Development of an Intelligent Aid in Lithostratigraphic Correlation

拟议工作的目标是开发一个智能决策辅助系统，以组织和处理地层对比数据，并最终解释喷发模式。 该系统以关系型数据库为数据存储基础，应用信息处理技术辅助灰岩地层对比和解释。 这项工作的直接智力价值在于开发了一个系统，可以帮助技术用户将火山灰和其他火山碎屑层联系起来，并最终确定喷发的年龄和模式。 本研究的试验区是Mono-Inyo火山口，这是一个具有复杂喷发历史的大型流纹岩火山场。 通过帮助组织复杂的，甚至相互矛盾的地层数据，该系统将能够帮助地质勘探的一个地区的过去，否则将难以解开。 这项工作对所有地层研究都有影响。 虽然拟议中的"智能关联系统“将对火山灰数据进行操作，但该方法中没有特别针对火山灰层的内容。 因此，该系统应易于转移，并提供了一个对比的援助，所有地层学家。 拟议研究的主要广泛影响被认为主要是在火山学的计算基础设施领域，以及地质学本身。 通过研究结果的公开、广泛传播，目标是使本文所述的智能系统可供地层学家使用。 研究结果将通过在顶级期刊上发表来传播，但也许更重要的是，通过互联网公开分享研究软件和技术。

The objective of the proposed work is to develop an intelligent decision-aid system to organize and process data for stratigraphic correlation and, ultimately, interpretation of eruption patterns. The system is to be based on a relational database for data storage, and application of information processing techniques to aid in tephrostratigraphic correlation and interpretation. The direct intellectual merit of the work lies in the development of a system that can help a technical user to correlate tephra and other pyroclastic layers, and ultimately determine age and pattern of eruptions. The test area proposed for this study is the Mono-Inyo Craters, a large rhyolitic volcanic field with a complicated eruption history. By helping to organize complex, even conflicting stratigraphic data, the system will be able to aid in geological exploration of an area with a past that would otherwise be difficult to unravel. There are implications of the work for all stratigraphic studies. Although the proposed ``intelligent correlation system'' will operate on tephra data, there is nothing particular to tephra layers built into the methodology. Therefore the system should be readily transferable, and provide a correlation aid for all stratigraphers. The major broad impacts of the proposed research are thought to be primarily in the realms of the computational infrastructure for volcanology, as well as geology itself. Through open, broad dissemination of research results, the goal is to have the intelligent system described herein available for use by stratigraphers. The results of the research will be disseminated by publication in top journals, but perhaps more importantly, by open sharing of research software and techniques through the Internet.