Writing Tips for Scientific Papers
by Susan Delap
Q. When should I use geologic vs. geological? Hydrologic
vs. hydrological? ("-ic" and "-ical")
A. According to Suggestions to Authors
of the Reports of the United States Geological Survey, Seventh Edition
(1991), page 169:
-
The preference today is the shorter ending (hydrologic, hydrographic) but
no strong justification supports such choice. Except for conventional expressions
(Geologic Division, Geological Survey), consistency within a report should
govern usage. "Historic," however, signifies momentous or ominous ("On
this historic occasion"); "historical" means within the human cultural
record and thus more accurately describes such natural events as earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions, most of which were prehistoric. --Thanks to
Jane
Love, Managing Editor at the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources,
for directing me to this reference. She says that the Bureau follows this
preference in their publications.
Thanks to Lynda Walsh,
Assistant Professor of English and Manager of the Writing
Center at NMT, for providing some justification for the choices:
-
My understanding is if you're discussing data, you use geologic, as in
"geologic time scale" or "geologic processes." If you're discussing
matters pertaining to the field--geology as a political community governed
by shared conventions--you may use geological: "geological methods,"
"geological ethics," "geological society."
Some other views:
-
Is it "-ic" or "-ical"?,
by Marilyn A. Billone (USGS), in Blueline, Newsletter of the Association
of Earth Science Editors, v. 33(1), Winter 2000, p. 3.
-
Random
House: -ic, -ical in general
Links to Style Guides
American Geophysical
Union (AGU) Style Guide
Chicago
Manual of Style
Suggestions to Authors
of the Reports of the United States Geological Survey