Fuzzy Modeling of Surficial Uranium Prospectivity in British Columbia (Canada) with a Weighted Fuzzy Algebraic Sum Operator

• 来源期刊: 地球科学学刊（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2021,（2）
• 所属期刊栏目: Special Issue on Digital Geosciences and Quantitative Exploration of Mineral Resources
• 页码范围: 293-309
• 页数: 17页
• 语种: 英文

摘要

This paper demonstrates knowledge-guided fuzzy logic modeling of regional-scale surficial uranium (U) prospectivity in British Columbia (Canada). The deposits/occurrences of surficial U in this region vary from those in Western Australia and Namibia; thus, requiring innovative and carefully-thought techniques of spatial evidence generation and integration. As novelty, this papers introduces a new weighted fuzzy algebraic sum operator to combine certain spatial evidence layers. The analysis trialed several layers of spatial evidence based on conceptual mineral system model of surficial U in British Columbia (Canada) as well as tested various models of evidence integration. Non-linear weighted functions of (a) spatial closeness to U-enriched felsic igneous rocks was employed as U-source spatial evidence, (b) spatial closeness to paleo-channels as fluid pathways spatial evidence, and (c) surface water U content as chemical trap spatial evidence. The best models of prospectivity created by integrating the layers of spatial evidence for U-source, pathways and traps predicted at least 85％ of the known surficial U deposits/occurrences in >10％ of the study region with the highest prospectivity fuzzy scores. The results of analyses demonstrate that, employing the known deposits/occurrences of surficial U for scrutinizing the spatial evidence layers and the final models of pro-spectivity can pinpoint the most suitable critical processes and models of data integration to reduce bias in the analysis of mineral prospectivity.