Preparing Illustrations and Writing Reports

From Field Study to Report Writing 

On returning from the world , the next preparations for report writing are often done at once: 

1. Have films developed and printed.

2. Unpack rock samples and lay them out in order by age, by collecting date, or by geographic position. 

3. Get help from paleontologists to identify fossils, make geologic age assignments, and assess depositional facies. 

4. Read through the world notes carefully, making lists of (a) samples that need to be prepared for petrographic or other laboratory analyses, and (b) data and ideas that are significant in light of the entire field study.

5. Read all field summaries and unit descriptions, listing or indexing sig- nificant items.

6. Study pertinent literature andgeologic maps, taking notes on: (a) items which can help in describing the regional setting of the study; (b) data which can be added on to the foremost results of the study; and (c) disagreements in unit names or other specifics which can require further research or cor- respondence with the authors or suitable experts. 

7. Begin final assembly and checking of the geologic map, cross sections, and columnar sections, as described in Section 16-2. 

Composing aplan for the report should not be difficult if the aim of the project was clear (Section 1-3) and if evidence and interpretations are reviewed periodically during the world season (Section 1-6). the aim of the project predetermines the general nature of the report also as its readers, who must be considered during all stages of organization and writing. Reports for nongeologists require careful organization and use of only the foremost common geologic terms. Geologist readers vary in degree of specialization, field experience, and access to a library, therefore the rule, again, is to write down down as simplyand clearly as possible. This rule applies especially to reports intended for a broad spectrum ofgeologists and for the permanent scientific record, and this is often often the general case assumed during this chapter. Reports on specialized studies which can be published in journals must be so brief on require thoroughplanning and tight writing, but they need to be directed to a general audience the utmost amount as possible (Cochran et al. , 1974). Reports making specific recommendations, like for drilling sites or engineered structures, have the thrust of selling ideas, often to specific readers, and must be organized and worded accordingly.

Outlines and further suggestions for several kinds of reports are pre- sented in Section 16-4. No preexisting outline, however, provides a basis for actually beginning a specific report, whereas the next questions may: 

1. in view of the project's purpose and a final review of the literature, what are the more valuable conclusions resulting from the study? 2. What data and relations led to those conclusions?

3. Were the methods of the study unusual enough so as that they need to be described? regardless of their originality, will an overview be needed to convince the reader of their validity and precision? 

In order to adopt an instantaneous writing style at the outset, answer these questions as if they were being asked by a reader. For question 2, for instance, list the data and relations within the order which can be most convincing to the reader. Write as if you were lecture the reader, or perhaps as if you were talking informally to several geologists. re-evaluate what you've written several times, on several days, and sometimes once you are not rushed. 

When you are satisfied along side your answers to the three questions, recom- pose the answers into a summary of the project. Give the aim first, then the methods, then the chief findings, and eventually the conclusions. This summary are getting to be a fast version of your report and will be condensed later into the report's abstract. the aim and conclusions could even be brought together to make the first paragraph of the report itself. Before organizing further sections, however, complete and study the map and sections also as other illustrations which can contribute on to the statements of your summary. you'll be wanting to modify your summary after doing these things . 

Major Illustrations First 

Maps, cross sections, and columnar sections convey most of the data in geologic reports. If they're prepared before the report is written, the report is likely: (1) to be more accurate than otherwise; (2) to not repeat informa- tion shown clearly on these illustrations; and (3) include descriptions of data and relations not apparent within the illustrations. If pencil drafts of the illustrations haven't been completed within the sector (Sections 1-7,6-5, and 11-9), they need to be completed before summarizing the world study, as described above. 

The final illustrations should meet the wants of the project yet require as little time and expense as possible. If the map and cross sections are placed on one plate, readers can visualize the geology in three dimensions conve- niently. The plate should be as small as consistent with clarity,Use of color on the last word map is desirable and practical when only a few of copies are getting to be needed, whereas colored maps and sections are costly to breed and are usually published only by govern- ment agencies. When planning a map for publication, the publisher’s requirements must be determined at the outset. 

A major question is whether or not or not the geologic map will need a topographic base or whether a planimetric base of drainage and roads are getting to be adequate. an inexpensive because of produce a combined topographic and geologic map is to draft the geology in black ink on a green chronoflex topographic base (Section 6-1) or on a screened black reproduction of the topographic base. When printed by most of the methods described below, the black ink lines will reproduce distinctly darker than the green or screened lines, so as that topography are often distinguished from geology. If mapping was done on surveyor's instrument sheets, and thus the contours and other geographic features will obs- cure the geology if all are shown in black, the geography and contours are often traced first in black and reproduced as a screened transparent positive on which the geology is inked. Use of a typical topographic map as a base is restricted by the actual fact that it will be illegible when reduced quite 50%. 

Geographic names must be accurate, and each one names utilized within the text of a report should appear on a minimum of 1 map accompanying the report. The Domestic Names Committee of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names supervises the standardization of geographic names within the us , and only names authorized by this committee appear on published maps and charts of the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service, and thus the National Ocean Survey. These sources thus function standards to be used on new geologic maps and in reports. the essential policy of the committee is to follow present-day local usage of names. If locally named features which may be useful on a map aren't named on the published maps and charts mentioned above, it's advisable to write down down the committee about the use of the new name. Before concocting names for completely unnamed features, it's recommended to read the section on geographic names in Bishop, Eckel, et al. (1978) before proposing a replacement name to the committee. 

Engineering geologic maps may cover such an honest kind of rock proper- ties and other information that quite one map could even be needed. Docu- mentation maps show locations of all measurements, samples, or observations also because the info obtained. Derived maps present information extrapolated over relevant areas, generally by colors, patterns, or contours. Structure contour maps are derived maps showing elevations on a unit con- tact or other surface of interest, and isopach maps are contoured so on show thicknesses of a unit or of overburden. Additional kinds of derived maps show various grades of a rock property, or presence or absence of a property or a critical unit (Section 5-7). Where a surficial deposit covers another deposit of interest, the colors or patterns for the two units are interstriped, or other patterns or colors are used to indicate the unit sequence. Complex sequences are often indicated by brief logs at data sites (Fig. 5-10). Still another quite derived map shows areal distributions of units and structures at some specific depth or at some elevation above a datum. Varnes (1974) has described and illustrated several kinds of engi- neering geologic maps, and samples of actual map series are those by Easterbrook (1973,1976) and Pewe and Bell (1976). 

Duplication processes range greatly in cost, convenience, and nature of products, and will limit the size of the last word plate. the knowledge given here is general and can be checked thoroughly at local blueprint com- panies. for large plates, like geologic maps, the least-expensive prints are made from a transparent or translucent original by the diazo process (and similar processes), which give black, blue, or brown lines on white paper or transparent Mylar base. The paper copies often yellow with age and are not strong enough for repeated handling; however, “card stock” gives white-based durable prints. The Xerox Large Document Printer pro- duces copies up to 24 in. wide on paper of fantastic quality and permits reduction from either an opaque or transparent original. 

The various “blueprint” processes are generally costlier because they produce a negative print, and thus a transparent negative must be prepared first. they supply durable prints on high quality paper, with maxi- mum size limited by the size of the vacuum frame available. 

Generally the foremost expensive process is that of getting the plate photo-graphed and copies printed from the negative. This procedure permits pre-cise enlargement or reduction and should give large copies (e.g., 42 in. wide) on top quality paper or Mylar.

If copies 18 x 24 in. or smaller are getting to be adequate, Photomechanical transfer(PMT) provides excellent copies on a selection of materials at moderate cost. Small illustrations can also be reproduced inexpensively by Xerox or Color Xerox, with enlargement or reduction commonly available.

Drawing the map usually consists of taping a transparent sheet over a penciled compilation and tracing the geologic features in black ink. The features are inked in an order such features inked later are broken so on not obscure features already inked. 

A suggested order is: 

(1) locations of fossil collections; 

(2) structure symbols without numbers; 

(3)faults; 

(4) contacts; 

(5) cross-section lines; 

(6) numbers for structure sym-bols; 

(7) numbers for fossil locations; and 

(8) letter symbols for rock units. If the tracing isn't made on a chronoflex or screened map base, this stuff are inked so as before item 

9: (1) culture; (2) drainage; (3) geographic names; (4) contours; and (5) lines of longitude and latitude or lines of cadas-tral surveys (in most cases these are shown as ticks within the margin rather than across the entire map).

If the units are getting to be patterned in black and white, the patterns are added after the map has been checked and cleaned. Patterns, like colors, are used to emphasize structural relations and to worry locations of certain units. 

It is generally desirable to remain patterns light aside from units that need emphasis and carry no structural symbols. Commonly, alternate units (or more) needn't be patterned, because unit symbols identify them adequately. Prepared stick-on patterns (Craftint, Zipatone) are always uni-form but are difficult to use to small irregular areas and to trim around structure symbols and geographic names. it's getting to thus be quicker and easier to hand-pattern all units except people that form large, simple areas. Maps of foliated rocks are more expressive if patterned parallel to the strike of folia-tion. If structure symbols and numbers prove difficult to draw, stick-on and rub-on copy is out there commercially.