type, 11 geochemical anomalies of Xiaotongjapuzi type. According to the results, the prospecting direction is provided for the futme of gold exploration.

Surface geochemical anomaly pattern of medium-to-high temperature geothermal systems in South China and its application

The existence of thermal storage will correspondingly increase the temperature of surrounding strata and promote the continuous expansion,volatilization,upward migration,and loss of gas in the strata.As a result,a low-concentration gas field will be formed in the strata above geothermal reservoirs.Geothermal reservoirs could in turn heat formation water and increase the solubility of soluble inorganic salts in the surrounding rocks and the total dissolved solids(TDS)content in the formation water.Since water can strongly wet and permeate strata,the dissolved inorganic salts migrate into upper strata along with water,giving rise to the formation of a high-concentration inorganic salt field in the strata above geothermal reservoirs.A higher geothermal reservoir temperature corresponds to more significant characteristics mentioned above.Therefore,a medium-to-high temperature geothermal system has a surface geochemical anomaly pattern of high inorganic salt concentrations and low gas concentrations(also referred to as the high-salt and low-gas pattern).This pattern is applied to the surface geochemical exploration of the two geothermal fields in Guangdong Province,i.e.,the Huangshadong geothermal field in Huizhou City and the Xinzhou geothermal field in Yangjiang City,revealing low-concentration gas fields above both.The application results also show that the exposed thermal spring water in both geological fields has higher concentration of dissolved inorganic salt than the surface water and nearby seawater,forming high-amplitude anomalies on the surface above geothermal reservoirs.These characteristics,as well as the measured temperature at known geothermal wells,verify the validity of the high-salt and low-gas pattern of medium-to-high temperature geothermal systems proposed in this study.Moreover,the high-salt and low-gas pattern proposed predicts three favorable medium-to-high temperature geothermal zones in the surface geochemical exploration of the Shiba Basin near the Huangshadong geothermal field.

Application of Wavelet Analysis toInterference Elimination for Geochemical Hydrocarbon Exploration

Interference in the data of geochemical hydrocarbon exploration is a large obstacle for anomaly recognition. The multiresolution analysis of wavelet analysis can extract the information at different scales so as to provide a powerful tool for information analysis and processing. Based on the analysis of the geometric nature of hydrocarbon anomalies and background, Mallat wavelet and symmetric border treatment are selected and data pre-processing (logarithm-normalization) is established. This approach provide good results in Shandong and Inner Mongolia, China. It is demonstrated that this approach overcome the disadvantage of backgound variation in the window (interference in window), used in moving average, frame filtering and spatial and scaling modeling methods.

Geochemical Indications of Possible Gas Hydrates in the Northeastern South China Sea

Gas hydrate, mainly composed of hydrocarbon gas and water, is considered to be a clean energy in the 21st century. Many indicators such as BSRs （Bottom-Simulating Reflections）, which are thought to be related to gas hydrate, are found in the South China Sea （SCS） in recent years. The northeastern part of the SCS is taken as one of the most potentials in the area by many scientists. It is situated in the conjunction of the northern divergent continental margin and the eastern convergent island margin, whose geological settings are much preferable for gas hydrate to occur. Through this study, brightness temperature anomalies recorded by satellite-based thermal infrared remotely sensed images before or within the imminent earthquake, the high content of hydrocarbon gas acid-degassed from subsurface sediment and the high radioactive thermoluminescence value of subsurface sediment were found in the region. Sometimes brightness temperature anomalies alone exist in the surrounding of the Dongsha Islands. The highest content of hydrocarbon gas amounts to 393 μL methane per kilogram sediment and the highest radioactive thermoluminescence value is 31752 unit; their geometric averages are 60.5 μL/kg and 2688.9 unit respectively. What is more inspiring is that there are three sites where the methane contents are up to 243, 268 and 359μL/kg and their radioactive thermoluminescence values are 8430, 9537 and 20826 unit respectively. These three locations are just in the vicinity of one of the highest confident BSRs identified by predecessors. Meanwhile, the anomalies are generally coincident with other results such as headspace gas anomaly in the sediment and chloride anomaly in the interstitial water in the site 1146 of Leg 184. The above-mentioned anomalies are most possibly to indicate the occurrence of gas hydrate in the northeastern SCS.

Geochemical and Geophysical Data Processing Aided by“Multifractal-Spectrum”Filters for GIS-Based Mineral Exploration

A recently developed method, on the bases of “multifractal spectrum” filters for mineral exploration, is introduced in this paper. The “multifractal spectrum” filters, a group of irregularly shaped filters that are constructed on each processed datum, can be used to separate various types of geochemical and geophysical anomalies. The basic model, with an emphasis on the GIS based implementation and the application to the geochemical and geophysical data processing for mineral exploration in southern Nova Scotia, Canada, indicates its advantage in the separation of multiple anomalies from the background.

Geochemical Properties and StratigraphicalCorrelation of Frasnian-Famennian TransitionalStrata in Wuzhishan Section

The qualities of petrology and paleobiology in Wuzhishan Section are studied. Several geo-chemical anomalies are recognized, such as: high rare earth element content, high pyrite content and Ni anomalies. It could be correlated with Nandong Section in Xiangzhou County and the F/F boundary could be determined according to Ni anomalies. The results of the study indicate that the geochemical anomaly plays an important role in stratigraphic correlation in non-fossil stratum.

Experimental study on geochemical characteristic of methane hydrate formed in porous media

The natural occurrence of methane hydrates in marine sediments has been intensively studied over the past decades, and geochemical charac-teristic of hydrate is one of the most attractive research fields. In this paper, we discussed the geochemical anomaly during hydrate formation in porous media. By doing so, we also investigated the temperature influence on hydrate formation under isobaric condition. It turns out that sub-cooling is an important factor to dominate hydrate formation. Larger subcooling provides more powerful driving force for hydrate formation. During the geochemical anomaly research, six kinds of ions and the total dissolved salt （TDS） were measured before and after the experiment in different porous media. The result is that all kinds of ionic concentration increased after hydrate formation which can be defined as salting out effect mainly affected by gas consumption. But the variation ratio of different ions is not equal. Ca^2＋ seems to be the most significantly influenced one, and its variation ratio is up to 80%. Finally, we theoretically made a model to calculate the TDS variation, the result is in good accordance with measured one, especially when gas consumption is large.

Hydro-geochemistry of groundwater and surface water in Dschang town(West Cameroon):Alkali and alkaline-earth elements ascertain lithological and anthropogenic constraints

The study aims to identify a suitable site for open and bore well in a farmhouseusing ground magnetic survey in south India.It also aims to define depth to granitoid and structural elements which traverse the selected area.Magnetic data(n=84)measured,processed and interpreted as qualitative and quantitatively.The results of total magnetic intensities indicate that the area is composed of linear magnetic lows trending NE-SW direction and circular to semi-circular causative bodies.The magnetic values ranged from-137 nT to 2345 nT with a mean of 465 nT.Reduction to equator shows significant shifting of causative bodies in the southern and northern directions.Analytical signal map shows exact boundary of granitic bodies.Cosine directional filter has brought out structural element trending NE-SW direction.Results of individual profile brought to light structurally weak zone between 90 m and 100 m in all the profile lines.Sudden decrease of magnetic values from 2042 nT to 126 nT noticed in profile line 6 between 20 m and 30 m indicates fault occurrence.Magnetic breaks obtained from these maps were visualized,interpreted and identified two suitable sites for open and bore well.Radially averaged power spectrum estimates depth of shallow and deep sources in 5 m and 50 m,respectively.Euler method has also been applied to estimate depth of granitoid and structural elements using structural indexes 0,1,2,and 3 and found depth ranges from<10 m to>90 m.Study indicates magnetic method is one of the geophysical methods suitable for groundwater exploration and site selection for open and borewells.