The geological sample is a representative unit of soil, rock, ore, fluid, or gas that is selected from a larger mass or volume to serve as an example of that larger body or to reflect some specific feature or variation within it. The simple rationale for Sampling (Barnes, 1981) is that, one can take a specimen home, but not an outcrop. Sampling is undertaken to provide a type specimen for classification purposes and/or special-purpose (e.g., petrofabric) analysis, assay, or testing (including engineering-geological and geochemical testing).
Because the sample, once extracted, takes the place of the outcrop in some respect, the basic prerequisite of a sample is that it must be representative of whatever is sampled. Sample representativity is dependent, in large part, on the accuracy of geological observations that precede sampling (see Field Notes, Notebooks; Exposures, Examination of), and the procedures used for sample taking. Sampling procedures used for sample taking. Sampling...
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Watson, I., Lemon, R., Krupa, S.L. (1988). Samples, sampling . In: General Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-X_97
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