Sedimentary environment prediction of grain-size data based on machine learning approach

Abstract

Grain size is one of the most important records for sedimentary environment, and researchers have made remarkable progress in the interpretation of sedimentary environments by grain size analysis in the past few decades. However, these advances often depend on the personal experience of the scholars and combination with other methods used together. Here, we constructed a prediction model using the K-nearest neighbors algorithm, one of the machine learning methods, which can predict the sedimentary environments of one core through a known core. Compared to the results of other studies based on the comprehensive data set of grain size and four other indicators, this model achieved a high precision value only using the grain size data. We have also compared our prediction model with other mainstream machine learning algorithms, and the experimental results of six evaluation metrics shed light on that this prediction model can achieve the higher precision. The main errors of the model reflect the length of the conversation area of sedimentary environment, which is controlled by the sedimentary dynamics. This model can provide a quick comparison method of the cores in a similar environment; thus, it may point out the preliminary guidance for further study.