This book is a basic guide to field techniques used in geological mapping. It is meant to be kept in camp with you and even carried in your rucksack in the field. In addition, because no piece of geological mapping can be considered complete until the geology has been interpreted and explained, chapters are provided on drawing cross-sections; on preparing and presenting ‘fair copy’ maps; and on presenting geological diagrams from your fieldwork suitable for inclusion in your report.

Geology is the study of the earth, its internal and external composition, structure, and processes by which it develops and is changed. Inasmuch as the earth is constantly changing, its processes and the history of its processes are important in the formation and preservation of economic mineral and hydrocarbon deposits.
As the earth changes, clues are formed that are important in the exploration for and the recovery of hydrocarbons. The history of the earth, and particularly the sedimentary record, is replete with clues, some obvious, some subtle, that provide important information in the search for natural resources and raw materials. Geologists, geophysicists, and engineers who explore for. find, and produce hydrocarbons must be able to interpret the geologic record and to evaluate physical, chemical, and biological parameters toward the successful conclusion of an exploration program. In this manner, the characteristics of the earth and its history tell the explorer and producer how hydrocarbons can be found profitably and eventually recovered and brought to market. <...>

Geostatistics, developed originally in the mining industry from the 1950s onwards, is now being applied widely in environmental science for mapping, monitoring and management. It is based on the theory of random spatial processes. There are numerous examples in soil science, meteorology, agronomy, hydrology, ecology and some aspects of marine science. By taking into account and modelling spatial correlation, geostatistics provides unbiased predictions of environmental variables with minimum and known variance in ways that no other method does. The general technique of prediction is known as kriging. It requires a mathematical model to describe the spatial covariance, usually expressed as a variogram, which in its parameterized form has become the central tool of geostatistics. Successful kriging and estimation of the variogram depend on sampling adequately without bias and with suitable spatial configurations and supports. These differ somewhat from design-based estimation with its emphasis on random sampling. <...>

Basin analysis is a comprehensive approach to decipher the geological evolution of a basin by constructing the stratigraphic framework and facies relationships, by mapping and understanding the geological structures in light of their historical development, and by examining the physical and chemical properties of rocks and their sedimentological and petroleum attributes. The purpose of the analysis is to identify potential source rocks and reservoir rocks, and to evaluate the maturation, generation, migration, and entrapment of hydrocarbons in a sedimentary basin. <...>