LM2 Engeo1 P 20 2

Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE

F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines Norte – 4600, Philippines
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
EN GEO 1 - GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS Period: 2nd Sem. AY .2020-2021

Subject Instructor: Engr. Frances Angelique T. Ubana Course and Year: BSCE 3
Learning Material No. and Title: 2. General Geology (Pt. 2 of 3) Time Allotment: Weeks 4-6
=================================================================================
2. General Geology (Pt. 2 of 3)
Outline of Topics
1. Earth Processes
2. Origin and Occurrence of Earthquakes
3. Groundwater - Importance in Civil Engineering
Specific Intended Learning Outcome/s (SILOs)

At the end of this topic, the student should be able to:
• Explain the different earth processes;
• Discuss the origin and occurrence of earthquakes;
• Locate major earthquake zones and;
• Identify the effects of groundwater in civil engineering
=================================================================================
Lesson 5: Earth Processes

The surface of the Earth is constantly subjected to changes in appearance such as the transgressions and
regressions of the sea, appearance and disappearance of mountains, rivers, glaciers, volcanoes, lakes, springs,
waterfalls and etc. In this lesson, we will study about the factors that contribute to these changes.
Earth
Processes
Endogenic Exogenic
Sudden
Diastrophism Weathering Erosion
Movements
Running
Epeirogenic Orogenic Earthquakes Physical
Water
Uplifment Folding Volcanoes Chemical Ground Water
Subsidence Faulting Glaciers
Waves and
Currents
Winds
EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 1 of 10

Endogenic Processes
Endogenic processes are attributed to the energy that comes from within the earth which is mostly generated
by radioactivity, rotational and tidal friction, and primordial heat from the origin of the earth. Diastrophism is the
process that moves, elevate or build up portions of the earth’s crust. Diastrophism includes:
1. Epeirogenic or continent forming movements – They cause upheavals or depressions of land exhibiting
undulations of long wavelengths and little folding. These are divided into uplift, such as raised beaches.
Elevated wave-cut terraces, sea caves and fossiliferous beds above sea level, and subsidence such as
submerged forests and valleys.
2. Orogenic Movements – These movements are mountain forming and associated with crustal thickening.
Sudden movements occur at tectonic plate margins. The plate margins are highly unstable regions due to
pressure created by pushing and pulling of magma in the mantle.
1. Earthquakes - Earthquakes occur when the surplus accumulated stress in rocks in the earth’s interior due
to folding, faulting or other physical changes is relieved through the weak zones over the earth’s surface
in the form of kinetic energy (seismic waves).
2. Volcanoes – These are formed when molten magma in the earth’s interior escapes through the crust by
vents and fissures in the crust, accompanied by steam, gasses, and pyroclastic material. Depending on
the chemical composition and viscosity of the lava, a volcano may take various forms.
Exogenic Processes
1. Weathering - Weathering is the process of breaking down of rocks on the earth’s surface due to mechanical
disintegration and chemical decomposition. There are three types of weathering.
a. Mechanical Weathering. In this type of weathering, the rocks are broken down into smaller pieces
without change in mineral composition. Mechanical weathering is also referred to as physical
weathering and may be due to the following factors:
i. Wind – this causes disintegration by means of abrasion or the break down of rocks exposed
along the course of the wind, and attrition which is the breakdown of particles carried by the
wind itself. Abrasion action is more pronounced when the blown particles are hard, the
exposed rocks are soft and the velocity of the wind is high. On the other hand, attrition is
caused by the impact of the particles to the exposed rocks which causes their further
breakdown, and by the mutual collision of the particles due to non-uniform movement.
ii. Rivers, Glaciers and Dashing waves and tides of the sea - their impact to rocks also causes
abrasion.
iii. Gravity – The gravitational attraction of the earth causes rocks to fall. The impact to the
ground causes the rocks to be smashed into pieces.
iv. Exfoliation – Due to the intense temperature chances.
v. Frost wedging and frost heaving –When water inside the cracks of rocks freezes, it expands
and therefore causes the widening of cracks. The ice inside the cracks are thawed when the
temperature increases, and when it decreases again, the same process is repeated.
b. Chemical Weathering – changes in the chemical composition of the rock occur in this type of
weathering. This process is relatively slow but very effective since it weakens the rock, chemical
weathering is caused by:
i. Water
1. Dissolution – this particularly happens in limestone. The reaction of lime stone to
water with dissolved carbon dioxide results in calcium bicarbonate which is
completely soluble in water.
2. Leaching – loss of soluble substances

3. Hydration - Hydroxyl molecules are injected to molecular structure of rocks causing

the decomposition of minerals.
4. Hydrolysis – occurs when only the hydrogen part of water enters into the mineral
structure.
ii. Atmospheric gasses
1. Carbon dioxide – chemical combination with carbon dioxide is referred to as
carbonation
2. Oxygen - chemical combination with oxygen is referred to as oxidation
3. Nitrogen – nitrogen is transformed into nitric acid and therefore becomes a good
dissolving and powerful oxidizing agent.
4. Pyrite – a common accessory mineral in rocks that gets oxidized to iron sulphate with
the liberation of sulphuric acid.
5. Volatiles of volcanoes
c. Biological Weathering – weathering caused by living organism such as:
i. Bacteria – to get the nutrients they needed in rocks
ii. Trees and plants – development of roots that penetrates to the cracks of rocks
iii. Man – through quarrying, blasting of rocks
2. Erosion - Erosion is the process by which soil and rock particles are worn away and moved elsewhere by
gravity, or by a moving transport agent – wind, water or ice. Transport refers to the processes by which the
sediment is moved along – for example, pebbles rolled along a river-bed or sea shore, sand grains whipped
up by the wind, salts carried in solution. Erosion involves removal of solid material by a transporting agent.
Weathering is the breakdown of rock into fragments at the Earth’s surface. No movement is involved in
weathering.
a. Gravity and Mass–wasting - the down-slope movement of loose rock and soil due to gravity. Whilst
processes such as soil creep are very slow, landslides can be very sudden, and may cause loss of
life. Mass-wasting is often aided by water, so landslides and mudflows frequently occur after heavy
rain.
i. Soil creep - Soil creep is slow – a few cm per year. Fences & walls lean over but trees bend
as they grow. Grassland develops terracettes.
ii. Rock falls
iii. Landslips
iv. Mudflows
b. Wind - Wind erosion and transport is a serious environmental problem in the driest parts of the world,
removing soil from farmland and covering whole towns with sand and dust. A strong breeze (wind
speed 20 km/h) can easily pick up dry dust and fine sand. The lightest particles are swirled up into the
air and carried in suspension for hundreds of kilometers, whilst sand grains bounce along the surface
by saltation. Small pebbles can be moved along with the sand, a process called creep. Sand dunes
form when wind-blow sand starts to pile up. Sand is eroded from the up-wind side of the dune and
deposited on the down-wind side, so the whole dune gradually migrates down-wind. see animation).
c. Ice - A glacier is a river of ice formed from compacted snow. They are most common in the Polar
regions (e.g.Antarctica) and in mountain regions like the Alps and Himalayas. Glaciers move slowly
down valleys (at speeds up to a few metres per day), but have enormous erosive power. Glaciers
erode the surface of the Earth in two ways:
i. Plucking - Melt water at the base of the glacier enters cracks in the bedrock and re-freezes,
causing the rock to break apart. As the glacier continues to move the broken rock gets stuck
in the ice and carried away.
ii. Abrasion - As the glacier moves downhill, rock fragments embedded in the ice at the base of
the glacier scrape and grind against rock beneath the ice. Glaciers erode rapidly downward,
forming deep, U-shaped valleys.
d. Water - Around the world, moving water picks up and transports millions of tons of sediment every
day, along rivers, coasts, and even in the deep oceans. Sediment, whether picked up by flowing water
or by waves, is moved along in one of four ways:

i. Traction is the rolling or dragging of large grains along a river bed or shore, aided by the push
of the smaller grains.
ii. Saltation is the bouncing of sand grains as they are picked up, carried along, and dropped
repeatedly by flowing water.
iii. Fine particles (silt and clay) are carried in Suspension in the water – they will only settle out if
the water is still.
iv. Soluble salts are carried in Solution in the water – the sea is obviously salty, but rivers contain
dissolved salts, too.
The bed load of a river (pebbles and sand grains) helps to erode the river bed and banks by abrasion,
especially when the river is in flood. In a similar way, waves cause cliffs to erode especially during
storms. As the pebbles and sand grind away the river bed or sea shore, they also become smaller
and more rounded, a process called attrition.
Lesson 6: Origin and Occurrence of Earthquakes

An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the
earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip
is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s
surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and
the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called
the epicenter.
Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks. These are
smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place as the larger
earthquake that follows. Scientists can’t tell that an earthquake is
a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The largest,
main earthquake is called the mainshock. Mainshocks always
have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that
occur afterwards in the same place as the mainshock. Depending
on the size of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks,
months, and even years after the mainshock.
Seismic Waves
There are several different kinds of seismic waves, and they all move in different ways. The two main types of
waves are body waves and surface waves. Body waves can travel through the earth's inner layers, but surface waves
can only move along the surface of the planet like ripples on water. Earthquakes radiate seismic energy as both body
and surface waves.
1. Body Waves. Traveling through the interior of the earth, body waves arrive before the surface waves emitted
by an earthquake. These waves are of a higher frequency than surface waves.
a. P-Waves - The first kind of body wave is the P wave or primary wave. This is the fastest kind of
seismic wave, and, consequently, the first to 'arrive' at a seismic station. The P wave can move
through solid rock and fluids, like water or the liquid layers of the earth. It pushes and pulls the rock it
moves through just like sound waves push and pull the air. P waves are also known as compressional
waves, because of the pushing and pulling they do. Subjected to a P wave, particles move in the
same direction that the wave is moving in, which is the direction that the energy is traveling in, and is
sometimes called the 'direction of wave propagation'.
b. S-Waves - The second type of body wave is the S wave or secondary wave, which is the second
wave you feel in an earthquake. An S wave is slower than a P wave and can only move through solid
rock, not through any liquid medium. It is this property of S waves that led seismologists to conclude

that the Earth's outer core is a liquid. S waves move rock particles up and down, or side-to-side--
perpendicular to the direction that the wave is traveling in (the direction of wave propagation).
P-Waves S-Waves
2. Surface Waves. Travelling only through the crust, surface waves are of a lower frequency than body waves,
and are easily distinguished on a seismogram as a result. Though they arrive after body waves, it is surface
waves that are almost entirely responsible for the damage and destruction associated with earthquakes. This
damage and the strength of the surface waves are reduced in deeper earthquakes.
a. Love Waves – The first kind of surface wave is called a Love wave, named after A.E.H. Love, a British
mathematician who worked out the mathematical model for this kind of wave in 1911. It's the fastest
surface wave and moves the ground from side-to-side. Confined to the surface of the crust, Love
waves produce entirely horizontal motion.
b. Rayleigh Waves - The other kind of surface wave is the Rayleigh wave, named for John William
Strutt, Lord Rayleigh, who mathematically predicted the existence of this kind of wave in 1885. A
Rayleigh wave rolls along the ground just like a wave rolls across a lake or an ocean. Because it rolls,
it moves the ground up and down, and side-to-side in the same direction that the wave is moving.
Most of the shaking felt from an earthquake is due to the Rayleigh wave, which can be much larger
than the other waves.
Love Waves Rayleigh Waves

Types of Earthquakes
1. Tectonic Earthquake - one that occurs when the earth's crust breaks due to geological forces on rocks and
adjoining plates that cause physical and chemical changes.
2. Volcanic Earthquake - any earthquake that results from tectonic forces which occur in conjunction with
volcanic activity.
3. Collapse Earthquake - small earthquakes in underground caverns and mines that are caused by seismic
waves produced from the explosion of rock on the surface.
4. Explosion Earthquake - an earthquake that is the result of the detonation of a nuclear and/or chemical device.
Classification of Earthquakes
1. According to cause of origin:

a. Tectonic Earthquakes. Tectonic Earthquakes occur when the plates move against one another. This
movement can create stress that causes the Earth's exterior shell, the lithosphere, to shift or break.
b. Non-tectonic Earthquakes. The non-tectonic earthquakes are mainly of three types due to surface
causes, volcanic causes and collapse of cavity roofs.
2. Depth of focus:
a. Surface earthquakes. Surface-earthquakes are those in which the depth of the focus is less than
10,000 meters.
b. Shallow Earthquakes. The earthquakes with the hypocenter at a depth of 10 to 50.
c. Intermediate-focus Earthquakes. When the earthquake is originated at a depth of 50 to 300 Kms.
d. Deep-focus earthquakes. The deep-focus earthquakes or the plutonic earthquakes are those with
hypocenters located at depths more than 300 kms. Majority of the deep focus earthquakes originate
between 500 and 700 kms.
3. Intensity and Magnitude
a. Intensity. The intensity is a number, written in Roman numerals, that determines the severity of an
earthquake in terms of its effect to people, properties and the natural environment. It measures the
strength of shaking produced and determines its effects. To evaluate the effects of earthquakes, the
one currently used in the United States is the Modified Mercalli (MM) Intensity Scale. It was
developed in 1931 by the American seismologists Harry Wood and Frank Neumann. This scale,
composed of increasing levels of intensity that range from imperceptible shaking to catastrophic
destruction, is designated by Roman numerals. It does not have a mathematical basis; instead it is an
arbitrary ranking based on observed effects. In the Philippines, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology
and Seismology uses the PEIS in order to identify the intensity of an Earthquake.
b. Magnitude. Earthquake size is a quantitative measure of the size of the earthquake at its source.
When an earthquake occurs, its magnitude can be given a single numerical value on the Richter
Magnitude Scale. The Richter magnitude scale, also known as the local magnitude (M) scale, assigns
a number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released by an earthquake. It is a base-10
logarithmic scale.

Modified Mercalli Scale
PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS)

Richter Scale
Seismograms, Seismographs and Seismometers
A seismometer is the internal part of the seismograph, which may be a pendulum or a mass mounted on a
spring; however, it is often used synonymously with "seismograph".
Seismographs are instruments used to record the motion of the ground during an earthquake. They are
installed in the ground throughout the world and operated as part of a seismographic network. The earliest
"seismoscope" was invented by the Chinese philosopher Chang Heng in A.D. 132. This did not, however, record
earthquakes; it only indicated that an earthquake was occurring. The first seismograph was developed in 1890.
A seismograph is securely mounted onto the surface of the earth so that when the earth shakes, the entire
unit shakes with it EXCEPT for the mass on the spring, which has inertia and remains in the same place. As the
seismograph shakes under the mass, the recording device on the mass records the relative motion between itself and
the rest of the instrument, thus recording the ground motion. In reality, these mechanisms are no longer manual, but
instead work by measuring electronic changes produced by the motion of the ground with respect to the mass.
A seismogram is the recording of the ground shaking at the specific location of the instrument. On a
seismogram, the HORIZONTAL axis = time (measured in seconds) and the VERTICAL axis= ground displacement
(usually measured in millimeters). When there is NO EARTHQUAKE reading, there is just a straight line except for
small wiggles caused by local disturbance or "noise" and the time markers. Seismograms are digital now - there are
no more paper recordings.
Triangulation Method
Triangulation can be used to locate an earthquake. The seismometers are shown as green dots. The
calculated distance from each seismometer to the earthquake is shown as a circle. The location where all the circles
intersect is the location of the earthquake epicenter.

Effects of Earthquakes
1. Ground shaking - Ground shaking is the most familiar effect of earthquakes. It is a result of the passage of
seismic waves through the ground, and ranges from quite gentle in small earthquakes to incredibly violent in
large earthquakes. In the March 27,1964 Alaskan earthquake, for example, strong ground shaking lasted for
as much as 7 minutes. Buildings can be damaged or destroyed, people and animals have trouble standing up
or moving around, and objects can be tossed around due to strong ground shaking in earthquakes.
2. Ground Rupture - Ground rupture is another important effect of earthquakes which occurs when the
earthquake movement along a fault actually breaks the Earth's surface. While active ground rupture is
comparatively rare, there have been cases of it in California -- for example, during the 1906 earthquake,
fences near Pt. Reyes were offset by as much as 7 meters. And in the Owens Valley earthquake in 1872, a
fault scarp as much as 8 meters high broke the ground near Lone Pine. Rupture causes problems for humans
by, well, rupturing things; pipelines, tunnels, aqueducts, railway lines, roads, and airport runways which cross
an area of active rupture can easily be destroyed or severely damaged.
3. Landslides - Landslides are caused by earthquakes both by direct rupture and by sustained shaking of
unstable slopes. They can easily destroy buildings in their path, or block roads and railroad lines, or take
hilltop homes with them as they tumble. They even can dam rivers on occasion, like in the 17 August 1959
Hebgen Lake earthquake (magnitude 7.1) in Montana.
4. Tsunamis - Tsunamis, which are popularly -- and incorrectly -- known as ``tidal waves,'' are a grave hazard to
many parts of the world, particularly around the Pacific Ocean basin. Tsunamis are a series of water waves
caused when the seafloor moves vertically in an earthquake and which can travel vast distances in a short
period of time. Tsunami speeds in the deep ocean have been measured at more than 700 km/hr, comparable
to some jet planes, and when tsunamis reach shallow water near the coast, they can reach heights of more
than 27 meters (90 feet)! Remember that tsunamis are a series of waves, and may start with a gentle
withdrawal of water, followed by a very abrupt arriving wave, followed by another withdrawal, etc.

5. Liquefaction, Subsidence, and Related effects - Liquefaction and subsidence of the ground are important
effects which often are the cause of much destruction in earthquakes, particularly in unconsolidated ground.
Liquefaction is when sediment grains are literally made to float in groundwater, which causes the soil to lose
all its solidity. Subsidence can then follow as the soil recompacts. Sand blows, or sand volcanoes, form when
pressurized jets of groundwater break through the surface. They can spray mud and sand over an area a few
meters across. All of these effects pose a grave danger to buildings, roads, train lines, airport runways, gas
lines, etc. Buildings have actually tipped over and sunk partway into liquefied soils, as in the 1964 Niigata
earthquake in Japan.
References:
Textbook of Engineering Geology by Chenna Kesavulu

https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/ks3/gsl/education/resources/rockcycle/page3462.html
https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/science/science-earthquakes?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-
science_center_objects
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/waves.html
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/seismometers-seismographs-seismograms-whats-difference-how-do-they-work?qt-
news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products
https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/triangulation-locate-
earthquake#:~:text=Triangulation%20can%20be%20used%20to,location%20of%20the%20earthquake%20epicenter.
https://topex.ucsd.edu/es10/es10.1997/lectures/lecture20/secs.with.pics/node10.html#:~:text=The%20primary%20effects%20of%2
0earthquakes,important%20secondary%20effect%20of%20earthquakes

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Republic of the Philippines

CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE

EN GEO 1 - GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS Period: 2nd Sem. AY .2020-2021

Specific Intended Learning Outcome/s (SILOs)

Lesson 5: Earth Processes

Uplifment Folding Volcanoes Chemical Ground Water

Subsidence Faulting Glaciers

EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 1 of 10

EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 2 of 10

3. Hydration - Hydroxyl molecules are injected to molecular structure of rocks causing

EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 3 of 10

Lesson 6: Origin and Occurrence of Earthquakes

EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 4 of 10

Love Waves Rayleigh Waves

EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 5 of 10

1. According to cause of origin:

EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 6 of 10

Modified Mercalli Scale

PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS)

EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 7 of 10

Seismograms, Seismographs and Seismometers

EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 8 of 10

EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 9 of 10

Textbook of Engineering Geology by Chenna Kesavulu

EN GEO 1 – Geology for Civil Engineers Page 10 of 10

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