Instructions for Searching the Glossary
Use the table of contents below to jump to the topic of interest.
Search Options
General Search Help
Field Search Help
Display Options
Search Options
You may search the database using two options.
Search All allows you to search for any word or combination of words within a
term, definition, category text, or Spanish term equivalent.
Advanced Search allows you to search for any word or combination of words within a specific field, including
term, definition, category, and Spanish term equivalent. You may also browse an alphabetical list of the entries in each
field using the "Browse" feature.
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General Search Help
General search help shows the proper syntax to use when searching for words and phrases, along with examples of each technique. Other topics include how
to use advanced search features such as the AND-OR-NOT droplists and how to use the Browse feature. Use the table of contents below to jump to the topic
of interest.
Searching
It's easy to find the information you want!
- Type query criteria. If you fill in more than one box, results must meet all criteria.
Example: Find definitions that contain the word "websterite" AND have a category of "Petrology Igneous".
- Click Submit.
- Items that meet your criteria are displayed as a report.
Finding words and phrases
Type the word you want to find (bauxite) or type a phrase (electron paramagnetic resonance) to find those
words, in that order. To find variations of word stems, type an asterisk at the end of one or more words
(elast* wave*). Use the symbols & / ! between words or phrases to represent Boolean AND, OR, NOT.
Include a space before and after the symbol. Use the proximity operators w# (within) and p# (preceding) to
find words near each other. See examples below.
|
Type this... |
To find... |
| abandoned channel |
a phrase (those words, in that order) |
| lead / zinc |
either word (or both) |
| lead & zinc |
items that contain both words (items that contain just one of the words will be ignored) |
| quartz ! rutilated |
"quartz" but not "rutilated" |
| alkali p5 basalt |
"alkali" preceding "basalt" by 5 words or fewer. You can include an asterisk * at the end of
either word. Do not use multi-word phrases with the p# operator (such as "alkali p5 olivine basalt"). |
| basalt w2 alkali |
"basalt" within 2 words of "alkali" (before or after). Do not use multi-word phrases with
the w# operator. |
Words joined by & / ! are evaluated in left-to-right order: calcareous & sinter / travertine finds
items that contain calcareous and sinter, or items that contain travertine. Use parentheses to control evaluation
order: red & (white / blue) finds items that are red and white or red and blue.
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Browsing Lists
If a search box has a Browse option beside it you can click the button to see an alphabetical listing of the
contents of that field. The fields that allow browsing are Term, Term/Definition, Category, and Spanish Term. Once you
click on Browse, you can enter the first part of a word into the box at the top of the form. The list will jump to the
section that begins with the letters you entered. From there you may select lines by clicking on them or you may jump
further in the list by clicking the arrows at the bottom of the form. Each entry you click is automatically added to
your search on the Search page. After you have selected all of the lines you wish to search, click on Close Window.
You will be returned to the Search page and the words you have selected will be displayed.
Using the AND-OR-NOT Droplist
If a search form includes an AND-OR-NOT droplist in front of each box, you can do more sophisticated searches. The
Boolean operator you select for a box determines how the search criteria in that box will be combined with criteria
already evaluated. Boxes are evaluated from top to bottom (first box to last).
Finding an exact, complete match
An exact, complete match has no additional text before or after. To search for an exact, complete match, precede it
with an equal sign (=). For example, =iron formation finds only that complete term (does not find just "iron" or just
"formation" or that phrase embedded in other text).
Case and Punctuation
Case in query criteria is usually ignored (a search for fra mauro finds Fra Mauro). Punctuation is also
ignored, except for the AND-OR-NOT symbols (& / !). If you want these characters to be interpreted literally,
use quotation marks ("C-13/C-12") or replace the punctuation with a space (C 13 C 12).
Reset Button
To clear query criteria, click the Reset button on the search form.
Submit Button
To start your search, click the Submit button.
Using Navigational Features
A successful search finds one or more items, which are displayed in your web browser as a report. Use the browser
controls as you normally would, to browse, print, go back, etc. You can also:
- Jump to other locations - Click links on the report to display more detail or jump to other pages.
- Display additional pages - Click the Next and Previous buttons on the report page.
- Utilize additional navigation options - Click the single left arrow (<) to move back one page. Click the double left
arrow (<<) to jump back to the search page without clearing the last search.
- Click "Return to Advanced Search" to return to the search page and conduct a new search -OR- you may conduct a new search of all fields directly from the report page by entering a term in the
form box at the top of the page and clicking "Search All".
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Field Search Help
Field search help shows you what information is contained in each data base field, and also offers examples of how to optimize your queries for searching
these fields. Use the table of contents below to jump to the topic of interest.
Term Field
Single words from terms or Glossary entries may be searched separately or by using the & / ! operators. You may also
Browse an alphabetical list of all terms in the Glossary. Note: All numerical entries have been eliminated from the Browse list.
Type the word you want to find (bauxite) or type a phrase (electron paramagnetic resonance) to find those
words, in that order. To find variations of word stems, type an asterisk at the end of one or more words (elast* wave*).
Use the symbols & / ! between words or phrases to represent Boolean AND, OR, NOT. Include a space before
and after the symbol. Use the proximity operators w# (within) and p# (preceding) to find words near each
other. See examples below.
|
Type this... |
To find... |
| elastic wave |
a phrase (those words, in that order) |
| lead / zinc |
either word (or both) |
| lead & zinc |
items that contain both words (items that contain just one of the words will be ignored) |
| quartz ! rutilated |
"quartz" but not "rutilated" |
| alkali p5 basalt |
"alkali" preceding "basalt" by 5 words or fewer. You can include an asterisk at the end of
either word. Do not use multi-word phrases with the p# operator (such as "alkali p5 olivine basalt"). |
| basalt w2 alkali |
"basalt" within 2 words of "alkali" (before or after). Do not use multi-word phrases with
the w# operator. |
Words joined by & / ! are evaluated in left-to-right order: calcareous & sinter / travertine finds
items that contain calcareous and sinter, or items that contain travertine. Use parentheses to control evaluation
order: red & (white / blue) finds items that are red and white or red and blue.
Term/Definition Field
Glossary Terms and Definitions may be searched simultaneously using single words and the & / ! operators.
You may also Browse an alphabetical list of single words from terms and definitions. Note: All numerical entries have been
eliminated from the Browse list.
See the Term Field for more information on search options.
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Category Field
All terms in the Glossary are assigned to general discipline categories. Terms can be restricted to a particular
category or all terms in a category can be browsed. The following are the categories currently used in the Glossary:
- Climatology
- Coal
- Economic Geology
- Energy Sources
- Engineering Geology
- Environmental Geology
- Extraterrestrial Geology
- Geochemistry
- Geochronology
- Geology General
- Geology Maps and Charts
- Geophysics Applied
- Geophysics General
- Geophysics Seismology
- Geophysics Solid Earth
- Hydrology or Hydrogeology
- Marine Geology or Oceanography
- Mineralogy
- Miscellaneous and Mathematical Geology
- Paleobotany or Palynology
- Paleontology General
- Paleontology Morphology
- Petrology Igneous
- Petrology Metamorphic
- Quaternary Geology
- Remote Sensing
- Sedimentary Petrology
- Soils
- Stratigraphy
- Structural Geology
- Surficial Geology or Geomorphology
Spanish Term Field
Some terms in the Glossary have Spanish equivalents. You may search on a Spanish word or Browse an alphabetical list.
See the Term Field for more search options.
Display Options
Results are presented in a table. The table contains (if available): the term in bold, syllabification indicated in
parentheses, the definition, synonyms, related terms, Spanish translations of the term, and a link to an image. All images
found in the Glossary are taken from the Earth Science World Image Bank. Some
words within definitions are highlighted and are linked to their own definitions.
A maximum of ten entries are displayed at one time. To see additional entries click Next. Click "Return to Advanced Search" to return
to the search page and conduct a new search -OR- you may conduct a new search of all fields directly from the
report page by entering a term in the form box at the top of the page and clicking "Search All". You may use the
& / ! operators in the Search All box to create a complex search.
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- American Geological Institute
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