Okuzeka
Geology & Earth Sciences vocabulary · Maps & Fieldwork

Fieldwork

Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples

/ˈfiːldwɜːrk/nounCore term

In geology & earth sciences, fieldwork means: Work done outdoors at real sites, such as observing, measuring, mapping and sampling rocks, soils or rivers, rather than in a laboratory or office.

In Turkish: arazi çalışması, saha çalışması

How it is used

Central to geology degrees, which include field trips, field courses and a field camp or mapping project. People do, carry out or plan fieldwork; 'in the field' means at the site. Observations go into a field notebook.

Example sentences

  1. We spent three weeks doing fieldwork in the Taurus Mountains.

  2. Fieldwork starts at seven, so bring water, a hat and your hand lens.

Common collocations

  • do fieldwork
  • carry out fieldwork
  • fieldwork season
  • field trip
  • field notebook
  • outcropA place where bedrock appears at the surface, not covered by soil or plants, so that geologists can see and study it directly.
  • sampleA small amount of rock, soil, water or sediment collected so that it can be described, tested or analysed in a laboratory.
  • geological mapA map that shows which rock units occur at or just below the surface, together with their ages, boundaries, faults, folds and strike and dip measurements.
  • strike and dipTwo measurements that describe the orientation of a rock layer or fault: strike is the compass direction of a horizontal line on it, and dip is its angle of tilt.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Maps & Fieldwork

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: