Environmental and Mineralogical Characteristics of Tourmaline-bearing localities in the United States
Description
Background
This dataset contains the compiled mineralogical records of 458 tourmaline-bearing sites in the United States. Environmental parameters associated with each locality such as surface temperature, precipitation, and geothermal gradient have also been recorded. Geological processes were identified for each locality using site and mineral descriptions from mineral databases and they were also interpreted using machine learning algorithms. Market basket analysis algorithms were utilized to identify patterns within the mineralogical data and these patterns were attributed to the geological processes listed in the dataset.
Data Sources
Mineral occurrence data were retrieved from Mindat.org for the tourmaline minerals schorl, dravite, elbaite, uvite, and foitite. Mineral descriptions listed in the Handbook of Mineralogy (Anthony et al., 2004) web database aided in the identification of different geological processes. Geothermal gradient data are interpolated from values listed in geothermal temperature studies conducted by Batir et al. (2013), Kron and Stix (1982), and Nathenson and Guffanti (1987). Elevation data were retrieved from the USGS Elevation Point Query Service and the climatic data from the WorldClim dataset. Köppen-Geiger climatic zones were assigned to each locality using data published by Kottek et al. (2006) and made available at http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/
Files
TourmalineLocalities.csv
Additional details
References
- Nathenson, M., & Guffanti, M. (1987). Compilation of geothermal-gradient data in the conterminous United States (p. 33). Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey.
- Kron, A., & Stix, J. (1982). Geothermal gradient map of the conterminous United States (No. LA- UR-82-1434; CONF-821007-1). Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA).
- Batir, J. F., Blackwell, D. D., & Richards, M. C. (2013). Updated heat flow of Alaska, new insights into the thermal regime: Final Report to the Alaska Energy Authority and Alaska Center for Energy and Power. June 15, 2013.
- Kottek, M., Grieser, J., Beck, C., Rudolf, B., & Rubel, F. (2006). World map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated. Meteorologische Zeitschrift, 15(3), 259-263.
- Anthony, J. W., Bideaux, R. A., & Nichols, M. C. (2004). Handbook of Mineralogy. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org