Why are longitude and lalitude important to geologists?

 Why are longitude and lalitude important to geologists?

In order to describe any location on Earth, most scientists, including geologists, use two numbers: latitude and longitude. This coordinate system is not only used by scientists but many other professions as well, including sailors and military personnel.This system is used by geologists to pinpoint the location of a certain rock or rock type, keep a record of where the outcrop was identified, and return to the discovery later.

 If you look at a globe of the Earth, the latitude lines encircle the Earth parallel to the equator, and they differ in length depending on their location. The longest line is at the equator (latitude 0 degrees); the shortest lines-which are actually pin points are at the poles (90 degrees north at the North Pole; 90 degrees [or-90 degrees] south at the South Pole). In the Northern Hemisphere, latitude degrees increase as you move north away from the equator; in the Southern Hemisphere, latitude degrees increase as you move south away from the equator.

Longitude lines or meridians (once called "meridian line" and eventually shortened to "meridian") are those that extend from pole to pole, slicing the Earth like segments of an orange. Each meridian crosses the equator; in the Western Hemisphere, longitude increases as you move west from Greenwich, England (0 degrees); in the Eastern Hemisphere, longitude increases as you move east from Greenwich, England. All points on the same line of longitude experience noon (and any other hour) at the same time. (Note: Longitude lines are not to be confused with time zones, most of which follow a more erratic demarcation.)