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Natural Resources Canada > Earth Sciences Sector > Publishing Services > Editorial/Digital Design
GSC Guide to Authors A general list of abbreviations
Although the plural of most abbreviations is formed by adding an s, in many
cases the same abbreviation serves for both the singular and plural forms of
a word. This list includes some acronyms, initialisms, and scientific terms.
Approved SI symbols appear in their own
section. Abbreviations of Latin terms used in paleontology are listed in the
section entitled 'Paleontology'.
A
| a |
year(s) |
| abbr. |
abbreviation; |
| abstr. |
abstract(s) |
| AD |
(anno Domini) in the year of our Lord; AD should
always be placed before the numerals, e.g. AD 1066 |
| adj. |
adjective |
| adv. |
adverb |
| AFM |
alkalis-iron-magnesium |
| a.m. |
(ante meridiem) before noon |
| approx. |
approximate, approximately |
| art. |
article |
| a.s.l. |
above sea level |
| assoc. |
associate, association |
| asst. |
assistant |
| ATV |
all-terrain vehicle |
| av. |
average |
B
| B.A. |
Bachelor of Arts |
| BC |
before Christ; BC should always be placed after the numerals, e.g. 500
BC |
| bldg. |
building |
| BP |
before present (specifically before 1950); BP should always be placed
after the numerals, e.g. 11 000 BP |
| B.Sc. |
Bachelor of Science |
C
| C |
Celsius, carbon |
| ca. |
(circa) about (used for dates only, not for measurements) |
| CAI |
Colour Alteration Index |
| can./CDN |
Canada, Canadian |
| cap. |
capital letter (pl. caps.) |
| c.c. |
carbon copy |
| CC |
200 |
| CCC |
300 |
| CD-ROM |
compact disc-read-only memory |
| cf. |
(confer) compare |
| chap. |
chapter(s) |
| CIS |
Commonwealth of Independent States |
| cm |
centimetre |
| cm3 |
cubic centimetre |
| c/o |
care of |
| col. |
column(s) |
| congl. |
conglomerate |
| cont. |
continued |
| cos |
cosine |
| crit. |
critical, criticized |
| crm |
certified reference material |
| cu. |
cubic, e.g. cu. yd. |
| c.v. |
(curriculum vitae) summary of a career r&ésum&é) |
D
| ddh |
diamond-drill hole |
| deg. |
degree(s) |
| del. |
delete |
| dept. |
department |
| dia. |
diameter |
| DNAG |
Decade of North American Geology |
| doz. |
dozen |
| Dr. |
Doctor, Drive |
| D.Sc. |
Doctor of Science |
E
| ed. |
editor(s), edited |
| e.g. |
(exempli gratia) for example |
| Eh |
standard oxidation-reduction potential |
| EM |
electromagnetic |
| et al. |
(et alii, et aliae) and others (in citation of references) |
| etc. |
(et cetera) and the rest, and so forth, and the remaining things |
| et seq. |
(et sequens) and the following |
| ext. |
extension, extinct, external |
F
| Fig./fig. |
figure(s) |
| f./F. |
fault/Fault |
| Fm |
Formation |
| ft. |
foot (feet) |
G
| g |
gram(s) |
| G |
giga, 109 the SI symbol for a
billion |
| Ga |
thousand million (i.e. 109) years;
Ga should always be placed after the numerals, e.g. 2.5 Ga |
| gal. |
gallon(s) |
| GB |
gigabyte(s) |
| geol. |
geology, geologist, geological |
| Gp |
Group |
| GSC |
Geological Survey of Canada |
| GSC loc. |
Geological Survey of Canada locality, e.g. GSC loc. C-25304 |
H
| h |
hour(s) |
| ha |
hectare |
| hp |
horsepower |
| HREE |
heavy rare-earth element (pl. HREEs) |
| ht. |
height |
| Hwy |
Highway |
I
| I. |
Island(s), Isle(s) |
| ibid. |
(ibidem) in the same place (Note: do not use for references,
except when pages, figures, tables, etc. have been cited above in a reference,
and you wish to refer to the same page or figure.) |
| ICP-AES |
inductively coupled plasma atomic-emission spectrometry
|
| ICP-MS |
inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry |
| id. |
(idem) the same, as mentioned before |
| ID-TIMS |
isotope dilution – thermal-ionization mass spectrometry
|
| i.e. |
(id est) that is (not followed by a comma) |
| in. |
inch (inches) |
| inst. |
institute(s), instant |
| int. |
international, interior |
| ISBN |
International Standard Book Number |
| ital. |
italic |
| itin. |
itinerary |
J
K
| KB |
kilobyte(s) |
| k |
kilo, 103; the SI symbol for a
thousand |
| ka |
thousands of years before the present |
| K-Ar |
potassium-argon |
| kbar |
kilobar |
| kPa |
kilopascal |
| KB |
kelly bushing |
| KE |
kinetic energy |
| km |
kilometre(s) |
| km/h |
kilometres per hour |
L
| L |
litre(s) (The symbol L for litre(s) is used to distinguish this symbol
from the numeral 1.) |
| L. |
Lower |
| Lab. |
Labrador |
| LA-ICP-MS |
laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
|
| lat. |
latitude |
| lb. |
pound(s) |
| l.c. |
lower case |
| LILE |
large-ion lithophile elements |
| loc. cit. |
(loco citato) in the place cited (requires a publication and
page reference) |
| log |
logarithm |
| LOI |
loss on ignition |
| long. |
longitude |
| LREE |
light rare-earth element (pl. LREEs) |
| l.s. |
legal survey |
| lst |
limestone |
M
| MB |
megabyte(s) |
| m |
metre(s) |
| mo. |
month(s) |
| M |
mega, 106; the SI symbol for a
million |
| Ma |
million years; Ma should always be placed after the numerals, e.g. 500
Ma. Note that the GSC uses the symbol Ma (millions of years ago or before
present) to indicate an age or date, and also to indicate a time interval
or age difference. The GSC does not use the abbreviation m.y. |
| M.A. |
Master of Arts |
| mag. |
magazine |
| max. |
maximum |
| Mb |
Member |
| memo |
memorandum |
| mer. |
meridian |
| Mes. |
Mesozoic |
| min |
minute(s) |
| misc. |
miscellaneous |
| mm |
millimetre |
| mol % |
molecular per cent |
| MORB |
mid-ocean-ridge basalt |
| m.p. |
melting point |
| Mr. |
Mister - title of a man |
| Ms. |
Miz - title of woman |
| m/s |
metres per second |
| M.Sc. |
Master of Science |
| MSWD |
mean square of weighted deviates |
| Mt. |
Mount (pl. Mts.) |
| Mtn. |
Mountain (pl. Mtns.) |
| mV |
millivolt |
| mW |
milliwatt |
| MW |
megawatt |
N
| n. |
note, noun |
| n.a. |
not applicable, not available |
| N. Amer. |
North America |
| NB |
(nota bene) note well |
| n.d. |
no date given, no data, not determined |
| no. |
number(s) |
| NTS |
National Topographic System |
O
| OD |
Ordnance datum |
| OGS |
Ontario Geological Survey |
| op. cit. |
(opere citato) in the work, article cited (no page reference).
Use for general reference to articles by authors cited earlier in the same
paragraph or page. Do not use (ibid.) as a substitute for (op. cit.) |
| org. |
organic, organization |
P
| p. |
page(s) |
| Pal. |
Paleozoic |
| paleont. |
paleontology |
| pen. |
peninsula |
| pers. comm. |
personal communication (give date) |
| PGE |
platinum-group element (pl. PGEs) |
| pH |
measure of hydrogen ion concentration; acidity or alkalinity |
| Ph.D. |
Doctor of Philosophy |
| Pl. |
Plate(s) |
| pl. |
plural |
| p.m. |
(post meridiem) after noon |
| ppb |
parts per billion (i.e. 109) |
| ppm |
parts per million (i.e. 106) |
| P' |
Precambrian |
| pref. |
preface, preference |
| prep. |
preposition |
| Prof. |
Professor |
| proc. |
proceedings |
| Prov. |
Province |
| prov. |
provisional |
| PS |
(post scriptum) postscript (pl. PSs) |
| Pt. |
Point, Port |
| pt. |
part(s), point |
| pub. |
publication, publish, published |
Q
| q.e. |
(quod est) which is |
| QED |
(quod erat demonstrandum) which was to be demonstrated |
| QFM |
quartz-feldspar-mafic |
| qtz |
quartz |
| qtze |
quartzite |
| quad. |
quadrant |
| q.v. |
(quod vide) which see; refers to singular |
R
| R. |
River |
| RAM |
random-access memory |
| Rb-Sr |
rubidium-strontium |
| R&D |
research and development |
| Re |
Reynolds number |
| re |
with regard to. This preposition is a contraction of the Latin in
re, meaning "in the matter of". |
| rec. |
receipt, record |
| REE |
rare-earth element (pl. REEs) |
| ref. |
reference |
| rel. |
relative |
| repr. |
reprint |
| rept. |
report |
| res. |
research |
| rge. |
range |
| Rmax |
mean maximum reflectance |
| Ro |
reflectance in oil |
| ROM |
read-only memory, Royal Ontario Museum |
| rom. |
roman type |
| r.p.m. |
revolutions per minute (in scientific or technical work, rev/min is used) |
| RR |
railroad, rural route |
| Rwy. |
railway |
S
| s |
second(s) |
| s.a. |
(sine anno) without date |
| sb. |
substantive |
| s.c. |
small capitals (sc in proof correction) |
| sci. |
science, scientific |
| SD |
standard deviation |
| sec |
secant |
| sec. |
section(s) |
| SEM |
scanning electron microscope |
| sg |
specific gravity |
| sh |
shale |
| SHRIMP |
Sensitive High-Resolution Ion Micro Probe |
| SI |
Système international d'unités (International System of Units) |
| slts |
siltstone |
| SIMS |
secondary-ion mass spectrometry |
| sing. |
singular |
| s.l. |
(sensu lato) in the broad sense |
| sp. |
species, specimen(s) (pl. spp.) |
| sq. |
square, e.g. sq. in., sq. ft., sq. yd. |
| Sr. |
senior |
| ss |
sandstone |
| s.s. |
(sensu stricto) in the strict narrow sense |
| St. |
Street, Saint |
| Sg. |
Supergroup |
| suppl. |
supplement |
| syn. |
synonym, synonymous |
| syst. |
system |
T
| T |
temperature |
| t |
metric ton = tonne |
| TAI |
Thermal Alteration Index |
| tan |
tangent |
| TD |
total depth in a well |
| TIMS |
thermal-ionization mass spectrometry |
| tr. |
translation |
| twp., Twp. |
township, Township |
U
| u.c. |
upper case |
| U-Pb |
uranium-lead |
| U. |
Upper |
| U.S.A. |
United States of America |
| USGS |
United States Geological Survey |
| UTM |
Universal Transverse Mercator |
| UV |
ultraviolet |
V
| v. |
volume(s) |
| var. |
variety |
| vb. |
verb |
| viz. |
(videlicet) namely, to wit, it is permitted to see |
| vol % |
volume per cent (used only in tables) |
| vs. |
versus (against) |
| v.v. |
vice versa |
W
| wt % |
weight per cent (used only in tables) |
X
| XRD |
X-ray diffraction |
| XRF |
X-ray fluorescence |
Y
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