Measuring a Stratigraphic Section with a Jacobs Staff

Dawn Sumner 1/2005

(Based on Compton, Robert R., 1985. Geology in the Field. Wiley Press, New York, pp. 229-234.)

The goal of measuring a stratigraphic column is to accurately characterize the thickness of different rock types. This data can be used to interpret depositional environments, variations in sediment type, changes in sedimentation rate in space and time, etc. Most detailed interpretations require an accurate measure of how much of each rock type is present, bed thicknesses, etc. It is easy to measure the thickness of flat-lying beds; you can put a ruler next to them and measure from bottom to top. For beds that have been tilted or folded, more care is needed. Measurements need to be made perpendicular to the bedding. Otherwise, results will depend on the amount of folding and the direction you are looking rather than the depositional processes that formed the rock. Geologists often use a Jacobs Staff to measure bedding thicknesses. A Jacobs Staff is a 1.5 meter-long pole that is marked off in suitable units, such as decimeters. It has an attachment for a Brunton at 1.5 m above the base of the pole. The Brunton is used as a clinometer to measure the angle of the pole from vertical and helps align the Jacobs Staff perpendicular to bedding for accurate measurements. To measure bed thickness, place the Jacobs Staff on the bedding plane at the base of the beds you want to measure. Next align the staff at right angles to bedding and sight downdip, perpendicular to strike, to the beds. The distance from the base of the staff to the sight point on the Brunton is equal to the thickness of strata between the base of the staff and the point sighted. There are a number of steps for doing this measurement accurately: 1. Measure the strike and dip of bedding where you intend to measure the section; record the data and set the clinometer on the Brunton to the angle of dip. 2. Place the Brunton securely in the attachment on the Jacobs Staff, and open the compass lid about 60. 3. Place the staff at the base of the unit to be measured and tilt it downdip (exactly perpendicular to strike) until the clinometer bubble in the Brunton is centered. 4. Study the point sighted on the ground and decide if the staff can be placed on it for your next measurement; if so, note the point carefully by eye or place an object at that point. You have measured 1.5 meters of section. 5. If the base of the Jacobs Staff can not be placed on the point you sighted for your next measurement, move the base of the staff along the lower bedding surface until a suitable point can be sighted. 6. Draw your stratigraphic column, describing the rocks in this unit. Measure the positions of beds within this 1.5 meter-thick interval using the Jacobs Staff or a ruler. 7. Move the base of the Jacobs Staff to the sited point, and make your next measurement. Proceed similarly to the top of the unit.

Using a Jacobs Staff and Brunton requires sighting through a small hole, and it may be tempting to save time by estimating the alignment of the staff rather than using the clinometer. Moderate errors in alignment, however, can cause large errors in measurements (Fig. 1). In addition, when sighting up or down a slope, one tends to tilt the staff so that it is perpendicular to the grounds surface. This gives errors that tend to accumulate through a series of measurements, giving a systematic over or under estimate of true stratigraphic thicknesses. When the staff is correctly oriented with the clinometer, the error should be no more than a few centimeters per measure and will tend to average out in successive measurements. Thus, it is worth learning to measure accurately now; sighting becomes easier with practice.

Figure 1: Errors in measurement (Figure from Compton, 1985, p. 231). Sighting with a Jacobs Staff becomes increasingly awkward as dips become steeper. Lines of sight typically become shorter, however, so accuracy is maintained (Fig. 2A). For dips greater than 70, the geologist can kneel and look along strike, viewing the clinometer face on and making the projection to the ground by estimation (Fig 2B). If some beds stick up significantly higher than others, it may be necessary to measure the thicknesses of the low-lying beds and weathering-resistant beds separately, using modified techniques. The UCD Geology Jacobs Staffs have a fixed mount for the Bruntons. However, you can site distances shorter than 1.5 meters by removing the Brunton from the mount and carefully holding it along the edge of the Jacobs Staff in the proper orientation. You can place the Brunton anywhere along the staff to measure an arbitrary thickness. Be careful to accurately record the thickness represented by each measurement, especially if they are different for each measurement.

Figure 2: Jacobs Staff orientations depend on the relative dip of bedding and slope (Figure from Compton, 1985, p. 231).