Use of Microcomputers in Geology COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN THE EARTH SCIENCES Aseries edited by Daniel F. Merriam 19 69-Computer Applications in the Earth Sciences 19 70-Geostatistics 19 72-Mathematical Models of Sedimentary Processes 1981-Computer Applications in the Earth Sciences: An Update of the 70s 19 88-Current Trends in Geomathematics 19 92-Use of Microcomputers in Geology Use of Microcomputers in Geology Edited by Hans Kürzl Logistic-Monogement-Service Leoben, Austrio and Daniel F. Merriam Konsos Geologicol Survey University of Konsos Lowrence, Konsos Springer Science+Business Media, LLC Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Use of microcomputers in geology / edited by Hans Kürzl and Daniel F. Mer- riam. p. cm.—(Computer applications in the earth sciences) "Based on proceedings of an international geological congress symposium and poster session on the use of microcomputers in geology, held July 1989, in Wash- ington, D.C."—T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4899-2337-0 1. Geolog)'—Data processing—Congresses. 2. Microcomputers—Congresses. I. Kürzl, Hans. II. Merriam, Daniel Francis. III. Series. QE48.8.U84 1992 92-29735 550.'.285'416—dc20 CIP Based on proceedings of an International Geological Congress symposium and poster session on the Use of Microcomputers in Geology, held July 1989, in Washington, D.C. ISBN 978-1-4899-2337-0 ISBN 978-1-4899-2335-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-2335-6 © 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1992 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1992 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written persmission from the Publisher CONTRIBUTORS Agterberg, F.P., Geological Survey ofCanada, 601 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario, KlA OES, Canada Brower, J.C., Department of Geology, Syraeuse University, Syraeuse, New York 13244, USA Buccianti, G.F., Eeosystems s.a.s., Via Mariti 10,50127 Firenze, Italy Detay, M., International Training Center for Water Reeourees Management, B.P.U3, 06561 Valbonne, France Dunean, D.MeP., Department ofMines, Tasmania, Australia Dutter, R., Institute for Statisties and Probability Theory, Vienna, Austria Fisher, N.!., CSIRO Division of Mathematies and Statisties, Sydney, Australia Gelin, A., Maequarie University, Sydney, Australia Gunther, F .J., Computer Scienee Corporation, U 00 West Street, Laurel, MD 20707, USA Guth, P.L., DepartmentofOceanography, U.S. NavalAcademy, Annapolis, Maryland 21402, USA Holub, B.B., Institute of Geophysies, Mining University, Leoben University, A-S700 Leoben, Austria v VI CONTRIBUTORS Kamel, G., Institute for Statistics and Prob ability Theory, Vienna, Austria Kürzl, H., Logistic-Management-Service, Franz-Josef-Straße 6, A-8700 Leoben, Austria Merriam, D.F., Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, USA Minissale, A., Cnt. St. Mineral. Geochim. Sedim. (C.N.R), Via La Pira 4, 50121 Firenze, I taly Omoumi, H. Department of Geology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada Pereira, H.Garcia, CVRM -Instituto Superior Tecnico, Av.Rovisco Pais 1096, Lisboa Codex, Portugal Powell, C.McA., DepartmentofGeology, University ofWestern Australia, Perth, Australia Poyet, P., Department of Computer Science, CSTB, B.P. 141, 06561 Valbonne, France Smith, D.G.W., DepartmentofGeology, U niversityofAlberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada Soares, A., CVRM - Instituto Superior Tecnico, Av. Povisco Pais 1096, Lisboa Codex, Portugal Sternberg, RS., Department ofGeology, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17604-3003, USA Tabesh, E., Department ofGeology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, USA Vannier, M., Ecole des Mines Paris, 35 rue St Honore Fontainebleau, France Woodtli, R, Geodidax, 21 Avenue du temple, CH-1012 Lausanne, Switzerland PREFACE This volume 'Use ofMicrocomputers in Geology' is the sixth in the series Computer Applications in the Earth Sciences published by Plenum Press in New York. The series was started in 1969 to publish proceedings of important meetings on geomathematics and computer applications. The first two volumes recorded proceedings ofthe Colloquia (1969,1970) sponsored by the Kansas Geological Survey at The University ofKansas in Lawrence. The third volume was proceedings ofthe 8th International Sedimentological Congress (1971) held in Heidelberg, West Germany; the fourth was preceedings ofthe 8th Geochautauqua (1979) at Syracuse Universityin Syracuse, New York; and the fifth was selected papers from the 27th International Geological Congress (1989) held in Washington, D.C. All meetings were cosponsored by the International Association for Mathematical Geology. These special publications are important in the development of quantitative geology. Papers by a wide range of authors on a wide range of topics gives the reader a flavor for recent advances in the subject - in this volume, those advances in the use ofmicrocomputers. The 24 authors ofthe 15 papers come from nine countries -Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, UK, and USA. My coeditor, Hans Kürzl, has given pertinent information on the included papers in the Introduction. Microcomputers made their first impact in the earth sciences in about 1982. In nine years they have permeated every conceivable nitch in the science from workstations to laptop field computers. They are used foreverythingfrom numbercrunching, graphics toelectriccommunication, to word processing. They have become a way of life. Here then in this volume is a collection ofpapers extolling some ofthe virtues ofmicros. For the purist, it should be noted that all the papers in the IGC session on 'Microcomputer Applications in Geology' were not available for publication. Therefore, a few papers on the subject were 'commissioned' Vll PREFACE Vlll from practioners willing to make a contribution to 'fill out' the volume. It is sincerely hoped that this potpourri will inform. and inspire those interested in micros. Several people helped with the preparation ofthis volume. I want to thank the anonymous reviewers. Patricia M. Vann of Plenum Press arranged for publication ofthe volume. The authors are to be commended for their contributions, which if the volume enjoys any success will be because of their efforts. Skara, Sweden D. F. Merriam June,1991 CONTENTS Introduction ............................................................................ vii H. Kürzl Zoneography of mineral resources .......................................... 1 H.Garcia Pereira and A. Soares Teaching and testing strategy in mineral exploration by simulation techniques on personal computers .......... 9 M. Vannier and R. Woodtli Computer-aided decision techniques for hydrogeo- chemical uranium exploration ...................................... 25 P. Poyet Estimating the probability of occurrence of mineral deposits from multiple map patterns ............................ 73 F .P. Agterberg Use ofa laptop computer and spreadsheet software for geophysical surveys ................................................. 93 R.S. Sternberg A program for petrophysical database management.. ....... 109 B.B. Holub Artificial intelligence tools and techniques for water- resources assessment in Mrica ................................... 119 P. Poyet and M. Detay Hydrodat®: a package for hydrogeochemical data management ................................................................ 161 A. Minissale and G.F. Buccianti ix