X-Ray Map Analyser: A new ArcGIS® based tool for the quantitative statistical data handling of X-ray maps (Geo- and material-science applications)

A new semi-automated image processing procedure based on multivariate statistical analysis of X-ray maps of petrological and material science interest has been developed to generate high contrast pseudo-coloured images highlighting the element distribution between and within detected mineral phases. This new tool package, developed in Python and integrated with ArcGis®, generates in only a few minutes several graphical outputs useful for classifying chemically homogeneous zones as well as extracting quantitative information through the statistical data handling of X-ray maps. The code, largely based on the use of functions implemented in ArcGis® 9.3 equipped with Spatial Analyst and Data Management licences, has been suitably integrated with original cyclic functions that hugely reduce the time taken to complete lengthy procedures. In particular these tools, after the acquisition of any kind of multispectral images allow fast and powerful data processing for efficient illustration and documentation of key compositional and microtextural relationships in rocks and materials.