The apt-transform maps a composition in the D-part real-simplex
  linearly to a D-1 dimensional euclidian vector. Although the
  transformation does not reach the whole \(R^{D-1}\), resulting covariance
  matrices are typically of full rank.
The data can then
  be analysed in this transformation by all classical multivariate
  analysis tools not relying on distances. See
  cpt and ipt for alternatives. The
  interpretation of the results is easy since the relation to the first
  D-1 original variables is preserved.
    
The additive planar transform is given by
  $$ apt(x)_i := clo(x)_i, i=1,\ldots,D-1 $$