Identifying trace metal distribution and occurrence in sediments, inundated soils, and non-flooded soils of a reservoir catchment using Self-Organizing Maps, an artificial neural network method.The Lancang-Mekong River is a trans-boundary river which provides a livelihood for over 60 million people in Southeast Asia. 
Self-Organizing Maps
The physicochemical attributes of 63 spatially distributed soil and sediment samples, along with land-use, flooding, topographic, and location characteristics, were analyzed using the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) methodology.  The SOM permits the analysis of complex multivariate datasets and gives a visual interpretation that is generally not easy to obtain using traditional statistical methods.  The analysis of SOM showed that flooded levels and land-use types were associated with high concentrations of Cd.  The results demonstrate that SOM is a useful tool that can aid in the interpretation of complex datasets and help identify the environment of enriched metals on a catchment scale.
SOM