GEOLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

BRANCHES OF GEOLOGY
Geology
- is the study of earth, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those
materials and the effects of the natural forces acting upon them and is
important to civil engineering because all work performed by civil engineers
involves earth and its features. Fundamental understanding of geology is so
important that it is a requirement in university-level civil engineering
programs. For a civil engineering project to be successful, the engineers
must understand the land upon which the project rests. Geologists study the
land to determine whether it is stable enough to support the proposed
project. They also study water patterns to determine if a particular site is
prone to flooding. Some civil engineers use geologists to examine rocks for
important metals, oil, natural gas and ground water.

- Geology is the study and science of Earth’s land forms. This includes how
they were created, have changed over time and how they will evolve.
Branches of Geology
There are several branches of geology that have more focus. We divide
geology into the following sub-fields:
 SEDIMENTOLOGY
o Understanding erosion, movement and deposition of sediments
 TECTONICS
o Applying the principles of plate tectonics to geology
 NATURAL RESOURCES
o Examining rocks, terrain and material as natural resources
 CHRONOLOGY
o Studying layers of rock as it relates to geologic time
 TOPOGRAPHY: Mapping terrain and processes that act on it
 ASTROGEOLOGY: Classifying rocks and land forms outside Earth
Even though you can categorize geology in different ways… here’s how it was
divided the branches of geology.
1. Sedimentology
- understands weathering, transportation and deposition. Sedimentology
looks at the processes of how sediments deposit. For example,
sedimentology is concerned with erosion, weathering, transportation and
deposition of sediments. One of the processes that understands the erosion,
movement and deposition of sediments is from glaciers. Specifically,
glaciology studies glaciers and how they shape the landforms. Likewise,
surficial geology examines sediments overlying bedrock such as during a
glacial retreat. Finally, beneath the regolith is the intact, solid rock that
bedrock geology is concerned with.

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 SEDIMENTOLOGY
– How sand, silt and clay are deposited and the processes that act on it.
SURFICIAL GEOLOGY
– How surface sediment (till, gravel, sand, clay, etc) overlying bedrock
was formed such as during glacial retreat or in lakes associated in these
periods.
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.
2. Tectonics
- understands moving plates. Seismology, volcanoes, earthquakes…
these branches of geology all have one common theme. The underlying
process that impacts them are plate tectonics. Fields like seismology
measures how waves travel through and around Earth from
earthquakes. Meanwhile, tectonophysics targets the physical process
that act on the behavior of waves. As tectonics play a key role in
volcanoes, volcanology explains how and where volcanoes and related
phenomena (lava and magma) erupt and form (past and present).
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

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 – 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.
3. Branches of geology focused on NATURAL RESOURCES
Most geology careers involve the extraction of natural resources from the
surface. This is where geologists relate rock types and landforms in a specific
environment. For example, petrology uses mineralogy and rock types to understand
geological formations from drilling. In addition, they study the chemical properties and
how atoms are arranged. Soils are also considered a natural resource for agriculture
production. Agronomy, edaphology and pomology are specific to soil science and how
food grows or is cultivated.
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

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 – How groundwater is transported and is distributed in the soil, rock and
Earth’s crust.
POMOLOGY
– How fruits grow and are cultivated.
4. Chronology
- focuses on time. These branches of geology specifically deal with time.
Whether it’s fossils, magnetic fields or types of landforms, they are often
concerned with reconstructing the past. This is why “paleo” is common
in these fields of study. Paleo is short for ”paleolithic” which often refers
to the geologic past. Stratigraphy is concerned with the layering of
archaeological remains and their position on layers of rock. For example,
magnetostratigraphy studies magnetic fields in rocks and past pole
reversals.
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
– 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.
5. Topography

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 - studies land forms and their processes. Topography also plays an
important in geology. Of all the branches of geology, topography
examines the physical features that are distributed on the landscape. For
example, orography focuses on topographic relief and how mountains
are distributed. Without plate tectonics which is a focal point in geology,
mountain building would have not taken place. Finally, hypsometry
measures height and depth of physical features from mean sea level.
Geologists use hypsometry to understand the profile of Earth and
landscape evolution.
OROGRAPHY
– How topographic relief in mountains are distributed in nature.
TOPOGRAPHY
– How physical features (natural and artificial) are arranged on the
landscape.
HYPSOMETRY
– How height and depth of physical features are measured land from
mean sea level.
6. Astrogeology
- involves geology outside of Earth. When the Mars Rover started
wheeling around the red planet, its crosshairs were targeting the rocks
and geology of Mars. Specifically, it was getting close-up and personal
of the composition of Mars. Astrogeology is very closely related to
exogeology. They both focus on how geology relates to celestial bodies
such as moons, asteroids, meteorites and comets. Lastly, selenography
studies the physical features of the moon. For example, it understands
and catalogs features such as lunar maria, craters and mountain ranges
on the moon.
ASTROGEOLOGY
– How geology relates to celestial bodies like moons, asteroids,
meteorites and comets.
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.

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EARTH STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION

Earth's Elemental composition

Of the 92 naturally occurring elements, the Earth's geosphere - the solid part of
the Earth made up of the core, the mantle and the crust -- is primarily composed of
only four. These four are iron, oxygen, silicon and magnesium. These elements make
up more than 90 percent of the Earth's mass

Earth's Internal layers

1. Crust
- Earth’s outer surface is its crust; a cold, thin, brittle outer shell made of
rock. The crust is very thin, relative to the radius of the planet.Earth's
crust occupies less than 1% of Earth's volume. Mostly composed
elements such as lime and iron oxide.
- There are two very different types of crust, each with its own distinctive
physical and chemical properties.
The Oceanic crust (5-7 km)
The ocean floor is made primarily of extremely dense rock which
scientists call sima. Sima is made out of two basic substances. These
substance are silica, and magnesium. Sima tends to be younger than
the rocks found on continents.
The Continental crust (10-75 km)
Geologists often refer to the rocks of the continental crust as
“sial.” Sial stands for silicate and aluminum, the most abundant minerals
in continental crust.
2. Mantle
- It is predominantly solid but in geological time it behaves as a viscous
fluid .The mantle lies between Earth's dense, super-heated core and its
thin outer layer, the crust. Its thickness is about 2,900 kilometers (1,802
miles), and makes up a whopping 84% of Earth’s total volume. It is
mostly compose of magnesium-rich silicate minerals and iron. And its
temperature can reach up to 3000 degrees Celsius.

3. Outer Core
- The outer core is the third layer of the Earth. It is the only liquid layer,
and is mainly made up of the metals iron and nickel, as well as small
amounts of other substances. The outer core is responsible for Earth's
magnetic field. As Earth spins on its axis, the iron inside the liquid outer
core moves around. Its thickness is about 2300km and temperature up
to 4000-5000 degrees Celsius.

4. Inner Core
- The inner core is the very center of the Earth, and the hottest part of the
planet. It is a solid ball composed of an element named NiFe. Ni for
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 Nickel and Fe for Ferrum also known as Iron. The thickness is about
1200 km and can be compare to the size of the moon. And also
responsible for Earth's atmosphere.

5. Lithosphere
- The lithosphere is the solid, outer part of the Earth. The lithosphere
includes the brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust, the
outermost layers of Earth’s structure. It is bounded by the atmosphere
above and the asthenosphere (another part of the upper mantle) below.
Although the rocks of the lithosphere are still considered elastic, they are
not viscous.The Lithosphere has 15 major tectonic plates. The most well-
known feature associated with Earth’s lithosphere is tectonic activity.
Tectonic activity is responsible for some of Earth's most dramatic
geologic events: earthquakes, volcanoes, orogeny (mountain-building),
and deep ocean trenches can all be formed by tectonic activity in the
lithosphere.

6. Asthenosphere
- The zone of Earth’s mantle lying beneath the lithosphere and believed
to be much hotter and more fluid than the lithosphere. The
asthenosphere extends from about 100 km (60 miles) to about 700 km
(450 miles) below Earth’s surface. Heat from deep within Earth is thought
to keep the asthenosphere malleable, lubricating the undersides of
Earth’s tectonic plates and allowing them to move. Convection currents
generated within the asthenosphere push magma upward through
volcanic vents and spreading centres to create new crust. Convection
currents also stress the lithosphere above, and the cracking that often
results manifests as earthquakes. According to the theory of plate
tectonics, the asthenosphere is the repository for older and denser parts
of the lithosphere that are dragged downward in subduction zones.

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ELEMENTARY KNOWLEDGE ON CONTINENTAL DRIFT
AND PLATE TECTONICS

Continental Drift
Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologists
thought continents moved over time. The theory of continental drift is most associated
with the scientist Alfred Wegener. In the early 20th century, Wegener published a
paper explaining his theory that the continental landmasses were “drifting” across the
Earth, sometimes plowing through oceans and into each other. He called this
movement continental drift. Wegener was convinced that all of Earth’s continents were
once part of an enormous, single landmass called Pangaea.
Wegener, trained as an astronomer, used biology, botany, and geology
describe Pangaea and continental drift. For example, fossils of the
ancient reptile mesosaurus are only found in southern Africa and South America.
Mesosaurus, a freshwater reptile only one meter (3.3 feet) long, could not have swum
the Atlantic Ocean. The presence of mesosaurus suggests a single habitat with many
lakes and rivers.
Wegener also studied plant fossils from the frigid Arctic archipelago of
Svalbard, Norway. These plants were not the hardy specimens adapted to survive in
the Arctic climate. These fossils were of tropical plants, which are adapted to a much
warmer, more humid environment. The presence of these fossils suggests Svalbard
once had a tropical climate.
Finally, Wegener studied the stratigraphy of different rocks and mountain
ranges. The east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa seem to fit
together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and Wegener discovered their rock layers “fit”
just as clearly. South America and Africa were not the only continents with similar
geology. Wegener discovered that the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United
States, for instance, were geologically related to the Caledonian Mountains of
Scotland.
Pangaea existed about 240 million years ago. By about 200 million years ago,
this supercontinent began breaking up. Over millions of years, Pangaea separated
into pieces that moved away from one another. These pieces slowly assumed their
positions as the continent we recognize today.
Today, scientists think that several supercontinents like Pangaea have formed
and broken up over the course of the Earth’s lifespan. These include Pannotia, which
formed about 600 million years ago, and Rodinia, which existed more than a billion
years ago. Wegener suggested that perhaps the rotation of the Earth caused the
continents to shift towards and apart from each other.

Plate Tectonics
This is probably the most important theory in geology, as most of the products
seen at the earth’s surface may be related to this. From the deepest ocean trench to
the tallest mountain, plate tectonics explains the features and movement of Earth's

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surface in the present and the past. Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's outer shell
is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle, the rocky inner layer above
the core.
How many plates are there?
There are nine major plates, according to World Atlas. These plates are named
after the landforms found on them. The nine major plates are North American, Pacific,
Eurasian, African, Indo-Australian, Australian, Indian, South American and Antarctic.
The largest plate is the Pacific Plate at 39,768,522 square miles (103,000,000
square kilometers). Most of it is located under the ocean. It is moving northwest at a
speed of around 2.75 inches (7 cm) per year.
There are also many smaller plates throughout the world.

Plate boundaries
Subduction zones, or convergent margins, are one of the three types of plate
boundaries. The others are divergent and transform margins.
At a divergent margin, two plates are spreading apart, as at seafloor-spreading
ridges or continental rift zones such as the East Africa Rift.
Transform margins mark slip-sliding plates, such as California's San Andreas
Fault, where the North America and Pacific plates grind past each other with a mostly
horizontal motion.

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EARTH PROCESSES
Earth processes are dynamic processes at work in the earth's landforms and
surfaces. The mechanisms involved, weathering, erosion, and plate tectonics,
combine processes that are in some respects destructive and in others constructive.
Erosion – the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that
removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust,
and then transports it to another location.
Weathering – the physical and chemical processes that break down rock on
Earth’s surface.
Plate tectonics – a scientific theory that the Earth’s surface is made of very
large sections that move very slowly.
Weathering must happen before erosion can take place. Weathering involves
no movement, just breaking down of rock that makes it weaker and may cause an
erosion.

WEATHERING
Types of Weathering
1. Physical Weathering
- Also known as Mechanical Weathering
- Rocks are broken apart without changing its chemical composition.
- It is caused by the change of temperature.
- Due to expansion and contraction rocks break up.
There are four main sources of power for physical weathering,
GRAVITY, WATER, WIND and WAVES. Of these, water appears to be the
leader in changing the surface.
ROCK BEFORE WEATHERING = ROCK AFTER WEATHERING (just
smaller)
Examples:
 FROST ACTION/FROST WEDGING
o As the water penetrates the rock, it expands when frozen and will
cause the break down.
o Rocks are cracked by water freezing.

 SPHEROIDAL WEATHERING
o Fluids enter rock along joints or fractures and the edges become
rounded.

 ROOT ACTION

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 o Plant roots uplift and fracture rock.
o Growing plant roots can exert stress or pressure on rock.

 ROOT PENETRATION
o Powerful plant roots grow into rock cracks and cause fractures.
o Plant growth exerts pressure on the rocks that subsequently breaks
them apart.

 ABRASION
o Rock particles grind or bounce off against one another.
o Caused by wind and water.
2. Chemical Weathering
- It takes place when the rock’s minerals are changed into different
substances or chemical composition.
- Water and water vapor are important agents of chemical
weathering.
ROCK BEFORE WEATHERING ≠ ROCK AFTER WEATHERING
Examples:
 OXIDATION
o occurs when free oxygen combines chemically with metallic
elements (usually iron), e.g. rust.

 CARBONATION
o Water containing carbonic acid dissolves minerals (all rain water is
slightly acidic), e.g. stalagmites and stalactites.
o It can also cause sinkholes.

 HYDRATION
o Occurs when water combines with minerals – most often in granite
(mica and feldspars) to form clay.

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WORK OF RIVERS, WIND AND SEA AND THEIR IMPORTANCE

GEOLOGICAL WORK BY RIVER

 During the life while flowing from head to mouth the rivers are capable of
exerting greatly modifying influence over the topography of the region through
which they flow.
 The geological work by river may be broadly divided into three well-defined
phases: erosion, transport and deposition
Rivers are powerful and dynamic geological agents. The water flowing
through a stream performs three kinds of geologic works as erosion, transportation
and deposition. Hence, a river is considered as one of the geological agents on
earth. The flowing water has the force, velocity and power to generate electricity.
EROSION
By erosion is meant disintegration and decomposition of rocks and soil
materials by a natural agent through chemical, mechanical and other physicochemical
processes accompanied by removal of the disintegrated or decomposed product to far
off places by the same agent.
 POTHOLES
- A pothole is a circular or cylindrical hole in the riverbed which is produced
by force of water and abrasion. A pothole is formed when a circular
current of water carrying small pebbles and sediment begins to wear
away a rock surface. The force of water and the sediment it carries is
greater than the resistance of the rock. Once the process has begun, it
continues and the rock in that location continues to erode away.

 RIVER VALLEYS
- A valley may be defined as a low land surrounded on sides by inclined
hill slopes and mountain. Every major river is associated with a valley of
its own. In fact, rivers are is responsible for the origin, development and
modification of their valleys through well understood process of river
erosion.
Types of river valleys
o Valley deepening
o River capture
o Waterfalls
SEDIMENT TRANSPORT BY RIVERS

Sediment transport is the movement of organic and inorganic particles by water.

In general, the greater the flow, the more sediment that will be conveyed. Water flow
can be strong enough to suspend particles in the water column as they move

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downstream, or simply push them along the bottom of a waterway. Transported
sediment may include mineral matter, chemicals and pollutants, and organic material.

Another name for sediment transport is sediment load. The total load includes
all particles moving as bed load, suspended load, and wash load.

TYPES OF SEDIMENT TRANSPORT BY RIVERS

 BED LOAD

This fraction of the river loads comprises the heavier particles of sand, pebbles,
gravels, and cobbles and other type material which are moved along the other
side of the road.

 SUSPENDED LOAD

It is made up of sand, silt, clay and sediments that are light enough to be
transported in the stream water in a state of suspension.

 DISSOLVED OR WASH LOAD

This fraction include particles of material soluble in water, which the river may
gain due to its solvent action on the rock of the channel. Numerous river from
the land part carry calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate and sodium
chloride and other soluble salts from limestone, gypsum, anhydrite and
rocksalt and etc.

DEPOSITION BY RIVERS

The entire load of a stream or a river will normally remain in transport unless
there is a change in one or other factor responsible for its transport. The process of
dropping down of its loads by any moving natural agent is technically called deposition.
Wind rivers, glaciers and marine water are important natural agent that make typical
deposits.

TYPES OF DEPOSITS

 ALLUVIAL FANS AND CONE

These are cone shaped accumulation of stream deposits that are commonly
found at place where small intermittent streamlets coming down from hill slopes
enter the lowlands.

 NATURAL LEVEES

These are essential river bank deposits made by a river along its bank during
floods. The natural levees are sometimes helpful in preventing further flooding

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 in a river provided the volume of water a new prospective flood is not much
higher than that of a previous flood.

 DELTAS

Are defined as alluvial deposits of roughly triangular shape that are deposited
by major river at their mouth, where they enter a sea.

 CHANNEL DEPOSITS

Many streams are forced by some natural causes to deposit some of their loads
along the river bed. These are so called channel deposits. They are of great
economical use being the source of sands and gravel quite suitable for use as
construction materials.

GEOLOGICAL WORKS BY WIND

- Air in motion called Wind. Wind is one of the three major agents of change on
the surface of the earth.
- Wind act as agent of erosion as a carrier for transporting particles and grains
so eroded from one place and also for depositing huge quantities of such wind
blown material at different places. There are three modes of activities i.e.
erosion, transportation and deposition by wind.

WIND EROSION

Wind perform the work of erosion by at least three different methods:

Deflation, Abrasion, Attrition.

 DEFLATION
- Wind erodes loose sediment, such as silt and sand, and wind not
much erosive power over rocks the ground covered with
vegetation. But when moving with sufficient velocity over dry and
loose sand it can remove or swept away huge quantity of the loos
material from the surface. This process of removal of particle of
dust and sand by strong wind.
 ABRASION
- Wind becomes a powerful agent for rubbing and abrading the rock
surface when naturally loaded with sand and dust particles. This
type of erosion involving rubbing, grinding, polishing the rocks
surface by any natural agent is termed as abrasion.

TRANSPORT BY WIND

The wind transport is carried out mainly by two distinctly different

processes: Suspension, Saltation.

 SUSPENSION

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 - Light density clay and silt particles may be lifted by the wind from
the ground and are carried high up to the upper layer of the wind
where they move along with the wind.
 SALTATION
- The heavier and coarse sediments such as sand grains, pebbles
and gravels are lifted up periodically during high velocity wind
only for short distance. They may be dropped and picked up and
again and again during the transport process siltation is therefore,
a process of sediment transport in a series of jumps.

DEPOSITION BY WIND

Sediments and particles once picked up by the wind from any source on the
surface are carried forward for varying distances depending on the carrying
capacity of the wind. Wherever and whenever the velocity of the wind load is
deposited at that place. These wind made deposits may ultimately take the
shape of landform that are commonly referred as aeolian. These are of two
main types of deposits DUNES and LOESS.

 DUNES
- These are variously shaped deposits of sand grade particles
accumulated by the wind. A typical sand dune is defined as broad
conical heap. A dune is normally developed when a sand laden
wind comes across some obstruction causes some check in the
velocity of the obstraction when the process is continued for a
long time, the accumulated sand takes the shape of mound or a
ridge. A typical dune is characterized with a gentle windward side
and a steep leeward slope.
 LOESS
- The term loess is used for wind blown deposits of silt and clay
grade particles. Typically loess is unconsolidated, unstratified
and porous accumulation of particles. Strong winds blowing over
very extensive area of deserts, outwash plains and soil loosened
by plough pickup vast amount of fine grade particle for
transportation in suspension, when such dust laden winds
passing over stepped and other flat surfaces are intercepted by
precipitation they drop their entire loads on the surface below.
This process is repeated for years. Accumulations of such
sediments over years have resulted in the present loess deposits.

GEOLOGICAL WORK OF OCEANS

 Marine water is spread over more than two third of the earth’s surface
and is classed among the most powerful geological agents operating on
the earth. Marine geology is fast acquiring the status of a separate
branch of geology where the study of oceans, as said above has become
the domain of specific branch of science.
 Like other geological agencies, seawater also acts as an agent of
erosion, transport and deposition. Since seawater is almost confined
within boundaries and broadly standing in nature unlike river that flows

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 downwards, the mechanism of geological work of sea differ in detail from
that river. All the geological work performed by marine water is due to
regular and irregular disturbances taking places in the body of water.
Mostly in the surface layer and distinguished as waves and currents.

 Marine Erosion

Marine water erodes the rocks at the shore and elsewhere with which
it comes in contact in a manner broadly similar to that of stream
water. The work of erosion is accomplished in three ways. Hydraulic
action, abrasion, and corrosion.

 Hydraulic action- this is the process of erosion by water involving

breaking, loosening and plucking out of loose, disjointed blocks of
rocks from their original places by the strong forces created by the
impact of sea waves and currents.
 Marine abrasion- This involves the rubbing and grinding action of
seawater on the rocks of the shore with the help of sand particles
and other small fragments that are hurdled up again these rocks.
 Corrosion- It is the solvent action of seawater which is particularly
strong in environment where the shore is of vulnerable chemical
composition.

 Marine Deposition

Seas are regarded as most important and extensive sedimentation basins,

this becomes evident from the fact that marine deposits of practically of all
the geological ages. These deposits are exposed at many places in almost
all the continents all the marine deposits are conveniently classified into two
groups: SHALLOW WATER DEPOSITS and DEEP-WATER DEPOSITS.

 Shallow water- these include marine deposits laid down in neritic

zone of the sea, which extends from the lowest tide limit to the
place of the continent shelf where the slope becomes steeper

i. Beaches: These are loose deposits made by the sea near

the shore from the materials eroded from nearby regions.
The lower margin of a beach is commonly beneath the
waves whereas the upper margin is a few meter above the
still water. Waves and currents play a greater role in
formation of a beach.
ii. Splits and Bars: These are ridge shaped deposits of sand
and shingle that often extends across the embayment.
iii. Tombolo: It is the form of marine deposits that connects a
headland and an island or one island with another island.

 Deep water deposits: These deposits consist mostly of Mud and

ooze and are called as pelagic deposits. The oozes that form bulk
of some such deposits consist of small organism known
collectively as planktons. Death and decay of these organism and

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 plants followed by their accumulation in regular and irregular
shapes these deposits are commonly called as reefs.
 Coral reefs: these are peculiar type of ridge like marine deposits
that have been found due to accumulation of dead parts of certain
type of sea-organism predominate the source for such reefs
hence they are commonly designated as coral reefs.

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