The importance of coordinating geologic and geophysical data in predicting subsurface structure and stratigraphy has been emphasized repeatedly. Attainment of the ultimate in integration of the 2 sciences has become increasingly difficult, as a result of the requirement placed upon geologists and geophysicists of greater specialization within their own professions.

An accelerated, worldwide interest by oil companies in new basins has started. Because most of these potential areas are offshore, and with the advent of many new geophysical and oceanographic techniques, an even greater need for an integrated, multidiscipline exploration approach is imposed.

As an illustration, Operation Arcticquest was begun in 1969 to determine the nature of the geology in the vast unexplored area from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Banks Island, Canada. The surveys indicated the presence of anticlines, diapirs, folds, faults, intrusives, and facies boundaries. Conclusions as to the origin and geology of the geophysically mapped features were derived from the interpretations of bathymetric, gravimetric, aeromagnetic, seismic, and geologic surveys. This successful application of the multidiscipline technique was made possible largely by the multiparticipant aspect. Because the operation was financed by 30 oil companies, it was possible to allocate expenditures to many disciplines in a manner which probably would not have been feasible in individual, uncoordinat d operations.

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