Data processing requirements and visual representation for stream sediment exploration geochemical surveys

Abstract

Abstract The growth of exploration geochemical drainage surveys has led to the use of electronic computers to process the data, and the data must be coded into a machine-processable form. The coding scheme employed is the key to fast, efficient data processing. In practice, each geochemical survey will have its own characteristics and a universal coding scheme is impracticable. However, certain basic principles should be observed. Various methods, such as optical cards, have been used to improve the coding and keypunching of data whilst statistical processing packages and remote terminals have become common in data processing. Stream sediment data from southwestern New Brunswick and the Bathurst—Jacquet River area of northern New Brunswick were stored in a data base system. An evaluation of display mediums led to a modified version of SYMAP being employed to display geochemical data by a computer map produced on the line printer. Contour mapping was found to be more suitable for the recognition of geochemical patterns than proximal mapping. The maps, which could be produced quickly and economically, were an important tool in the display of the results of statistical techniques such as Q-mode factor analysis and discriminant analysis.