Two key ingredients are required for exploitation of geologic data bases and computers: the ability of the questioner and the quality of the library. The necessity of using a file containing reliable information is well known. However, the quality of the questions is the key to useful exploitation of this powerful tool.

The successful retrieval always consists of 3 segments--studying the geology to identify what data and maps are meaningful, retrieving the necessary data, and analyzing the results. A study was performed in the Windfall area of west-central Alberta. Three units were searched--Leduc (Upper Devonian) reefs, the Belloy (Permian) subcrop, and the upper 30 ft of the Mannville (Lower Cretaceous). A part of the retrieved area was machine mapped using only the Leduc data. A residual of a Cretaceous marker ranging 4,000-7,000 ft shallower than the reefs illustrates a pronounced drape effect over known Leduc reefs. By removing the vast amount of repetitious file pulling, correlating, and subtracting, and by allowing data to be manipulated in ways not otherwise possible, the explorationist can d what he was educated and hired to do--interpret.

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