Reconstruction of spatial and temporal changes of marine facies in the Bahamas through topological data analysis

Abstract

The Bahamas consist of some of the most well-studied examples of carbonate platforms in the world. They are also a setting where numerous interactions among various sedimentary facies types are taking place, raising questions regarding the temporal aspect of those changes. This master’s thesis will attempt to contribute to the understanding of the temporal dynamics of spatial heterogeneity related to carbonate platforms such as those in the Bahamas, studying how the facies found in carbonate platforms are changing within short timescales. In this respect, tools derived from topological data analysis (TDA), a developing field of data analysis which has been gaining prominence over the last years, will be implemented for the purpose of identifying the scale of the underlying temporal dynamics taking place in the Bahamas. More specifically, the persistence homology approach will be applied, as it currently is the most widely used approach in topological data analysis. In this regard, this master’s thesis will attempt to interpret the spatial changes taking place in the Bahamas through the lens of topological data analysis, as well as to contribute to the understanding of topological data analysis’s potential in interpreting spatial datasets, an aspect which has seldom been explored.