Sense

Sense (also known as the quadrant of the dip direction) is used when defining the direction of a plane. It is a way of explicitly describing the strike and dip of that plane without introducing a third number, and is necessary because of how geologists use a compass in the field: placing the right-hand edge of the compass against the rock gives a reading 180° away from placing the left-hand edge against it. The measurements are both correct, just different. This handedness must be known before the measurement can be used for analysis.

For example, a plane striking towards 337° and dipping at 37° could be described in a number of different ways:

• Strike (right hand) of 337° and dip of 37° East
• Strike (left hand) of 157° and a dip of 37° East
• Dip of 37° and dip direction of 067°, or in shorthand as 37° towards 067

The three descriptions all represent the same structure. However, only dip and dip direction can be explicitly quoted using just two numbers. Strike and dip readings require the sense ("towards the east", or simply "EAST") or handedness ("right-hand rule") to be known. Micromine uses the Sense to provide this information.