Spatio-temporal synchronization in complex ore-forming systems: Mesoscale case study in south China

Abstract Synchronization is an important current frontier area of nonlinear sciences. In order to explore the spatio-temporal evolution of ore-forming elements in complex system at mesoscale, the principles, promises, methods and procedures of a spatio-temporal synchronization method were defined. Based on the phase conversion equation, the phase data and the phase difference were calculated in two directions, and the phase difference constant was set as 0.1 as a critical value to extract the plateau length in two directions. After the plateau length in both directions was superimposed, we got the synchronization threshold. Through its spatio-temporal extension, the synchronized space-time domain was determined. Then, we utilized geostatistics and Kriging method to generate the map of synchronized space-time domain, which includes ore formation, time and space. Applying the developed method and using local stream sediment geochemical data in Dajishan tungsten deposit (China), we have carried out the research on the synchronization of pairwise matching elements between ore-forming and ore-transporting elements in two directions at mesoscale, besides pairwise matching elements between ore-forming elements. Results indicate that the mineralization time-space domains of W, Sn, Mo, Bi, Cu, Pb, Zn, Au, Ag, and Be elements in the study area and their isoconcentration contours show a good coincident correspondence. For pairwise matching elements of ore-forming element matching with ore-transporting element, the high synchronization threshold area appears on the edge of the element mineralization center in the map of space-time domain for synchronization (or mineralization), which reveals the onset of ore formation; For pairwise matching elements between ore-forming elements, it reveals the mechanism of ore formation. Furthermore, this theory and method can be also applied to other fields of geochemistry, such as environmental geochemistry.