Field work is a research area for the analysis of information in a laboratory. Field works consist of
- informal iterviews
- direct observation
- participation in the life the group
- collective discussions
- self-analysis,
- results from activities undertaken off- or on-line
- life-histories.
Typical Field Works
- Geological mapping
- Structural mapping: identifying the locations of major rock units and the faults and folds that led to their placement there.
- Stratigraphic mapping: pinpointing the locations of sedimentary facies (lithofacies and biofacies) or the mapping of isopachs of equal thickness of sedimentary rock
- Surficial mapping: recording the locations of soils and surficial deposits
- Surveying of topographic features
- compilation of topographic maps
- Work to understand change across landscapes, including:
- Patterns of erosion and deposition
- River-channel change through migration and avulsion
- Hillslope processes
- Subsurface mapping through geophysical methods
- These methods include:
- Shallow seismic surveys
- Ground-penetrating radar
- Aeromagnetic surveys
- Electrical resistivity tomography
- They aid in:
- Hydrocarbon exploration
- Finding groundwater
- Locating buried archaeological artifacts
- These methods include:
- High-resolution stratigraphy
- Measuring and describing stratigraphic sections on the surface
- Well drilling and logging
- Biogeochemistry and geomicrobiology
- Collecting samples to:
- determine biochemical pathways
- identify new species of organisms
- identify new chemical compounds
- and to use these discoveries to:
- understand early life on Earth and how it functioned and metabolized
- find important compounds for use in pharmaceuticals
- Collecting samples to:
- Paleontology: excavation of fossil material
- For research into past life and evolution
- For museums and education
- Collection of samples for geochronology and thermochronology
- Glaciology: measurement of characteristics of glaciers and their motion