1.1 This guide offers a series of options but does not specify a course of action. It should not be used as the sole criterion or basis of comparison and does not replace or relieve professional judgment.

1.2 This guide covers methods that display, as mapped information, the chemical constituents of groundwater samples. Details required by the investigator to use fully the methods are found in the listed references.

1.3 Many graphic techniques have been developed by investigators to assist in summarizing and interpreting related data sets. This guide is the fourth document to inform the hydrologists and geochemists about traditional methods for displaying groundwater chemical data.

1.4 Notations have been incorporated within the illustrations of this guide to assist the user in understanding how the maps are constructed. These notations would not be required on a map designed for inclusion in a project document.

1.5 This guide offers an organized collection of information or a series of options and does not recommend a specific course of action. This document cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment. Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard is not intended to represent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, nor should this document be applied without consideration of a project's many unique aspects. The word “Standard” in the title of this document means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.