A new approach to dividing the tectonic setting of igneous rocks: machine learning and GeoTectAI software

Abstract

For a long time, elucidating the tectonic setting of unknown rock samples has been a focal point for geologists. Traditional methodologies for this purpose have been scrutinized increasingly due to their inherent limitations. In response to these challenges, this paper applies modern machine learning techniques to analyze the geochemical data of igneous rocks and improve understanding of tectonic settings. By employing a variety of machine learning models, including Decision Trees, K-Nearest Neighbors, Support Vector Machines, Random Forests, Extreme Gradient Boosting, and Artificial Neural Networks, and training with 23 features comprising nine major elements (SiO₂, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, CaO, MgO, MnO, Na₂O, K₂O, and P₂O₅) along with 14 trace elements (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu), the study successfully distinguished between seven different tectonic settings. Among these models, Random Forest, Extreme Gradient Boosting, and Artificial Neural Networks demonstrated superior classification accuracy and recall rates, with accuracies of 0.85, 0.87, and 0.86, respectively. This validates the effectiveness and potential of machine learning technologies in distinguishing the tectonic settings of igneous rocks through their geochemical elements. To enable geologists and researchers to more accurately understand and predict the origins of igneous rocks without the need to master machine learning knowledge, a user-friendly software, GeoTectAI, has been developed.