GEOLOGY FOR ENGINEERS - Introduction and Physical Geology

Geotechnical Subsurface Investigations

Geotechnical Subsurface Investigations

Standard practice for investigating the suitability and characteristics of sites for civil engineering works, involving stages like preliminary investigation, geological survey, geophysical surveys, boring, drilling, excavation, and testing of soils and rocks.

Petrology

The study of rocks forming the Earth.

Mineralogy

The study of minerals and their properties.

Geophysics

The science that deals with the physical processes and properties of the Earth.

Stratigraphy

The interpretation of rock layers as Earth history.

Sedimentology

The study of processes leading to the formation of sedimentary rocks.

Palaeontology

The study of fossils and their relation to Earth history.

Plate Tectonics

The theory explaining the movement of the Earth's lithosphere plates.

Natural Resources

Examining rocks, terrain, and material as natural resources.

Topography

Mapping terrain and processes that act on it.

Astrogeology

Classifying rocks and landforms outside Earth.

Stratigraphy

How layering of rocks and strata are analyzed to measure geologic time.

Paleontology

How organisms evolve and their interactions in their environment by studying fossil records often found in rocks.

Micropaleontology

How microfossils are characterized.

Paleomagnetism

How to reconstruct previous magnetic fields in rocks including the direction and intensity to explore pole reversals in different time periods (past and future).

Geomorphology (Physical Geology)

How landforms, physical features, and geological structures on Earth were created and evolved.

Paleoseismology

How geologic sediments and rocks are used to infer past earthquakes.

Magnetostratigraphy

How sedimentary and volcanic sequences are dated by geophysically correlating samples of strata deposited with the Earth’s magnetic field polarity.

Geochronology

How old rocks and geological events are dated using signatures inherent in rocks.

Tectonics

How Earth’s crust evolves through time contributing to mountain building, old core continents (cratons) and earthquakes/volcanoes.

Volcanology

How volcanoes erupt, the anatomy of a volcano and related phenomena (lava, magma) erupt and form (past and present).

Seismology

How seismic waves travel through and around the Earth from earthquakes.

Neotectonics

How Earth’s crust deforms and has moved in recent and current time.

Tectonophysics

How Earth’s crust and mantle deforms specific to its physical processes.

Seismotectonics

How earthquakes, active tectonics and individual faults are related to seismic activity.

Petrology

How types of rocks (igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology) form in their specific environment.

Mineralogy

How chemical and crystalline structures in minerals are composed.

Gemology

How natural and artificial gems are identified and evaluated.

Crystallography

How atoms are arranged and bonded in crystalline solids.

Soil Sciences

How soils relate as a natural resource including their formation factors, classification, physical, chemical and fertility properties.

Pedology

How soils are classified based on their biological, physical and chemical properties.

Edaphology

How soils influence plant growth and living things.

Agronomy/Agrology

How the field of agriculture involves science such as crop production, biotechnology and soil science.

Hydrogeology

How groundwater is transported and is distributed in the soil, rock and Earth’s crust.

Pomology

How fruits grow and are cultivated.

Glaciology

How ice and glacial deposits have reconstructed landforms as well as how existing (polar) glaciers behave and are distributed.

Geophysics

How physical processes and properties relate to Earth and its surrounding space.

Bedrock Geology

How the intact, solid rock beneath surficial sediments formed including age (stratigraphic sequences), morphology and rock properties (folds, faults, fractures).

Lithology

How rocks are classified based on their physical and chemical properties.

Orography

How topographic relief in mountains are distributed in nature.

Hypsometry

How height and depth of physical features are measured land from mean sea level.

Areology

How geology is composed on Mars.

Selenography

How physical features on the moon formed such as lunar maria, craters and mountain ranges.

Exogeology

How geology relates to celestial bodies like moons, asteroids, meteorites and comets.

Structural Geology

The branch of geology that deals with the study of rocks in the Earth's crust undergoing deformations, dislocations, and disturbances under tectonic forces, resulting in geological structures like folds, faults, joints, and unconformities.

Mining Geology

The branch of geology that focuses on applying geological knowledge to mining activities, including studying the mode and extent of ore occurrences, their properties, and other physical parameters for efficient utilization.

Physical Geology

The branch of geology concerned with terrestrial agents and processes of change, including the effects brought about by them, not limited to geomorphology but also encompassing the machinery of the Earth past and present.

Lithosphere

The outer solid shell or crust of the Earth, made up of a variety of rocks and commonly covered by soil or loose deposits, extending to a certain depth depending on the definition used.

Hydrosphere

The sphere encompassing all natural waters on the Earth's outer surface, including oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and groundwater, playing a crucial role in the Earth's geological processes.

Biosphere

The sphere of life on Earth, comprising all living organisms and ecosystems, interacting with the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere to form a complex and ever-changing network.

Atmosphere

The layer of gases and vapor surrounding the Earth, primarily composed of nitrogen and oxygen with traces of other gases, playing a vital role in climate, weather, and geological processes.

Continental Shelf

The submerged outer border of a continent extending beyond the shore zone to an average depth of about 100 fathoms or 200 meters, forming part of the continental platform.

Continental Slope

The gentle slope connecting the continental shelf to the oceanic or deep-sea platform, marking the transition between the continental and oceanic crust levels.

Substratum

The layer beneath the Earth's crust, appearing to be relatively uniform in physical properties at any given level, forming part of the lithosphere and sometimes included in the definition of the crust.

Lithosphere

The rigid outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and the upper part of the mantle.

Sial

The lighter, more buoyant rocks that make up the continental landmasses.

Sima

The denser rocks that form the oceanic crust.

Gravitation

The force of attraction that pulls objects towards each other, such as the Earth pulling objects towards its center.

Rotation

The spinning motion of a planet around its axis, causing effects like the Earth's equatorial bulge.

Equatorial bulge

The slight bulging at the equator and flattening at the poles due to the Earth's rotation.

Spheroid

A three-dimensional shape that is like a sphere but slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator.

Weathering

The process of breaking down rocks and minerals on the Earth's surface into smaller pieces.

Erosion

The process of wearing away rocks and soil by natural forces like wind, water, and ice.

Denudation

The overall process of wearing away the Earth's surface, including weathering, erosion, and transportation of sediment.

Weathering

The process of rock decay by agents with little or no transport of resulting products.

Erosion

Land destruction by agents that simultaneously remove debris.

Denudation

The combined effects of weathering and erosion in wearing away the land surface.

Sedimentary Rocks

Rocks formed from the deposition and solidification of sediment.

Deposition

The process of sediment being carried away by transporting agents and then being deposited again.

Salinity

The saltiness of water, often due to the accumulation of saline particles.

Earth Movements

Relative movements between land and sea, including uplift and subsidence.

Uplift

The upward movement of the Earth's crust.

Seismic Activity

Earth movements recognized by the passage of earthquake waves.

Volcanic Activity

The eruption of magma from the Earth's interior, leading to the formation of new landforms.

Volcanic Activity

Surface manifestation of the movement of magma through the earth's crust, resulting in the formation of intrusive or extrusive rocks.

Magma

Molten rock material generated in the earth's crust or exceptionally heated regions of the crust itself.

Intrusive Rocks

Rocks formed in the crust from magma that failed to reach the surface, exposed due to denudation, contrasting with extrusive rocks.

Extrusive Rocks

Rocks formed from lavas reaching the surface, also known as volcanic rocks, contrasting with intrusive rocks.

Igneous Rocks

Rocks formed from the solidification of magmas in depth (intrusive rocks) or lavas at the surface (extrusive rocks).

Metamorphism

Changes in structure and mineral composition of rocks due to pressure, temperature, or chemically active substances, leading to the formation of new rock types.

Weathering

Destructive process breaking down rocks into smaller particles and soil, contrasting with metamorphism which transforms rocks into new crystalline forms.

Denudation

Process of wearing away the Earth's surface by erosion, exposing intrusive rocks like granite in places such as Dartmoor.

Crust

The outermost layer of the Earth, where volcanic activity and the formation of rocks occur.