School of GeoSciences PhD team launches easy‑to‑use tool for creating stratigraphic logs

Geologists rely on stratigraphic logs to record rock layers, track relative ages, and reconstruct past environments. These visual columns capture details such as rock type, bed thickness, grain size and physical structures. They're a crucial tool in Earth science research, but they've traditionally been slow to produce - often drawn by hand - and difficult to reproduce consistently.

Now Stratapy removes those hurdles. The Python-based package helps geologists and allied scientists quickly produce clear, consistent figures that show how layers of rock change in depth and time.

With straightforward, keyword-based controls, users can customise the look and layout of their logs without needing to write any code. The tool comes with standard rock patterns and symbols, lets users add sample locations and notes, and can automatically align logs to the official geological time scale. For more complex studies, it can also build multi‑panel figures and correlate multiple logs side by side to show how rock layers match across different sites.

Stratapy is designed to improve everyday scientific practice: better figures, stronger reproducibility and easier collaboration across teams. The developers say it will help users focus less on graphics and more on discovery, while also supporting teaching, fieldwork and research alike.

Stratapy is available now as an open‑source Python package, with documentation and tutorials to help users get started – no matter their coding experience. Find out more and download the tool below.

More information

Download Stratapy and view further documentation

Read the full paper: Smith, J.L., Antoniou, C. & Alexander, R. Stratapy: a tool for automated stratigraphic log visualisation. Sci Rep 16, 28256 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-58501-2