Spatial reasoning and integration techniques for geophysical and geological exploration data
Ping. An · Mspace (University of Manitoba) · 1993
An integratecl approach is one of the most clistinguishing characteristics of explo- ration for non-renewable resources.The integratecl exploration using multiple spatiai data sets is mathematically represented and moclelecl in ihis thesis.Ftzzy set theo- ry provides an acLequate tool to represent imprecise and incomplete geophysical and geological information ancl to integrate the information for a specific exploration target.Dempster-Shafer eviclential belief function provicles a more natural basis for representation of geophysical and geological information than the traclitional proba- bility approach.Integrated results using belief function consequently provide a more realistic description about a proposition towards the exploration target" The ftzzy set approach and the Ðempster-Shafer approach can be used both in areas wirete there ar-e actuai known exploration target occllrrences ancl also in areas lvhere there aïe as yet no reported target occurrences.An object-oriented knowledge represen- tation structure and corresponding inference mechanisms l¡ased on belief function theory are developed for a knowledge-trased approach of integrating geophysical and geological data.An object-oriented and map-t,asecl prototype expert system is irnple- mented to test this object-orientecl knowledge representation structure and its corresponding inference mechanisms for base metal exploration application.The lesulting system appeaïs very effective in handling complex integrated exploration problems.The information representation and integration techniques using fuzzy set and belief function approaches, and the prototype expert systern are testecl with real minelal exploration data from the Farley Lake and Snow Lalçe areas, Manitoba, Canada.The test results demonstrate considerably improved accuracy and effectiveness in information representation techniques using the fuzzy set and belief function approaches relative to the conventional intuitive approach.The knowledge representation struc- ture and inference mechanisms impiementecl in the expert system also perforrneil weil and provide a robust theoretical basis for developing a comprehensive expert system for non-renewable resource exploration.vl & r,&