5:15 PM - 6:45 PM
[MIS05-P02] Hands-on tutorial for the analysis of Itrax XRF core scanner data using the Corascope application
Keywords:Itrax, Corascope, XRF core scanning
XRF core scanner data on variations in the elemental composition form the backbone of the evaluation of both marine and lacustrine sedimentary archives. However, while the elemental composition and particularly elemental ratios can provide important data for stratigraphic correlations, paleoenvironmental interpretations, or even the chronostratigraphic age control, the amount of data produced can be intimidating. For example, a sedimentary core scanned at 1 mm resolution will produce over a thousand data points. When several sections of the same core are being scanned, it quickly becomes difficult to maintain an overview if data from all sections need to be merged into one data set for visualization and statistical analysis. In particular, because many cores contain invalid data points at the core section top and bottom, the data sets usually need some pruning before they can be merged.
Corascope (Kontsevich and Löwemark, 2021) is a stand-alone application that was developed to visually assist the pruning and merging processes when dealing with XRF data produced by the Itrax XRF core scanner. As core scanner data is imported into Corascope, scanned sections can be cropped using both the optical scans as well as the elemental profiles simultaneously. The interface allows for several ways to maintain core sections alignment during this data pruning procedure. Once invalid data points at the top and bottom are removed, the sections can be merged into a single cohesive dataset. The exported file containing the entire, merged dataset can then be exported without affecting the original data, which are left untouched.
Similarly, Corascope can be used to assist in the alignment and merging of overlapping core sections. This is particularly useful for paleolimnological studies where overlapping core halves retrieved with Russian Peat Corers are used. The application allows both the optical image and selected element or element ratios to be used to find the best overlap, and then the fit of the alignment is tested by a statistical algorithm in the application.
To make the Corascope application more accessible to Itrax users and the general audience, we here introduce two online tutorials that will guide the user through the various steps of importing and analyzing their Itrax data.
Corascope (Kontsevich and Löwemark, 2021) is a stand-alone application that was developed to visually assist the pruning and merging processes when dealing with XRF data produced by the Itrax XRF core scanner. As core scanner data is imported into Corascope, scanned sections can be cropped using both the optical scans as well as the elemental profiles simultaneously. The interface allows for several ways to maintain core sections alignment during this data pruning procedure. Once invalid data points at the top and bottom are removed, the sections can be merged into a single cohesive dataset. The exported file containing the entire, merged dataset can then be exported without affecting the original data, which are left untouched.
Similarly, Corascope can be used to assist in the alignment and merging of overlapping core sections. This is particularly useful for paleolimnological studies where overlapping core halves retrieved with Russian Peat Corers are used. The application allows both the optical image and selected element or element ratios to be used to find the best overlap, and then the fit of the alignment is tested by a statistical algorithm in the application.
To make the Corascope application more accessible to Itrax users and the general audience, we here introduce two online tutorials that will guide the user through the various steps of importing and analyzing their Itrax data.