Cartographic techniques for mapping the geochemical data of stream sediments: the “Sample Catchment Basin” approach

The Sample Catchment Basin (SCB) mapping technique extends the representativeness of the geochemical features of stream sediments to the surface of the whole upstream drainage basin. SCB boundaries clash with the water divides traced from each sampling point and are limited upstream by the presence of further SCBs. They are also assumed to represent the elementary map unit. The rank of SCBs can be defined counting the number of upstream SCBs along the branches of a fluvial network. The presence of low rank SCBs minimizes the statistical redundancy of measures. The SCB technique is particularly suitable for the geochemical mapping of mountainous or hilly areas and to correctly display the information into a morphological context. This approach can be also valuable in the case of low sampling density, inhomogeneous sampling schemes, and especially when very accurate evaluations of the spatial distribution of chemicals (with natural or anthropogenic origin) are required.