Skip to main content

Exposure Logging

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

  • 87 Accesses

Synonyms

Exposure mapping; Trench logging; Trench mapping

Definition

The making of a geological map of vertical (or near-vertical) face(s), whether natural or man-made.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR 1998) describes standards for the following types of exposure logging : Dozer [bulldozer] Trench Mapping, Backhoe Trench Mapping, Large Excavation Mapping, and Steep Slope Mapping (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Multibench trench excavated during an active fault study, USA. Each vertical wall is ~1.2 m high and horizontal benches are the same width. Walls have been cleaned enough to differentiate the major deposits. All spoil from wall cleaning was removed from bench surfaces so contacts can be traced across benches, allowing 3D mapping

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Birkeland PW (1999) Soils and geomorphology, Oxford University Press, Oxford. 448p

    Google Scholar 

  • Borchardt G (2010) Determining relative age of faulting by using soil stratigraphy: problems and misconceptions. Environ Engin Geosci XVI(16):31–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotton WR (1999) Faults aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be. In: Hanson KL, Kelson KI, Angell MA, Lettis WR (eds) Techniques for identifying faults and determining their origins. U.S. nuclear regulatory commission, Washington, DC, contract report NUREG/CR-5503, Appendix A, p A-29–A-50

    Google Scholar 

  • Gutiérrez F, Lucha P, Galve JP (2010) Reconstructing the geochronological evolution of large landslides by means of the trenching technique in the Yesa Reservoir (Spanish Pyrenees). Geomorphology 124(3-4):124–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haneberg WC, Norrish NI, Findley DP (2006) Digital outcrop characterization for 3-D structural mapping and rock slope design along interstate 90 near Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, DC. In: Proceedings of the 57th annual highway geological symposium, Breckenridge, Colorado, sep 27–29, 2006, pp 146–160

    Google Scholar 

  • McCalpin JP (2009) Chapter 2A. Field techniques in paleoseismology- Terrestrial environments. In: McCalpin JP (ed) Paleoseismology, 2nd edn. Elsevier Publishing, Amsterdam, pp 59–94

    Google Scholar 

  • McCalpin JP, Shlemon RJ (1996) Trenching as a tool in geologic investigations: the professional geologist. Am Inst Prof Geol 33(12):19–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Reitman NG, Bennett SEK, Gold RD, Briggs RW, DuRoss CB (2015) High-resolution trench photomosaics from image-based modeling: workflow and error analysis. Bull Seismol Soc Am 105:2354–2366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shlemon RJ (1985) Application of soil-stratigraphic techniques to engineering geology. Environ Eng Geosci XXII(2):129–142. https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.xxii.2.129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USBR (1998) Engineering geology field manual, 2nd edn. U.S. Dept. of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Washington, DC. 496p (Reprinted 2001)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson MW, Jones RR, Woods CW, Gilment SR, McCaffrey KJW, Kokkalas S, Long JJ (2016) A comparison of terrestrial laser scanning and structure-from-motion photogrammetry as methods for digital outcrop acquisition. Geosphere 12:1865–1880

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James P. McCalpin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

McCalpin, J.P. (2018). Exposure Logging. In: Bobrowsky, P., Marker, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_193-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_193-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics