Preface to the English edition
The Norwegian edition of "Rules and recommendations for naming geological units in Norway" was published under the title "Regler og råd for navnsetting av geologiske enheter i Norge" (Nystuen 1986). The need for the Code has been proved by the broad response it has received and by the wide application of its recommendations by geologists concerned with defining, naming and erecting geological units in Norway, not least on the continental shelf.
Soon after the Norwegian edition was published, the Norwegian Committee on Stratigraphy (NSK) decided to have an English version. One important reason for this is that there are many geologists working in Norway and in Norwegian territories who use English as their technical language and who have a very poor or no knowledge of spoken or written Norwegian. NSK would also like to see such foreign geologists following the Norwegian recommendations, and an English version of the Code would naturally further the achievement of this aim. Foreign companies, research institutions and universities should also have ready access to the Code. Furthermore, the Norwegian Committee on Stratigraphy, being affiliated to the International Subcommission on Stratigraphic Classification of the IUGS Commission on Stratigraphy, is aware that the Norwegian code should also be known to the international geological community in general.
This English version is largely an in extenso translation of the Norwegian edition. Only minor sections dealing with terminological problems specific to the Norwegian language have been omitted; a few that specifically relate to English language terminology have been added by the translator. If there are any discrepancies in meaning or interpretation of definitions, rules or recommendations between the Norwegian and English texts the Norwegian text has priority. However, a footnote has been added to Section 3.5.1 of the English version regarding the practice of using reworked fossils for defining biostratigraphical units in Quaternary stratigraphy. Moreover, Sections 3.4.2.8, 3.9.8.7, 3.9.8.8 and 3.9.8.9 were inadvertently omitted from the Norwegian edition; these are included in the present one. A number of minor errors in the Norwegian edition have also been corrected during the translation process.
The Norwegian edition was funded by the three major Norwegian petroleum companies, Norsk Hydro A/S, Saga Petroleum a.s. and Statoil. The cost of translating and printing the English version has been met by Norsk Agip A/S, Amerada Hess Norge A/S, ARCO Norway Inc, BP Petroleum Development (Norway) Ltd, CONOCO Norway Inc, Elf Aquitaine Norge A/S, Fina Exploration Norway, A/S Norske Shell, Total Marine Norsk A/S and Unocal Norge A/S. The Norwegian Committee on Stratigraphy gratefully acknowledges the financial contributions from these companies.
The translation has been carried out by Richard Binns, Trondheim. He has also prepared the Index of the English version, as well as word processing and proofreading the text. The Committee thanks Richard Binns for this work and the effort he has put into finding appropriate English expressions to cover even small variations in meaning in the Norwegian text.
NSK thanks the Continental Shelf and Petroleum Technology Research Institute A/S (IKU) for its secretarial function while this version was being translated and published, the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) for technical assistance, and Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift and its editor Eiliv Larsen for their collaboration. The editor of the Code would like to thank all present members of the Committee for taking part in the work of achieving publication of the English version: Arild Andresen (University of Oslo), Per Blystad (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate), Svein Gjelle (Geological Survey of Norway), Morten Hald (University of Tromsø), Audun Hjelle (Norwegian Polar Research Institute), Marit Hovdenak (Norwegian Language Council), Atle Mørk (IKU), Snorre Olaussen (Statoil), Hans-Petter Sejrup (University of Bergen), Anna Siedlecka (Geological Survey of Norway), Morten Thoresen (Geological Survey of Norway) and David Worsley (Saga Petroleum A/S).
Atle Mørk, Per Blystad and Snorre Olaussen are thanked for their work in obtaining financial support for the project. Special thanks are due to Atle Mørk for his contribution towards solving practical and administrative tasks. The editor would also like to thank Saga Petroleum a.s. for technical assistance in retexting figures for the English version.
Høvik, November 21st, 1988
Johan Petter Nystuen
Editor and Chairman of the Norwegian Committee on Stratigraphy