GEOLOGY

Geology is not a fundamental science but is multidisciplinary as it uses the

principles of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics and applies these sciences
to the study of the Earth. The word "Geology" is derived from the Greek word "geo"
means globe and "logos" means logical discourse. Hence, geology is defined as the
logical study of all of the globe.

BRANCHES OF GEOLOGY

Geochemistry - is the study of the chemical processes which form and shape the
Earth. It includes the study of the cycles of matter and energy which transport the Earth’s
chemical components.

Oceanography - is the study of the composition and motion of the water column
and the processes which are responsible for that motion.

Paleontology - is the study of fossils and what they reveal about the history of our
planet. In marine environments, microfossils collected within in layers of sediment cores
provide a rich source of information about the environmental history of an area.

Sedimentology - is the study of sediment grains in marine and other deposits, with
a focus on physical properties and the processes which form a deposit.

Benthic Ecology - is the study of living things on the seafloor and how they interact
with their environment.

Biostratigraphy - is the branch of stratigraphy that uses fossils to establish relative

ages of rock and correlate successions of sedimentary rocks within and between
depositional basins.

Geochronology - is a discipline of geoscience which measures the age of earth

materials and provides the temporal framework in which other geoscience data can
be interpreted in the context of Earth history.

Marine Geochemistry - is the science used to help develop an understanding of

the composition of coastal and marine water and sediments.

Marine Geophysics - is a scientific discipline which uses the quantitative

observation of physical properties to understand the seafloor and sub-seafloor geology.

Marine Surveying - surveys environment varies from oceanographic studies in the

water column to investigating sediment and geochemical processes on the seafloor
and imaging the sub-seafloor rocks.

Spectral Geology - is the measurement and analysis of portions of the

electromagnetic spectrum to identify spectrally distinct and physically significant
features of different elements of a rock.

Mineralogy - is the branch of geology concerned with the study of minerals. The
modern study of mineralogy was founded on the principles of crystallography.
 DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY

- The first book entitled Engineering Geology was published in 1880 by William
Penning.
- The first American engineering geology textbook was written in 1914 by Ries and
Watson.
- The need for geologist on engineering works gained worldwide attention in 1928
with the failure of the St. Francis dam in California and the loss of 426 lives.

RELEVANCE/IMPORTANCE OF GEOLOGY TO CIVIL ENGINEERING

- To recognize potential difficult ground conditions prior to detailed design and

construction.
- It helps to identify areas susceptible to failure due to geological hazards.
- To establish design specifications.
- To have best selection of site for engineering purposes.

EARTH STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION

Lithosphere - contains all the cold, hard solid land of the planet's crust (surface),
the semi-solid land underneath the crust, and the liquid land near the center of the
planet.

Hydrosphere - contains all the solid, liquid, and gaseous water of the planet. It
ranges from 10 to 20 kilometers in thickness.

Biosphere - contains all the planet's living things. This sphere includes all of the
microorganisms, plants, and animals of Earth.

The Atmosphere - contains all the air in Earth's system. It extends from less than 1m
below the planet's surface to more than 10,000 km above the planet's surface. It also
absorbs and emits heat.

Earth Envelope

Earth’s atmosphere is segmented into two major zones.

The homosphere is the lower of the two and the location in which turbulent mixing
dominates the molecular diffusion of gases.

Above 100 km, in the zone called the heterosphere, various atmospheric gases
are separated by molecular mass, with the lighter gases being concentrated in the
highest layers.

Troposphere - is the lowest portion of the atmosphere is the troposphere, a layer

where temperature generally decreases with height.

Stratosphere - is located above the troposphere and extends up to about 50 km

(30 miles). Ozone is located here to protect us from ultraviolet radiation from the sun

Mesosphere - lies between the thermosphere and the stratosphere. “Meso”

means middle, and this is the highest layer of the atmosphere in which the gases are all
mixed up rather than being layered by their mass.

Thermosphere - lies between the exosphere and the mesosphere. “Thermo”

means heat, and the temperature in this layer can reach up to 4,500 degrees
Fahrenheit.
 Magnetosphere - is compressed by the solar wind on the daylight side of
the planet and stretched outward in a long tail on the night side.

Exosphere - is a region in which at least half of the upward-moving molecules do

not collide with one another.

SOLID EARTH ENVELOPES

Earth crust is a cold, thin, brittle outer shell made of rock. The crust is very thin,
relative to the radius of the planet.

Oceanic crust is composed of magma that erupts on the seafloor to create basalt
lava flows or cools deeper down to create the intrusive igneous rock gabbro.

Continental crust is thick and has relatively low density, continental crust rises
higher on the mantle than oceanic crust, which sinks into the mantle to form basins.

Earth’s Mantle is made of rock based on evidence from seismic waves, heat flow,
and meteorites. Heat flows in two different ways within the Earth: conduction and
convection.

Conduction is defined as the heat transfer that occurs through rapid collisions of
atoms, which can only happen if the material is solid. Heat flows from warmer to cooler
places until all are the same temperature.

Convection is the process of a material that can move, and flow may develop
convection currents. The rocks then melt and float up as molasses liquid because it is
less dense, and the rocks float down because it is denser.

Upper Mantle - extends from the crust to a depth of about 410 kilometers (255
miles). Two parts of the upper mantle are often recognized as distinct regions in Earth’s
interior: (a) lithosphere and (b) asthenosphere.

Lithosphere is the solid, outer part of the Earth, extending to a depth of about 100
kilometers (62 miles). The lithosphere includes both the crust and the brittle upper portion
of the mantle.

The Asthenosphere is the denser, weaker layer beneath the lithospheric mantle.
The temperature and pressure of the asthenosphere are so high that rocks soften and
partly melt, becoming semi-molten.

The Lower Mantle - extends from about 660 kilometers (410 miles) to about 2,700
kilometers (1,678 miles) beneath Earth’s surface. Although heat usually corresponds to
softening rocks, intense pressure keeps the lower mantle solid.

The division in the lithosphere between the crust and the mantle is called
the Mohorovicic discontinuity, or simply the Moho.

Earth Core - at the planet’s center lies a dense metallic core. Scientists know that
the core is metal for a few reasons. If the surface layers are less dense than average,
then the interior must be denser than average.

The Outer Core, about 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles) thick, is mostly composed of
liquid iron and nickel. The liquid metal of the outer core has very low viscosity, meaning
it is easily deformed and malleable.

The Inner Core is a hot, dense ball of (mostly) iron. It has a radius of about 1,220
kilometers (758 miles). Unlike the outer core, the inner core is not liquid or even molten.
 ROCK CYCLE

The rock components of the crust are slowly but constantly being changed from
one form to another and the processes involved are summarized in the rock cycle. The
rock cycle is driven by two forces:

(1) Earth’s internal heat engine, which moves material around in the core and the
mantle and leads to slow but significant changes within the crust.

(2) the hydrological cycle, which is the movement of water, ice, and air at the
surface, and is powered by the sun.

Weathering & Erosion – igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks on the

surface of the earth are constantly being broken down by wind and water.

Transportation - eroded rock particles are carried away by wind or by rain,

streams, rivers, and oceans.

Deposition - as rivers get deeper or flow into the ocean, their current slows down,
and the rock particles (mixed with soil) sink and become a layer of sediment.

Compaction and Cementation - as the layers of sediment stack up (above water

or below), the weight and pressure compact the bottom layers.

Metamorphism - sedimentary or igneous rocks end up buried deep underground,

usually because of the movement of tectonic plates.

Rock Melting - Metamorphic rocks underground melt to become magma. When

a volcano erupts, magma flows out of it. As the lava cools it hardens and
becomes igneous rock.

TYPES OF ROCKS

Intrusive, or plutonic, igneous rock - forms when magma is trapped deep inside
the Earth. Some of the magma may feed volcanoes on the Earth's surface, but most
remains trapped below, where it cools very slowly over many thousands or millions of
years until it solidifies.

Extrusive, or volcanic, igneous rock - is produced when magma exits and cools
above (or very near) the Earth's surface. The magma, called lava when molten rock
erupts on the surface, cools and solidifies almost instantly when it is exposed to the
relatively cool temperature of the atmosphere.

Sedimentary rocks are formed by layers of sediment (dirt, rock particles, etc.)
being mixed and compressed together for extended periods of time.

Common Sedimentary Rocks - often start as sediments carried in rivers and

deposited in lakes and oceans. When buried, the sediments lose water and become
cemented to form rock.

Clastic Sedimentary Rocks - are the group of rocks most people think of when
they think of sedimentary rocks. Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces
(clasts) of pre-existing rocks.

Biologic Sedimentary Rocks - form when large numbers of living things die. Chert
is an example for this type of rock, and this is one of the ways limestone can form.
 Metamorphic rocks are a combination of rock types, compressed together by
high pressure and high heat.

Foliated Metamorphic Rocks - forms when pressure squeezes the flat or elongate
minerals within a rock, so they become aligned. These rocks develop a platy or sheet-
like structure that reflects the direction that pressure was applied.

Non-Foliated Metamorphic Rocks - do not have a platy or sheet-like structure.

Some rocks are made of minerals that are not flat or elongate. No matter how much
pressure you apply, the grains will not align.

Another type of metamorphism, contact metamorphism, occurs when hot

igneous rock intrudes into some pre-existing rock. The pre-existing rock is essentially
baked by the heat, changing the mineral structure of the rock without addition of
pressure.