History and evaluation of national-scale geochemical data sets for the United States

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（NUREHSSR） 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 nationalscale geochemical mapping.

Comparative Study and Spatial-Temporal Distribution of Regolith and Rock Geochemical Data from Xingmeng-North China

1 Introduction Geochemical mapping at national and continental scales continues to present challenges worldwide due to variations in geologic and geotectonic units.Use of the proper sampling media can provide rich information on

Identification of the Original Tectonic Setting for Oceanic Andesite Using Discrimination Diagrams:An Approach Based on Global Geochemical Data Synthesis

Systematical analyses of data from GEOROC and PetDB database show that large amount of Cenozoic andesites occurred in the various oceanic environments such as mid-oceanic ridge,plumerelated island and oceanic arc.In this study,we employed the geochemical data of 351 mid-ocean ridge andesites(MORA),2539 plume-related andesites(PRA)and 3488 oceanic arc andesites(OAA)from the database to discuss the relationship between andesite tectonic settings and their geochemical features,thereby making an attempt to construct tectonic discrimination diagrams.Based on the data-driven pattern,all available elements were employed to derive logratios for the possible coordinates,and the overlap-rate calculation was adopted to evaluate the discrimination effect of more than 330000 prospective diagrams.Finally,four tectonic discrimination diagrams have been successfully established to identify MORA,PRA and OAA,which can be utilized to identify the original settings of andesite with an age range from Cenozoic to Archean a certain extent.Of these diagrams,PRA is mainly distinguished by high LREE/HREE ratio due to enriched mantle source.Whereas,OAA is mainly characterized by high LILE/HFSE ratio,which reveals that fluids derived from subducted slab play an important role in forming oceanic arc andesites.Consequently,the petrogenesis of andesites is closely related to their tectonic settings.However,it should be noted that those andesites formed in both continental and oceanic environments cannot be effectively distinguished using these diagrams.We strongly recommend integrating the discrimination diagrams result with other geological information to reach a comprehensive interpretation of evolution history with those ancient andesites.This paper presents a case study which suggests that data-driven method is a powerful tool for solving geological problems in this’big data’era.

Application of fractal content-gradient method for delineating geochemical anomalies associated with copper occurrences in the Yangla ore field,China

Fractal and multi-fractal content area method finds application in a wide variety of geological,geochemical and geophysical fields.In this study,the fractal content-gradient method was used on1：10,000 scale to delineate geochemical anomalies associated with copper mineralization.Analysis of geochemical data from the Yangla super large Cu-Pb-Zn polymetallic ore district using the fractal content-gradient method,combined with other geological data from this area,indicates that oreprospecting in the ore district should focus on Cu as the main metal and Pb-Zn and Au as the auxiliary metals.The types of deposits include（in chronological order） re-formed sedimentary exhalative（SEDEX）,skarns,porphyries,and hydrothermal vein-type deposits.Three ore-prospecting targets are divided on a S-N basis：（1） the Qulong exploration area,in which the targets are porphyry-type Cu deposits;（2） the Zongya exploration area,where the targets are porphyry-type Cu and hydrothermal vein-type Cu-Pb polymetallic deposits;and（3） the Zarelongma exploration area,characterized mainly skarn-type ＂Yangla-style＂ massive sulfide Cu-Pb deposits.Our study demonstrates that the fractal content-gradient method is convenient,simple,rapid,and direct for delineating geochemical anomalies and for outlining potential exploration targets.

High-Resolution Geochemical Significance of Lowest Triassic at Majiashan Section, Chaohu, Anhui Province, China

The Permian Triassic boundary (PTB) and the lowest Triassic in the Yangtze region are considered to be the sediments of dysaeroxic and even anoxic environments, due to the dark thin bedded fine deposits, the highly developed parallel beddings with pyrites, the suppression of bio disturbance, and the monotonous fossils. However, the trace fossils there show a rather weak effect of the anoxic event. Meanwhile, the high resolution geochemical data are analyzed with 2 cm interval in the PTB and the lowest Triassic at the Majiashan Section, Chaohu, Anhui Province. The results show that the water depth of Chaohu region in the earliest Triassic was shallow, which might be a feature of the neritic environment. The high resolution geochemical proxies for anoxia have some contrary results. The geochemical data often indicate the dysaeroxic and even anoxic environments during that time, whereas other proxies (such as w (V)/ w (Cr), w (Ni)/ w (Co)) denote that they are normal marine sediments.

An ice-ocean model study to explore climate change mechanisms in comparison with interannual-to-decadal variability of geochemical tracers

One way to identify the mechanisms that are crucial to Arctic climate change is to use existing data that exhibit interannual-to-decadal variability in the sea ice and ocean interior due to atmospheric forcing. Since around 1960s, valuable geochemical data of the ocean interior, together with atmospheric and sea ice data, have been analyzed and examined in a coupled ice-ocean model with an idealized configuration of the Arctic Basin. This is fundamentally driven by negative salt flux, in addition to atmospheric circulation and cooling. This strategy has a clear advantage over more sophisticated models with higher resolution that require extensive data collections for verification. Around 1990, the dominant atmospheric mode shifted from the Northern Annular Mode （NAM） to the Arctic Dipole Mode （ADM）. The variability of sea ice cover was explained by these two modes sequentially and reproduced in the model. In particular, the geochemical fields indicated a movement of the Transpolar Drift Stream due to the NAM and an oscillation of the Pacific water between the Atlantic and Pacific sides due to the ADM. Both these features were reproduced reasonably well by the oceanic tracers in the model, including the time lags of about one third of the oscillation periods. Thus, this strategy can suggest methods and locations for monitoring oceanographic responses to Arctic climate change.

Geochemical Variations of the Late Paleozoic Granitoids from the Baolidao Arc-Accrection Belt in Southeastern Segment of Central Asia Orogenic Belt:Implications for Tectonic Transition from Early Carboniferous to Early Permian

Compositional changes in successively erupted felsic rocks can be used to infer physical changes in lower crustal conditions and to enhance the understanding of the tectonic regime.This study presents geochronological,geochemical and isotopic data for two I-type granitic plutons in the Sonid Left Banner of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.Our new data,together with compiled I-type granitoid data,reveal the presence of magma compositional transition at~305 Ma in the Baolidao arc-accretion belt.The early stage granitoids(330-305 Ma)are medium-K calc-alkaline with higher Sr/Y ratios.The late stage granitoids(305-270 Ma)are high-K calc-alkaline with lower Sr/Y ratios.The two-stage granitoids have roughly similar predominately positive Sr-Nd-Hf isotope values,but with a decreasing trend from the early to late stages.Geochemical data indicate that the early stage granitoids were generated by dehydration melting of juvenile mafic crust at amphibole-dominated depths.In contrast,the late stage granitoids were produced by dehydration melting of a mixed lithology containing juvenile K-rich mafic lower crust and supracrustal materials at the plagioclase-stable crustal level.We propose that the compositional transition of these granitoids can be linked with different slab behaviors of the northward subducting Paleo-Asian oceanic plate,and also with the back-arc tectonic settings.