Laws of Field Work
Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
Life Cycle of a Project
Chances are you will be a member of some organization. These
are useful to know.
- Enthusiasm
- Disillusionment
- Indifference
- Despair
- Search for the Guilty
- Punishment of the Innocent
- Promotion of the Uninvolved
Laws of Special Operations
Courtesy of a former Green Beret acquaintance, but of obvious
applicability to field work.
- Always know where you are
- Always look cool
- If you don't know where you are, always look cool
Some Laws of Field Geology
- Localities of interest are always at the junction of two
map sheets. Especially important localities are at the
intersection of four map sheets - at different scales.
- The accuracy of mapping is inversely proportional to the
distance from the roads and the edge of the map area.
- The most critical evidence will be found at dusk on the
last day of the field season at the farthest possible
point from the vehicle, in thick brush, and you will be
out of film.
- The efficiency curve of field work is bimodal, with a peak
about 11 AM and a smaller peak after lunch, and drops to
near zero after 4 PM.
- The number of specimens collected and pictures taken is
inversely proportional to the abundance of the rock type.
Corollary: the field season may end without a single
picture or specimen of the dominant rock type.
- The complexity of an area is directly proportional to the
area of exposed outcrop.
Go to Field Methods Page
Return to Professor Dutch's home page
Created May 30, 2003, Last Update May 30, 2003
Not an Official UW-Green Bay Site