Geo11 - Introduction

• Geology


  The science that pursues an understanding of the Earth, its origin and history, the processes that shaped it, and the resources that could be obtained from it
• Geology as a discipline emphasizes the relevance of time, evolution, mountain-building (orogeny), and natural disasters
• Geology as a discipline highlights the issue of scale, including thin sections and geologic formations
• Geology as a discipline acknowledges the complexity of replicating natural systems and phenomena in the laboratory, including the formation of the Philippines and the Rock cycle
• Branches of Geology

  • Physical Geology
  • Mineralogy
  • Petrology
  • Mining Geology
  • Geomorphology
  • Geophysics
  • Geochemistry
  • Planetary Geology
  • Volcanology
  • Seismology
  • Environmental Science
  • Engineering Geology
  • Hydrology
  • Historical Geology
  • Paleontology
  • Stratigraphy
  • Geochronology
• Early schools of thought in Geology include Catastrophism by Baron Georges Cuvier and Uniformitarianism by James Hutton
• Catastrophism suggests that sudden worldwide catastrophes alter the physical features of the Earth over time and was widely accepted by theologians in the 1800s
• Uniformitarianism advocates the idea that the Earth is continuously modified by geologic processes that have operated throughout time at different rates
• Geology is relevant to daily lives through activities like groundwater exploration, geohazards, mineral exploration, and renewable and nonrenewable energy exploration
• Geology is the scientific study of the earth
• The Earth is the only planet known to support life
• Plate tectonics refers to the theory that the Earth's lithosphere is broken into slabs or plates that fit together like a puzzle.
• The word "geology" comes from the Greek words "geo", meaning earth, and "logos", which means science or knowledge.
• Objectives

  • Define geology and its branches
  • Differentiate Catastrophism and Uniformitarianism
  • Explain the meaning of “the present is the key to the past”
• Geology


  The scientific study of the earth’s materials, processes, and its history
• The term GEOLOGY comes from the Greek words γη (gê) meaning Earth and λόγος (logos) which by implication means a subject, topic of discourse, or reasoning
• Almost all materials that we use typically come from materials mined within the earth
• Geologists: '“if it can’t be grown, it must be mined”'
• Applications of geology

  • Geohazards
  • Hydrogeology
  • Engineering geology
• Geology is relevant to the lives of people in various fields such as geohazards, hydrogeology, and engineering geology
• Chapter 1 of Earle’s (2019) book Physical Geology (2nd Edition) elaborates additional examples of applications of geology
• Geologic processes have a different concept of time compared to human beings
• A fast process in geology may be months to a few years, while a slow process like the movement of plates may take millions of years to be noticeable
• Geologic features and structures differ in terms of scale, from macro to micro, large to small, and local to regional
• Geologists try to replicate natural systems and phenomena in the laboratory
• Geologic processes and events

  A process may apply only in a localized scale i.e., localized faulting but cannot be seen on a larger or more regional scale
• Replicating natural systems and phenomena in the laboratory

  Geologists try to simulate geologic processes in laboratories through models (e.g., analogue models in formation of faults and structures, computer simulated numerical models for complex gas-fluid-mineral interactions, etc). However, these replicas of natural systems can only serve as best-fit models and that there will always be limitations due to complex interplay of variables
• Geology is not simply the study of rock, but involves systematic classification and identification of rocks under Petrology. Other sub-fields involve interdisciplinary approaches
• Branches of Geology

  • Physical geology
  • Volcanology
  • Seismology
  • Environmental Geology
  • Engineering Geology
  • Mining Geology
  • Petroleum Geology
  • Mineralogy
  • Petrology
  • Geomorphology
  • Geophysics
  • Geochemistry
  • Planetary Geology
  • Historical geology
  • Paleontology
  • Stratigraphy
  • Geochronology
• Physical geology


  Examines earth’s rocks and minerals and seeks to understand the processes that operate beneath or upon its surface
• Historical geology


  Tries to understand the earth’s origin and how it changed through time
• Example of Baguio City in physical geology and historical geology
• Module 1: Introduction to Geology
• Activity 3: Briefly list down specific ideas or concepts studied in each sub-field written under each of the main branches of geology
• Early schools of thought
• Geology resources


  • Youtube videos: GeoBus St Andrews (2016, January 28) Geology in a Minute - What is Geology?
  • Kate Tectonics (2016, October 23). Intro to Geology
  • Erik Klemetti (2016, August 31) Dear College Students: You Should Take Geology
  • It’s Okay To Be Smart (2019, February 12). The Impossible Hugeness of Deep Time
  • Kate Tectonics (2017, January 30). The History of Geology by Kate Tectonics
• Baron Georges Cuvier proposed Catastrophism
• Catastrophism

  • Sudden, worldwide catastrophes are the agents of change that alter the physical features of the Earth over time
  • The Earth remains unchanged in between these periods of upheavals
  • The causes of these catastrophes are unknown
  • Processes no longer operate at present
  • Widely accepted by theologians in the early 1800s due to similarity with Biblical events such as the Great Flood
• James Hutton proposed the early idea of Uniformitarianism
• Uniformitarianism was refined by John Playfair and popularized by Charles Lyell in his book “Principles of Geology”