HELP: Remarks - Parse Fossils from Text
The best way to enter the other rock image data is to enter your description of the bed in the Remarks / Notes / Comments Data Entry Dialog and build a list of bed descriptions and then select the " Compute other data entry data types from Remarks" button.

This will allow the program to automatically use the geological description lookup xml files to parse your text into the rock image tracks. This basically saves time and effort, instead of entering each track separately.
A Fossil example "very sandy slightly argillaceous dolomitic limestone; marine abundant trilobites, echinoderm fragments, corals, few bryozoa, broken brachiopods; very pale blue (5B8/2) color with moderate blue (5B5/6) stains; pyrite nodules and concretions, erosional bed". The phrase "marine abundant trilobites, echinoderm fragments, corals, few bryozoa, broken brachiopods" will be parsed into fossil images. The Parse engine will allow up to 15 fossil types with modifiers in the profile plot. With this example,
Environment Modifier Fossil Type
Marine Abundant Trilobites
Marine Fragments Echinoderm
Marine   Corals
Marine Few Bryozoa
Marine Broken Brachiopods

Environment is represented as background color in the Fossil plot track.
Modifiers are represented as '()' for few, '/' for broken and '_' for abundant in the fossil plot track.

There are three parts the fossil parser looks for,

  • Environment - is it a "fresh water", "brackish water", "marine" or no environment listed.
  • Fossils
    • By common fossil types, "trilobites", "brachiopods", etc.
    • By fossil genera name1, "bathyuriscus", "petrocrania", etc.
  • Modifiers
    • Few - also "rare", ...
    • Broken - also "fragments", ...
    • Abundant - also "many", "numerous", ...

A list of Fossils Symbols are stored in a Fossil XML lookup file and illustrated as follows, Fossil Symbols there are a number of sources for fossil symbols, but for this program the bulk of the symbols use the Federal Geographic Data Committee lithologic patterns2.

References:

(1) National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fossils by Ida Thompson, copyright 1982 by Chanticleer Press, Inc.

(2) Section 10 -- Paleontological Features FGDC (Federal Geographic Data Committee) Digital Cartographic Standard for Geologic Map Symbolization.

Author: John R. Victorine jvictor@kgs.ku.edu