Geochemical Analysis System v1.

5
User Guide

Copyright Karjeni Pty Ltd 2002, 2003. All rights reserved.

Geochemical Analysis System v1.5

Karjeni Pty Ltd

Introduction

GAS is a multivariate analysis tool for geochemical data. It uses simple but powerful linked charts to allow the user to perform sophisticated data analysis. Data selected in one chart or view is modified in all the other views.

Key Concepts
Data Points Each row of data read in from your raw data file is treated as a data point. Each data point will be plotted in every appropriate view unless it is hidden via its attributes (see below). Attributes Each data point can have three attributes set independently - shape, colour and size. If the attributes are updated in one view (for example by lassooing a group of data points) the change in shape, size or colour will be reflected in the remaining views. Any attribute can be set to invisible. This is to allow certain groups of data points to be hidden to allow patterns in the remaining data to be analysed more easily. If a data point has been assigned any attribute which is flagged as invisible it won't be displayed in any view. Mouse Modes Different operations are available for each different chart type. The mouse toolbar changes to reflect the allowable operations as each chart is selected. Hovering over each button in the toolbar will display the button's purpose in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

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Geochemical Analysis System v1.5

Karjeni Pty Ltd

Opening Files

GAS reads data in Microsoft Excel format (any version from Excel 95 to Excel 2002). Your workbook should have only one worksheet and first row should contain headers for the columns. To open a file use the File -> Open menu or press ctrl-O. Select your data file. GAS will load the file and display the following dialog which you can use to specify special fields (eg Eastings and Northings) and data types. GAS will try to work out the most suitable data type based on the first few ros of data.

Note that the special columns for EAST and NORTH must be specified for the map option to be enabled. You can recall the column setup dialog at any time using Window -> Select Column Format Dialog, or ctrl-F.

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Geochemical Analysis System v1.5

Karjeni Pty Ltd

Once a file has been loaded you can select which data columns to plot using the Chart -> Select Data menu. You can add and remove columns to view by double-clicking the listed items or using the buttons. Click OK when you have finished.

Selecting Data to Plot

Important Note The first column selected (eg SiO2 in the sample above) becomes the primary column for the data plots. If you plot an Xy plot SiO2 will be the X-axis for all the plots. Note also that there are practical limitations to the number of columns that can be plotted in one go. A history of column selections is automatically stored and is available from the drop down list at the top of the dialog. You can revert to a previous selection by picking the selection from the list. It is possible to select Text type fields - they will be plotted with the text value along the axis in most plot types.

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Geochemical Analysis System v1.5

Karjeni Pty Ltd

Scatter Plots

GAS can plot two kinds of scatter plots - Xy and xY. They are similar but in the first case the primary data column is always plotted on the X axis and in the second case it is plotted on the Y axis. One chart will be plotted for each other selected column. To show scatter plots use the Chart -> Display -> Xy Charts or Chart -> Display -> xY Charts.

The toolbar available for an xY plot and an Xy plots is as follows :

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Geochemical Analysis System v1.5

Karjeni Pty Ltd

Ternary Diagrams
GAS can display data points in ternary diagrams.

The toolbar for ternary diagrams is the same as for scatter plots.

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Geochemical Analysis System v1.5

Karjeni Pty Ltd

Map Plots show the data points in "real world" coordinates. The symbols used to plot the points can either represent the attributes for that data point as defined in the other views, or can be scaled and coloured according to the value for each element. One map is created for each column selected. The options available are : Colour By Attributes The colour of the map symbols is determined by the colour attribute for each data point. The size is determined by the Scaled Symbols setting for the map (see below).

Map Plots

Colour By Value The colour of the symbol is determined by the value of the element plotted for the map. The complete range of values is split into bins, each with a nominally equal number of points. The values in the lowest bin are coloured blue and the highest are coloured red. The symbol size is determined by the Scaled Symbol settings for the map (see below).

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Geochemical Analysis System v1.5

Karjeni Pty Ltd

Scaled Symbols The size of the map symbol is determined by the value of the element plotted for the map. The colour is determined by the colour settings above.

The toolbar available for the Map Plot is show below :

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Geochemical Analysis System v1.5

Karjeni Pty Ltd

Attributes

One of the key concepts in GAS is attributes. Data Points have attributes assigned to them, and once assigned the attributes for each data point are visible in all plot windows. Attributes are used to distinguish geochemically distinct populations of data and generally represent rock types or alteration suites (or both). Attributes are set up in the System Wide Options Dialog (Window -> System Wide Options Dialog or ctrl-A). Three types of attributes can be specified independently for each data point - Shape, Colour and Size. To add a new attribute of a given type click the green '+', to remove an attribute click the red '-'. Note that the 'default' attributes can not be removed.

All data points assigned a particular attribute can be hidden from all active plot windows by turning off the visible flag. One attribute can be active at a time - the active attribute row is highlighted in the editor. Note that it is possible not to have an active attribute. Any data points selected will be assigned to the currently active attribute.

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Geochemical Analysis System v1.5

Karjeni Pty Ltd

Assigning Attributes to Data

There are a variety of selection modes to allocate attributes to points depending on the type of plot. You can toggle between the modes using the toolbar for the plot. The different selection modes are as follows : Point Selection Click on an individual point to assign that point the current active attribute. Polygon Selection Click a polygon around the points to be assigned the current active attribute. Histogram Bin Selection Click a bar on the histogram to assign the current active attribute to all points in that bin. Discrimination Plot Select Click a polygon within a discrimination plot to assign the current active attribute to all points within that polygon. Point selection allows individual points on a plot to be assigned to the current group. Polygon selection mode allows a group of points to be assigned in one go by drawing a polygon on the plot. A polygon is completed by double-clicking. The images below show polygon selection. Note that after the selection has taken place both plots have been updated with the new symbols even though the data was only selected on one point.

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Geochemical Analysis System v1.5

Karjeni Pty Ltd

Data can be transformed prior to plotting. This can be used to apply factors to the data or to plot the log value of the data. The transformations dialog (from menu Windows -> System Wide Options) allows you to specify which transformations to apply to which columns. Up to two transformations can be applied to any one column. The actual list of transformations available depends on your sites there is a transformations file which can be modified by a user. The same transformation can be applied to all columns using the controls at the bottom of the dialog. Changes to the transformations are immediately reflected in any open plot windows.

Transformations

It is also possible to change the X and/or Y axes to logarithmic in order to see different features in the data - use the Transforms -> Axis -> Log X and Log Y to toggle this option.

You can save your current data and groups using the File -> Save menu. GAS creates a specially formatted Excel spreadsheet which you can open and view. You should not modify this file as it contains specially formatted information which GAS needs to recall your group selections. When GAS reopens one of these files it will recall the attributes you have created and the attribute settings for each data point.

Saving Changes

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