Use of mineral magnetic measurements to fingerprint suspended sediment sources: approaches and techniques for data analysis

Three analytical approaches, qualitative, statistical and quantitative, are evaluated when applied to mineral magnetic data to identify the relative sediment source contributions to suspended sediment loads within a small catchment system. The qualitative and statistical analyses provide useful information in their own right but, in addition, indicate the feasibility of quantitative sediment source ascription using a sediment unmixing model based upon a linear programming algorithm. The criteria for such modelling are considered and the model formulation outlined. Model testing and initial output suggest that, under certain conditions, unmixing models have considerable potential for the quantification of suspended sediment source contributions. Qualitative and statistical analyses provide a subjective means to judge the quality of the model output. A number of limitations within the approach are identified and some possible solutions to these limitations suggested. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.