Page 6 - Statistics and Data Analysis in Geology

Preface

list of those who provided technical reviews and critical comments over the years
reads like a “Who’s Who” of mathematical geology and includes, in alphabetical
order, Frits Agterberg, Dave Best, Paul Brockington, Jim Campbell, Ted Chang,
Felix Chayes, Frank Ethridge, Je-an Fang, Colin Ferguson, John Griffiths, Jan Harff,
Giinther Hausberger, Ute Herzfeld, George Koch, Michael McCullagh, Gerry Mid-
dleton, Vera Pawlowsky, Floyd Preston, Nick Rock, Robert Sampson, Paul Switzer,
Keith Turner, Leopold Weber, and Zhou Di. In addition, there have been dozens
of others who have called or written to clarify a specific point or to bring an error
to my attention, or to suggest ways in which the text could be improved. To all of
these people, named and unnamed, I owe my deepest appreciation.
My esteem for my two mentors, Dan Merriam and John Harbaugh, was ex-
pressed in my dedication to the second edition of this book. My debt to these dear
friends and colleagues remains as large as ever. However, those to whom I owe the
greatest debt of gratitude for help with this 3rd edition are my associates and co-
workers at the Kansas Geological Survey, particularly Ricardo Olea, John Doveton,
and David Collins, who have provided examples, data, and exercises, and who have
patiently reviewed specific topics with me in order to clarify my thoughts and to
help me correct my misconceptions and errors. Ricardo has been my guide through
the sometimes controversial field of geostatistics, and John has generously shared
the store of instructional material and student exercises that he has patiently as-
sembled through years of teaching petrophysics.
Most especially, I must acknowledge the assistance of Geoff Bohling, who vol-
unteered to shoulder the burden of reading every word in the manuscript, working
each example and exercise, and checking all of the computations and tables. Geoff
created many of the statistical tables in the Appendix from the basic equations of
distributions, and all of the calculations in the text have benefited from his careful
checking and verification. Of course, any errors that remain are the responsibility
of the author alone, but I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that the num-
ber of such remaining errors would be far greater if it were not for Geoff‘s careful
scrutiny.
I would also like to note that I have benefited from the nurturing environment
of the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) at The University of Kansas. KU has pro-
vided an intellectual greenhouse in which mathematical geology has flourished for
over 30 years. I especially wish to acknowledge the support and encouragement
of two previous directors of the Kansas Geological Survey, Bill Hambleton and Lee
Gerhard, who recognized the importance of geology’s quantitative aspects. Bill
had the foresight to realize that the massive, expensive mainframe dinosaurs of
computing in the 1960’s would evolve into the compact, indispensable personal
tools of every working geologist, and his vision kept the KGS at the forefront of
computer applications. Mathematical geology advances, as does all of science, by
the cumulative efforts of individuals throughout the world who share a common
interest and who have learned that methodologies created in one part of the globe
will find important applications elsewhere. Aware of this synergistic process, Lee
encouraged visits and exchanges with the world’s leaders in mathematical geology
and its related disciplines, creating a heady ferment of intellectual activity that re-
mains unique. It was with their support and encouragement that I have been able
to write the three editions of this book.
My final expression of gratitude is the deepest and is owed to my editor, lay-
out designer, proofreader, typesetter, reviewer, critic, companion, and source of

vii