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Abstract

Computer recognition of prospective areas through the processing of digital exploration data can be effective if the statistical tests for the determination of the prospects are pertinent to the presence of the desired mineral. Where exploration involves the application of polynomial trend analysis to structure contour maps in the search for petroleum and natural gas, standard analysis of variance tests may not indicate the best exploration maps. Variance tests may be completely invalid where isolated dips and clustered samples cause the surfaces generated by some of the most common trend programs to oscillate, creating a false impression of variance. On the other hand, tests that directly compare the position of residual features with areas of known production consistently indicate the best map for the determination of new prospects. They are simple to apply and appear to offer the most opportunity for the automatic recognition of prospective areas.

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Robinson, J.E., Singh, V. Automatic recognition of geologic prospects. Mathematical Geology 15, 183–195 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01030082

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01030082

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