<descriptor thcode="2"><thesaurus thcode="2" name="USGS Thesaurus" scope="Topics and methods of scientific study carried out by USGS, with product types, scientific disciplines, geologic time, and types of institutional structure and activities.  Broad and shallow, used to help people find scientific information." creator="U.S. Geological Survey" rights="Public domain" edition="2.0" date="2020-01-09" codetype="number" prefix="topic" uri="https://www2.usgs.gov/science/USGSThesaurus" tblname="term" nonpref="nonpref" relterm="relterm" root_code="1" contact="pschweitzer"><category><term thcode="25" code="29" name="distinct labels" parent="26" scope="Preferred labels (descriptor texts) are distinct within the thesaurus. A concept can be specified either by its unique identifier (code) or by the text of its descriptor."/><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/><term thcode="25" code="13" name="transitive" parent="12" scope="Narrower terms have an &quot;is a&quot; relationship with their broader terms, and generally can be described as part-of, type-of, or instance-of the broader term."/><term thcode="25" code="21" name="disciplines" parent="2" scope="Broad categories of human inquiry or activity, such as scientific disciplines."/><term thcode="25" code="20" name="methods" parent="2" scope="Actions taken to obtain or analyze information"/><term thcode="25" code="19" name="organizational functions" parent="2" scope="Things that organizations do, typically including various types of programs, projects, and services."/><term thcode="25" code="7" name="temporal" parent="2" scope="Terms indicate periods of time, such as chronostratigraphic units, named historical periods or intervals surrounding known historical events, or seasons."/><term thcode="25" code="5" name="theme" parent="2" scope="Terms indicate domains of human concern, such as scientific discipline, societal problems, or characteristics of earth, space, oceans, and living things."/><term thcode="25" code="29" name="distinct labels" parent="26" scope="Preferred labels (descriptor texts) are distinct within the thesaurus. A concept can be specified either by its unique identifier (code) or by the text of its descriptor."/><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/><term thcode="25" code="13" name="transitive" parent="12" scope="Narrower terms have an &quot;is a&quot; relationship with their broader terms, and generally can be described as part-of, type-of, or instance-of the broader term."/><term thcode="25" code="21" name="disciplines" parent="2" scope="Broad categories of human inquiry or activity, such as scientific disciplines."/><term thcode="25" code="20" name="methods" parent="2" scope="Actions taken to obtain or analyze information"/><term thcode="25" code="19" name="organizational functions" parent="2" scope="Things that organizations do, typically including various types of programs, projects, and services."/><term thcode="25" code="7" name="temporal" parent="2" scope="Terms indicate periods of time, such as chronostratigraphic units, named historical periods or intervals surrounding known historical events, or seasons."/><term thcode="25" code="5" name="theme" parent="2" scope="Terms indicate domains of human concern, such as scientific discipline, societal problems, or characteristics of earth, space, oceans, and living things."/></category><altlabel><altlabel>USGSThesaurus</altlabel><altlabel>USGSThesaurus</altlabel></altlabel></thesaurus><term thcode="2" code="459" name="geologic structure" parent="287" scope="General position of rocks in an area, and geometrical relationships among rocks."/><bt><term thcode="2" code="287" name="earth characteristics" parent="1174" scope="The measurable, definable properties and features of the earth."/><term thcode="2" code="1174" name="topics" parent="1" scope="Themes, subjects, and concerns for which USGS information resources are relevant."/><term thcode="2" code="1" name="Categories" scope="Thematic terms for categorizing information resources.  This thesaurus is intended to support finding and understanding scientific information."/></bt><nt><term thcode="2" code="404" name="foliation (geologic)" parent="459" scope="The property of rocks or glaciers splitting into thin layers or plates due to the orientation of crystals and dynamic movement."/><term thcode="2" code="660" name="lineation (geologic)" parent="459" scope="Linear topographic feature on the earth's surface or in rocks."/><term thcode="2" code="1118" name="structure contours" parent="459" scope="Gridding and contouring lines drawn on geologic maps to depict boundaries of structural features."/></nt><rt><term thcode="2" code="1699" name="deformation (geologic)" parent="451" scope="Change in form and structure of geologic materials in response to stress, typically heat and pressure."/><term thcode="2" code="292" name="earth structure" parent="287" scope="Major interior structural features of the planet earth."/><term thcode="2" code="1748" name="geologic maps" parent="700" scope="Maps depicting geological characteristics of the earth's surface, including lithology, geologic structure, age, and the results of crustal processes. Used where the product includes a depiction of the map as a whole, not for data sets that could be used to create a map."/><term thcode="2" code="2298" name="inverse modeling" parent="713" scope="An iterative approach to estimate the form and characteristics of a physical system explained by observations or measurements. Frequently used to determine a subsurface geological structure from measurements of physical properties obtained at or near the earth's surface."/><term thcode="2" code="1103" name="stratigraphic sections" parent="287" scope="Vertical arrangement in layers of rock units whose sequence is used to study the geological history of the strata."/><term thcode="2" code="1117" name="structural geology" parent="464" scope="Branch of geology concerned with the distribution, position, shape, and internal structure of rocks."/></rt></descriptor>