A geochemical expert system prototype using object-oriented knowledge representation and a production rule system

This paper presents the design and development of a Geochemical Expert System prototype (GES) for analyzing solution—mineral interactions in nature. The emphasis is placed on expert system design and knowledge representation. One of the most challenging and research-intensive steps was the identification of the key geochemical characteristics that would enable the expert system to identify salient features of any user-defined geochemical composition. Moreover, developing a system to create geochemical interpretations similar to those written by expert geochemists proved to be difficult. Important geochemical characteristics and their interrelationships which were “discovered” during knowledge acquisition and conceptualization are presented. These characteristics have been organized and documented within the expert system to emulate the skills of an expert geochemist. Examples of expert system-generated analyses are presented.