GEO

• Geology is a multidisciplinary science that combines chemistry, physics, and mathematics to investigate processes that occur on and in the Earth.
• Geology

  The study of the Earth, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those materials and processes acting upon them.
• Engineering Geology

  Applied branch of earth science involving the application of knowledge of geosciences.
• Geology and Civil Engineering

  • Involves activities related to rock and soil in the top crustal layer
  • Works towards construction of safe structures for human benefit.
• Activities in Geology and Civil Engineering

  • Mapping
  • Exploration
  • Project Planning
  • Groundwater Mapping
  • Slope Stability
  • Tunneling
• Physical Geology


  Studies earthquakes, volcanoes, Earth's history, processes shaping Earth's surface, and Earth's resources.
• Physical Geology

  • Deals with processes of physical agents such as wind, water, glaciers, and sea waves
  • Includes study of Erosion, Transportation and Deposition (ETD).
• Mineralogy


  The study of minerals.
• Mineral


  A naturally occurring, homogeneous solid, inorganically formed, with a definite chemical composition and ordered atomic arrangement.
• Mineralogy in Civil Engineering

  • Identifies rocks
  • Used in industries such as cement, iron and steel, fertilizers, glass, and atomic energy production.
• Petrology


  The study of rocks.
• Rock


  An aggregation of minerals found in the Earth’s crust.
• Petrology in Civil Engineering

  • Important for selecting suitable rocks for building stones, road metals, etc.
• Geology provides necessary information about the site of construction materials used in construction of buildings and infrastructures.
• Geological information is most important in planning, design, and construction phases of an engineering project.
• Layers of the Earth

  • Crust
  • Mantle
  • Core
• Crust


  The outermost and thinnest layer of the planet, ranging in thickness from 5 km to 70 km.
• Crust


  • Home to geological resources including minerals, fossil fuels, and groundwater
  • Mostly composed of silica, alumina, lime, magnesia, and iron oxide.
• Oceanic Crust


  Composed of magma that erupts on the seafloor, cooling to create intrusive igneous rock gabbro.
• Continental Crust


  Made up of various types of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.
• Mohorovicic Discontinuity


  A significant boundary between the crust and mantle.
• Mantle


  The largest layer of the Earth, located below the crust, mostly made of silicate rocks rich in magnesium and iron.
• Mantle


  • Not perfectly solid; some locations have completely melted rock called magma
  • Divided into upper and lower mantle.
• Upper Mantle

  Extends from the crust to about 410 kilometers deep, mostly solid but with malleable regions contributing to tectonic activity.
• Upper Mantle


  • Includes lithosphere and asthenosphere.
• Lithosphere


  The solid, outer part of Earth, extending to about 100 kilometers deep, includes crust and brittle upper mantle.
• Asthenosphere

  The denser, weaker layer beneath the lithosphere, where rocks soften and partly melt.
• Lower Mantle

  Extends from about 660 kilometers to about 2,700 kilometers beneath Earth's surface, hotter and denser than the upper mantle.
• Reppetti Discontinuity

  Divides the mantle into lower and upper.
• Gutenberg Discontinuity


  Separates the mantle from the core, characterized by a rapid increase in seismic wave velocity.
• Core

  Made almost entirely of metal, specifically iron and nickel.
• Core

  • Outer layer is liquid metal, inner core is solid metal about 70 percent the size of the Moon.
• Outer Core


  Liquid state at a temperature of 5000°C, mostly made of iron and nickel, creates a magnetic field around Earth.
• Lehmann Discontinuity


  Separates the liquid outer core from the solid inner core.
• Inner Core


  The hottest layer of the Earth, reaching a temperature of 7000°C, composed of iron and nickel.
• The inner core's rotation is believed to impact the Earth's overall rotation.
• Continental Drift


  A theory describing the drifting of Earth’s continents on the ocean bed.
• Continental drift was first proposed by Alfred Wegener in the early 20th century.
• Plate Tectonics


  A theory describing the features and movement of the Earth’s surface in the present and past.
• Major Tectonic Plates

  • Pacific Plate
  • North American Plate
  • Eurasian Plate
  • African Plate
  • Antarctic Plate
  • Indo-Australian Plate
  • South American Plate