Selection method to identify the dominant elements that contribute to magnetic susceptibility in sediment

Abstract

Abstract Measurements of magnetic susceptibility (χ) and chemical elements have been carried out on soils or sediments in various depositional environments for various purposes. Theoretically, the magnetic mineral content in nature is generally ferromagnetic which is characterized by the presence of a dominant element of Fe and is positively correlated with the value of χ and can be used as an indicator of environmental conditions. However, the presence of measured Fe elements does not always have a positive correlation with χ and if it has a positive correlation, often the correlation coefficient is very low. In this study, we offer simple steps to find out the dominant elements that correlate significantly with χ. First, a correlation analysis between χ and each measured element is carried out; Second, the elements that have a positive correlation coefficient are chosen; Third, summed all elements that have a positive correlation with χ and carried out a correlation test to χ (R). This step has been tested on sediments in various depositional environments and yields conclusions, if there is a positive correlation value between Fe and χ, even though the low value of r ∼ 0.3, a very significant correlation value will be obtained between total elements having positive r and χ, which is R approximately 0.9. The discovery of a dominant element that contributes to χ, then it will facilitate the determination of the minerals carrying magnetic properties.