Stream sediment geochemistry as a tool for enhancing geological understanding: an overview of new data from south west England

Kirkwood, Charlie; Everett, Paul; Ferreira, Antonio; Lister, Bob. 2016 Stream sediment geochemistry as a tool for enhancing geological understanding: an overview of new data from south west England. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 163. 28-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.01.010

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Abstract/Summary

The requirements for quantitative data in geological surveillance are ever increasing; traditional geological maps and 3D models are evolving into quantitative conceptual models based on a broad range of analytical measurements of surface and subsurface properties. The British Geological Survey's Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment (G-BASE) project provides one such source of data: national coverage of stream sediment, stream water and soil geochemistry. While this geochemical data is of obvious benefit to our understanding of the present day surface environment, the rich geological diversity of south west England provides an ideal setting in which to showcase the potential of such data to enhance our understanding of the underlying bedrock. In this paper we use compositional data analysis to extract lithostratigraphic information from G-BASE stream sediment data. We find that variations in G-BASE stream sediment geochemistry correspond very closely to mapped variations in bedrock geology. Geochemical variations between the 16 lithostratigraphic domains into which we classify the region provide insight into the distinct geological histories of the lithologies within each domain, particularly in relation to depositional environments and sediment provenance.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.01.010
ISSN:	0375-6742
NORA Subject Terms:	Earth Sciences Data and Information
Date made live:	26 Feb 2016 09:01 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512963

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.01.010

ISSN:

0375-6742

NORA Subject Terms:

Earth Sciences
Data and Information

Date made live:

26 Feb 2016 09:01 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512963