General

Geology
Presented by Group 3
 Geology is Made of Two Words: 

GEO - Earth  LOGY - study

 
• GEOLOGY- study of Earth
 
• Geology is an Earth Science concerned with the solid Earth, the rocks which it
is composed, and the Processes by which they change over time. It is the
science devoted to the study of earth
 
• It deals with features of surface, origin, composition, structure, and
inhabitants of earth.
 
• Geology is the science that pursues an understanding of Planet Earth.
 BRANCHES OF GEOLOGY

• Physical Geology- is a scientific discipline that is

concerned with all aspects of the Earth’s Structure,
composition, physical properties, constituent rocks and
minerals, and surficial features.
• Historical geology or Palaeogeology –is a discipline that uses the
principles and methods of Geology to reconstruct the geological history
of Earth. It also focuses on the evolution of life during different time
periods in the geologic time scale
• Environmental geology- is the study of the interactions between humans and
their geologic Environment: rocks, water, air, soil, life. Humans are impacted by
Earth processes, and by their activities have an impact on Earth.

• Mineralogy- deals with formation, occurrence, aggregation, properties and

uses of minerals

• Crystallography- the scientific study of crystals arrangement of atoms in solids.

• Petrology- The study of rocks and the conditions under which the form,
subdivided into igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology.
 
• Stratigraphy- Is a branch of geology concerned with the study of
rock layers (strata) and Layering (stratification).

• Palaeontology – is the study of the history of life on earth as base on

fossils.
 
• Economic Geology – Study with earth materials that can be used for
economic and industrial purposes

• Geochemistry- is the science that uses the tools and principles of

chemistry to explain the Mechanisms behind major geological
systems.

• Geophysics- is Study applies the principles and methods of physics

to the study of the earth.
 
 
 • Geohydrology- is the study of
ground water and it’s physical
and chemical interactions with
the
Geohydrology  Physical environments mining is
the exploration and extraction of
& valuable minerals or other
,Geological materials from the
Mining Geology earth.

•  Mining Geology- is the

exploration and extraction of
valuable minerals or other
geological Materials from the
Earth.
 Earth Structure And Composition

The Crust

Earth’s crust is like the shell of a hard-boiled egg. It is extremely thin, cold and
brittle compared to what lies below it. The crust is made of relatively light
elements, especially silica, aluminum and oxygen. It’s also highly variable in its
thickness. Under the oceans (and Hawaiian Islands), it may be as little as 5
kilometers (3.1 miles) thick.

Beneath the continents, the crust may be 30 to 70 kilometers (18.6 to 43.5

miles) thick. Along with the upper zone of the mantle, the crust is broken
into big pieces, like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. These are known as tectonic
plates. These move slowly — at just 3 to 5 centimeters (1.2 to 2 inches)
per year.
What drives the motion of tectonic plates is still not fully understood. It
may be related to heat-driven convection currents in the mantle below.
Some scientists think it’s caused by the tug from slabs of crust of different
densities, something called “slab pull.” In time, these plates will converge,
pull apart or slide past each other. Those actions cause most earthquakes
and volcanoes. It’s a slow ride, but it makes for exciting times here on
Earth’s surface.
THE MANTLE

At close to 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) thick, this is Earth’s thickest

layer. It starts a mere 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) beneath the surface.
Made mostly of iron, magnesium and silicon, it is dense, hot and semi-
solid (think caramel candy). Like the layer below it, this one also
circulates. It just does so far more slowly.

Near its upper edges, somewhere between about 100 and 200 kilometers
(62 to 124 miles) underground, the mantle’s temperature reaches the
melting point of rock. Indeed, it forms a layer of partially melted rock
known as the asthenosphere (As-THEEN-oh-sfeer). Geologists believe
this weak, hot, slippery part of the mantle is what Earth’s tectonic plates
ride upon and slide across.
Diamonds are tiny pieces of the mantle we can actually touch. Most form at
depths above 200 kilometers (124 miles). But rare “super-deep”
diamonds may have formed as far down as 700 kilometers (435 miles)
below the surface. These crystals are then brought to the surface in volcanic
rock known as kimberlite.

The mantle’s outermost zone is relatively cool and rigid. It behaves more like
the crust above it. Together, this uppermost part of the mantle layer and the
crust are known as the lithosphere.
THE OUTER CORE

This part of the core is also made from iron and nickel, just in liquid form. It
sits some 5,180 to 2,880 kilometers (3,220 to 1,790 miles) below the
surface. Heated largely by the radioactive decay of the elements uranium
and thorium, this liquid churns in huge, turbulent currents. That motion
generates electrical currents. They, in turn, generate Earth’s magnetic
field. For reasons somehow related to the outer core, Earth’s magnetic
field reverses about every 200,000 to 300,000 years. Scientists are still
working to understand how that happens.
The inner core

This solid metal ball has a radius of 1,220

kilometers (758 miles), or about three-quarters
that of the moon. It’s located some 6,400 to
5,180 kilometers (4,000 to 3,220 miles)
beneath Earth’s surface. Extremely dense, it’s
made mostly of iron and nickel. The inner core
spins a bit faster than the rest of the planet.
It’s also intensely hot: Temperatures sizzle at
5,400° Celsius (9,800° Fahrenheit). That’s
almost as hot as the surface of the sun.
Pressures here are immense: well over 3
million times greater than on Earth’s surface.
Some research suggests there may also be
an inner, inner core. It would likely consist
almost entirely of iron.
 LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere can be divided into layers based on its

temperature, as shown in the figure below. These
layers are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the
mesosphere and the thermosphere. A further region,
beginning about 500 km above the Earth's surface, is
called the exosphere.
The Troposphere
This is the lowest part of the atmosphere – the part we live in. It contains most of our
weather – clouds, rain, snow. In this part of the atmosphere the temperature gets colder as the
distance above the earth increases, by about 6.5°C per kilometre. The actual change of
temperature with height varies from day to day, depending on the weather.

The troposphere contains about 75% of all of the air in the atmosphere, and almost
all of the water vapour (which forms clouds and rain). The decrease in temperature
with height is a result of the decreasing pressure. If a parcel of air moves upwards it
expands (because of the lower pressure). When air expands it cools. So air higher
up is cooler than air lower down.
The lowest part of the troposphere is called the boundary layer.  This is
where the air motion is determined by the properties of the Earth's
surface.  Turbulence is generated as the wind blows over the Earth's
surface, and by thermals rising from the land as it is heated by the sun. 
This turbulence redistributes heat and moisture within the boundary layer,
as well as pollutants and other constituents of the atmosphere. 

The top of the troposphere is called the tropopause. This is lowest at the
poles,
it is about 7 - 10 km above the Earth's surface. It is highest (about 17 -
18 km) near the equator
The Stratosphere
This extends upwards from the tropopause to about 50 km. It contains much of
the ozone in the atmosphere. The increase in temperature with height occurs because
of absorption of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun by this ozone. Temperatures in
the stratosphere are highest over the summer pole, and lowest over the winter pole.

By absorbing dangerous UV radiation, the ozone in the stratosphere protects us

from skin cancer and other health damage. However chemicals (called CFCs or
freons, and halons) which were once used in refrigerators, spray cans and fire
extinguishers  have reduced the amount of ozone in the stratosphere, particularly at
polar latitudes, leading to the so-called "Antarctic ozone hole".
Now humans have stopped making most of the harmful CFCs we expect the ozone
hole will eventually recover over the 21st century, but this is a slow process.
The Mesosphere
The region above the stratosphere is called the mesosphere. Here
the temperature again decreases with height, reaching a minimum
of about -90°C at the "mesopause".
The Thermosphere and Ionosphere
The thermosphere lies above the mesopause, and is a region in which temperatures
again increase with height. This temperature increase is caused by the absorption of
energetic ultraviolet and X-Ray radiation from the sun.

The region of the atmosphere above about 80 km is also caused the "ionosphere",
since the energetic solar radiation knocks electrons off molecules and atoms, turning
them into "ions" with a positive charge. The temperature of the thermosphere varies
between night and day and between the seasons, as do the numbers of ions and
electrons which are present. The ionosphere reflects and absorbs radio waves, allowing
us to receive shortwave radio broadcasts in New Zealand from other parts of the world.
 LAYER OF THE EARTH’S
ATMOSPHERE

The Exosphere

The region above about 500 km

is called the exosphere. It
contains mainly oxygen and
hydrogen atoms, but there are so
few of them that they rarely
collide - they follow "ballistic"
trajectories under the influence of
gravity, and some of them
escape right out into space.
Continental
Drift Theory
and Plate
Tectonics
 CONTINENTAL
DRIFT THEORY
In the early 20th century, German scientist Alfred Wegener suggested that
the Earth’s continents were drifting. He called this movement Continental
Drift.

Wegener came up with this idea because he noticed that the coasts of
western Africa and eastern South America looked like puzzle pieces. He
wondered if they might have once fit together and then drifted apart.
Looking at the continents he theorized that they had once been joined
together as a supercontinent around 225 million years ago. This continent
was later named Pangaea.
But Wegener’s Continental Drift Theory was
not accepted because he is a meteorologist
and suggested that the continents move
around due to the Earth’s rotation which
lacks evidence.

But there was one evidence that strongly

supported the Continental Drift Theory, and
that is the fossil record. Scientists have
found fossils of similar types of plants and
animals in rocks of similar age. These rocks
were on the shores of different continents.
This suggests that the continents were
once joined. There are also other evidences
aside from fossil evidence like geological
features and paleoclimatic indicators.
DuToit in the 1920s and 1930s gathered evidence
that the continents had moved. They based their
idea of continental drift on several lines of
evidence: fit of the continents, paleoclimate
indicators, truncated geologic features, and
fossils.
 PLATE
TECTONICS

The Theory of Plate Tectonics builds on Wegener’s Theory

of Continental Drift. In the Theory of Plate Tectonics, it is
tectonic plates, rather than continents, which are moving.

Tectonic plates are pieces of the lithosphere. The

lithosphere is made up of the crust and the upper mantle.
These pieces float on a layer of partly liquid rock called the
asthenosphere. Tectonic plates are able to move because
the lithosphere is stronger and more dense than the rock
below it.
There are currently seven plates
that make up most of the
continents and the Pacific Ocean.
They are:

1.African Plate
2.Antarctic Plate
3.Eurasian Plate
4.Australian Plate
5.North American Plate
6.Pacific Plate
7.South American Plate
There are two types of tectonic plates: oceanic
plate and continental plate.

Oceanic plates are more dense than continental

plates.

Three movement of plates creates three types of

tectonic boundaries:
Convergent Plate
Boundary - plates move into
one another

Subduction
Where tectonic plates converge,
the one with thin oceanic crust
subducts beneath the one capped
by thick continental crust. A
subduction zone consists of
material scraped off the ocean
floor near the coast (accretionary
wedge) and a chain of volcanoes
farther inland (volcanic arc).
Continental Collision
Continents collide where
subduction completely closes an
ocean. The buoyant continental
crust lifts up a broad region known
as a collisional mountain range.
Divergent Plate
Boundary - plates move apart

Sea floor spreading happens on

the seafloor when oceanic plates
move away from each other. When
this happens, cracks occur in the
lithosphere. This allows magma to
come up and cool forming a new
seafloor.The seafloor spreading
hypothesis was proposed by the
American geophysicist Harry H.
Hess in 1960.
Also, if two oceanic plates
diverge it forms undersea
volcanoes. An example of this
is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

If two continental plates

diverge, it forms a valley.
●Transform Boundary - plates move sideways
in relation to each other.
 Earth
Processes
Earth Processes:

Exogenic Processes - processes that occur as a result of forces originating

from outside the Earth's Surface.

Exo – outside
Genesis – source/origin

3 Main Exogenic Processes:

Weathering
Erosion
Depositon
 
Weathering
- a process by which rocks are broken into smaller fragments chemically or
physically.
 Main Types of Weathering

1. Mechanical/physical weathering - refers to geological processes of rocks

breaking apart without changing their chemical composition.
2. Chemical weathering - requires chemical reaction between rock minerals
and other substances in the environment in order to break rocks.
Erosion - geological process in which earthen
materials are worn away and transported by
natural forces such as wind, water, ice, animals,
and even humans.
 Agents of erosion

Liquid water - is the major agent of erosion on earth. Rains, rivers,

floods, lakes, and the ocean, carry away bits of soil and sand and
slowly wash away the sediment.
Rainfall produces four
types of soil erosion:
splash erosion, sheet
erosion, rill erosion,
and gully erosion.
Wind - is a powerful agent of erosion. Wind driven processes constantly transport
dust, sand, and ash from one place to another.
Ice - usually in the form of glaciers, Deposition
can erode the earth and create - Dropping off of sediments that
dramatic landforms. As they move,
have been weathered and eroded.
they transport everything in their
path, from tiny granules of sand to
huge boulders.
Weathering
WHAT IS WHEATHERING
- Weathering describes the breaking down or
dissolving of rocks and minerals on the surface
of the Earth.
Weathering Agents:

-Water
- Ice
- Acids
- Salts
- Plants
- Animals
- Changes in temperature
??
?
 TYPES OF
WEATHERING

PHYSICAL WEATHERING

CHEMICAL WEATHERING

BIOLOGICAL
WEATHERING
 PHYSICAL WEATHERING
Physical weathering, also called mechanical
weathering, is a process that causes the
disintegration of rocks, mineral, and soils
without chemical change. Mainly causes by
temperature changes
3 TYPES OF PHYSICAL
WEATHERING

FROST SHATTERING

THERMAL STRESS

ABRASION
FROST SHATTERING THERMAL STRESS
- The mechanical breakdown of a
-Involves freezing water breaking rock from expansion and
rocks apart. contraction caused by changes in
temperature.
ABRASION

Rocks and sediment by water

grinding against each
other wear away
surfaces.

by wind
 CHEMICAL WEATHERING
-Chemical weathering describes the process of
chemicals in rainwater making changes to the
minerals in a rock.
3 TYPES OF CHEMICAL
WEATHERING

DISSOLUTION

OXIDATION

HYDROLYSIS
DISSOLUTION
- This process occurs when water
comes into contact with rocks and
dissolves the minerals that make up
that rock into individual elements.
OXIDATION
- When oxygen combines
with another substances,
oxidation has occurred.
HYDROLYSIS
- In the process of hydrolysis, a new solution (a mixture of two or
more substances) is formed as chemicals. The original mineral
becomes altered to a different mineral.

Feldspar Kaolinite (clay)

BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING

- Biological weathering is due to animals and

plants. Burrowing animals and plant roots can
damage and break rocks apart.
 By plant
- plants break up rocks with roots or root exudates.
By animals
- A rabbit can burrow into a crack in a rock making it bigger and eventually splitting the rock.

By microorganisms
- Microorganisms produce organic acids which help to dissolve minerals.
 What is the
importance of
weathering to
engineers???
 Work of
Rivers,
Wind & Sea
Introduction:

You are all aware that out planet Earth is a dynamic evolving
system. There are many cyclic processes acting on the
surface of the earth. They are done by aerial agents like air,
wind, water, ice and waves.They are called as geological
agents. They create a lot of landforms on the surface of the
earth. One such agent is the running water. We call them as
streams or rivers. Rivers are powerful and dynamic
geological agents.
 The erosional work of
streams/ rivers carves and
shapes the landscape
through which they flow.
Geological
Three main functions of
wor ks of rivers
Rivers • a.River Erosion
• b. River Transportation
• c. River Deposition
What is erosion ?
Erosion is carrying away of particles (rocks / soils / sediments) by means of
mechanical disintegration or chemical decomposition of rocks and are
transported from the site with the help of natural agencies like Wind, running
water, glaciers etc.

It is evident that the erosion takes place mostly during the young stage of the
river when the energy condition is high.Several landforms may develop during
the erosion process

Hence, river is a powerful eroding agent and the river erosion carries out its
work in different ways such as: Hydraulic action, Abrasion, Attrition,
Chemical Action
 How a river erodes?

Hydraulic action
The force of the water weakens and breaks up the rocks. When water
dashes against rock forcefully, the rock breaks into small pieces if they are
already weathered, if they are porous and are not well cemented if those
posses fractures / cracks.

The work of turbulence in the water. Running water causes friction in the
joints of rocks in a stream channel. Joints may be enlarged. Loosened
fragments of rocks get swept away.
 How a river erodes?

Abrasion/corrasion
The material carried by the river wears away the river bed. The flowing
water use rock fragments such as pebbles, gravels and sand as a tool for
scratching and grinding the sides and floor of the valley. This process
slowly wears the bed and sides away.
 How a river erodes?

Attrition

As the pebbles carried by the river crash into each other and become
smaller and rounder, thus the rock fragments during abrasion undergo
wear and tear which is called attrition.

When attrition take place the angular edges disappear and spherical,
ellipsoidal stones etc are formed after a long journey

Chemical Action
Certain minerals in rocks like limestone can be dissolved in water. Rocks
are then eroded.
 River Transportation

During transportation, heavier and larger materials move slowly while finer
and lighter material move fast. A river transports its material physically as
well as in a solution form the transport system is divided into three groups:

BED LOAD SUSPENDED DISSOLVED

LOAD LOAD
BED LOAD/TRACTION
- Bed load comprises heavier particles of pebbles, gravels etc. which are
transported and accumulated by rolling, skipping along the bottom of
stream.

SUSPENDED LOAD
- Suspended load consists of silt, fine sand, clay etc.. and carried by river
water in suspension form As the river is moved, the load is also carried
along with it, Thus load is transported continuously without break till
conditions are favourable
- This type of natural suspension and separation of sediments account to
their size is called Sorting

DISSOLVED LOAD
- Material is transported in a solution condition the ability to transport the
solution is influenced by river velocity, density etc.
River Deposition
River Deposition is the last phase of geological work of a river.

A river will drop its load when:

a. Volume decreases
• Dry season
• Dry region with high evaporation
• Presence of permeable rocks
• Receding flood waters
• Speed decreases
• It enters a lake
• It enters a calm sea
• It enters a gently sloping plain

The work of a river depends on its energy

Energy a function of
a. Volume of water
b. Speed of water flow (dependent on gradient)
 Among the different kinds of river deposits, a few are listed
below:
Alluvial cones and fans
(River sediment is known as alluvium)
If the deposit is spread over a small area but has a relatively steep slope, it is called
an alluvial cone On the other hand, if the deposit is spread over a large area and
has a gentle slope, it is called an alluvial fan (unconsolidated sedimentary deposit
that accumulates at the mouth of a mountain)

Placer deposits

The placer deposits are characteristically composed of heavier metals such as

Gold, Platinum, Chromite, magnetite,Rutile, Ilmenite, Monazite etc. which are
commonly economic minerals
 Among the different kinds of river deposits, a few are listed
below:

Delta deposits
Delta deposits are formed where the rivers reach just before they merge with the
sea / ocean.Rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra have built up the best deltaic regions
ofthe world.
Deltas are very fertile and valuable for agriculture

Natural levees
During the time of floods,the river carries a very large scale of river dumps along its
course on either side which are known as natural levees. Eg silt, clay
 Geological work of wind
The earth is surrounded by an envelop of gases called the
atmosphere. The movement of the atmosphere in a direction
parallel to the earth surface is wind. The air in motion is called
wind whereas the vertical movement s of the atmosphere are
termed as air currents.
Erosion by wind and developed features:
Wind erosion is generally caused by two erosion processes:
Deflation & Abrasion
Deflation
is the process of simply removing the loose sand and dust sized
particles from as area, by fast moving winds.

Abrasion
The wind loaded with such particles attains a considerable erosive
power which helps a considerable erosive power which helps in
eroding the rock surfaces by rubbing and grinding actions and
produce many changes. This type of wind erosion is known as
abrasion.
Transportation by wind:
The total sediment load carried by a wind
can be divided into two parts.

a) Bed load
b) Suspended load

The larger and heavier particles such as sands or gravels, which are
moved by the winds but not lifted more than 30 to 60 cm of the earth
surface constitute the bed load. Whereas the finer clay or dust particles
which are lifted by the moving winds by a distance of hundreds of meters
above the earths surface constitute the suspended load.
 Deposition of sediment by wind and
the developed features:
The sediments get dropped and deposited forming what are
known as Aeolian deposits.
There are two types of Aeolian deposits;
a)Sand dunes
b)Loess
Sand dunes
are huge heaps of sand formed by the natural deposition of wind blown
sand sometimes of characteristics and recognizable shape.

The active dunes can be divided into three types

a) Barchans or Crescent shaped dunes
b) Transverse dunes
c) Longitudinal dunes

Barchans
These dunes that look like a new moon in plan are of most common
occurrence. They are triangular in section with the steep side facing away
from the wind direction and inclined
at an angle of about 30° to 330 to the horizontal.
Transverse Dunes
is similar to a barchans in section but in plan it is not curved like barchans such that
its longer axis is broadly transverse to the direction of the prevailing winds.

Longitudinal dunes
are the elongated ridges of sand with their longer axis broadly parallel to the
direction of the prevailing wind.

Loess:
The finest particles of dust travelling in suspension with the wind are transported to
a considerable distance. When dropped down under favourable conditions these
have been found to accumulate in the different constituents the form of paper-thin
laminae, which have aggregated together to form a massive deposit known as
Loess.
 Geological works of the Sea
Seas and oceans covered over seventy per cent of the earth's surface.
Most civil engineers are generally interested on the shorelines only.

The term 'sea' is generally used for saline water bodies surrounded by
landforms and also water bodies of shallower depth less than 4 km.

SEA WAVES
The waves are created by the winds. This disturbance travels to the coast
and gets its energy destroyed.
LITTORAL CURRENTS

- The littoral currents are currents pertaining

to the seas, lake and oceans, the currents
produced after the breaking of waves on the
coast are shown in the figure.
 Formation of Coastline by Marine
Erosion of Coastal Rocks.

1) Abrasion: Waves hurl pebbles, sand boulders and other substances

against base of cliffs, under-cutting the base of cliffs on the sea coast.
2) Hydraulic action: The cracks in the cliffs are filled with sea water from
the waves and its sudden release during the retreat of the waves cause
the material around the cracks to break up.
3) Attrition due to rubbing together of particles in the waves and get
broken up.
4) Solution (Corrosion): By chemical action leading to solution of some of
the constituents.
Landforms Formed by Marine Erosion of Rocks on
Seacoasts

We will next deal with the landforms formed by the

coastal erosion and coastal deposition. The
following landforms are created by the above
erosion of the rocks beside the sea.
a) Sea cliffs
b) Sea caves, Arches , stacks and stumps
c) Wave-cut platforms
Formation of landforms by Coastal Deposition

• The sediments entering the sea are carried away

by the sea waves and deposited in the sea or
alternately it may be taken to the other parts of
the seacoast
• Such deposits on the coast forms the landforms
called beaches, spits and bars.
Beaches
These are formed by the deposition of sand and gravel along the coast. In theory, beach is the
zone extending from low water sea level to the upper limit of high water.

Spits
Spit is a long and narrow extension of the beach into the sea.They are sand deposits formed
by shore drifts.

Bars
Bars are long deposits of sand formed in the sea parallel to the shoreline. This may be above
or below the sea level. Those above the sea level are called barrier beach.

Tombolo
If the bar forms a link to the mainland the link is known as a tombolo

Lagoon
A bar spit can enclose a portion of the sea; Such a lake is called a Lagoon.
FORMATION OF LANDFORMS BY
SEA LEVEL CHANGES
During the long history of the earth, the sea level has
fallen and also risen in many places on earth due to
various causes. A rise in sea level can form a ford (a
narrow long valley). There are called shore lines of
submergence.
CURRENTS IN THE SEAS
There are different types of currents that work in the waters of the seas
like density currents, salinity currents, temperature currents, tidal currents
etc.

We will briefly examine only the action of the following type of currents that
affect the coastline as shown.

1) Underflow or rip currents and littoral currents

2) Tidal current
UNDERTOE (Rip Current) AND
LITTORAL CURRENTS
We noted that the waves that come to the shore with a certain
velocity, after flowing up the slope of the beaches, the water
returns to the sea with a velocity depending on the slope of the
beach along the bottom.

TIDAL CURRENTS
The rise and fall of the tide in an open coast does not produce
much effect on the deposits on the shoreline.
SEAWALLS AND BULKHEADS

Seawalls and bulkheads are the massive structures built along the
coast.
Bulkheads are made of steel or concrete or timber piles and they
are used where the impact of waves is not very large.

CONSTRUCTION OF REVETMENTS

Revetments against the coast are usually built with large stone or
concrete block big enough to resist the force of the waves placed
on each other.
 PREVENTION OF SILTING

Corals are very small sea organisms that live in very large colonics
especially near the tropics.

They secrete calcium carbonates and build coral reef. These coral
deposits may be built on sand deposits in the sea.

Three types of coral reefs deposited are:

(a) Fringing reefs
(b) Barrier reefs
(c) Atolls
Groundwater
 GROUND WATER
Groundwater hydrology defined as the science of the
occurrence, distribution and movement of water below the
surface of the earth. Ground water is the underground water
that occurs in the saturated one of variable thickness and
depth below the earth's surface. Groundwater is an
important source of water supply throughout the world. Its
use in irrigation, industries, urban and rural home continues
to increase.
 Origin of Ground Water:
Almost all groundwater can be part of hydrologic cycle, including surface
and atmospheric waters. Connate water is water entrapped in the
interstices of sedimentary rock at the time it of deposition. Derived from
the ocean or fresh water sources. Typically is highly minimized. New water
of magmatic, almost all ground water, including surface volcanic or cosmic
origin added to the terrestrial water supply is juvenile water.
Ground water constitutes one portion of the earth water circulatory system
known as the hydrologic cycle. Water bearing formations, of the earth
crust act as conduits for transmission and as reservoirs for storage of
water. Water enters these formations from the ground surface or form
bodies of surface water
After which it travels slowly for varying distances until it returns to the
surface by action of natural flow, plants or man. Ground water emerging
into surface stream channels aids in sustaining stream flow when surface
runoff is low or non-existent. Similarly, water pumped from wells
represents the sole water source in many regions during much of every
year.

All ground water originates as surface water. Principal sources of natural

recharge include precipitation, stream flow, lakes and reservoirs. Other
contributions known as artificial recharge occur from excess irrigation,
seepage from canals and water purposely applied to augment
groundwater supplies. Discharge of ground water occurs when emerges
from underground. Most natural discharge occurs as flow into surface
water bodies such as streams, lakes and oceans. Flow to the surface
appears as spring. Groundwater near the surface may return directly to
the atmosphere by evaporation from the soil and by transpiration from
vegetation.
 Works of Ground Water
Civil-engineering construction works often have a significant impact
on groundwater conditions. Such an impact can range from the derogation
of water sources by dewatering works, to the creation of barriers and
pathways for groundwater flow formed by foundations or ground-
improvement processes. In some cases, not all these impacts are
identified early enough during the planning and design process. This
paper describes the full range of potential groundwater impacts which can
result from construction activities. The effects are grouped into five rational
categories as an aid to initial assessment. The need for accurate baseline
groundwater environmental data is set out. and recommendations are
made for the planning of monitoring programmes
Importance of
Geology in
Civil
Engineering
• From the perspective of the stability of the foundation, site
selection is important before building roads, bridges, tunnels,
tanks, reservoirs, and structures. Geology offers organized
knowledge of building materials and their properties.
• Understanding the nature of the rocks is important for building
roads and tunnels.
• Building foundation issues are directly related to the geology
of the proposed construction site for dams, bridges, and
buildings.
• For a variety of uses, including irrigation, water supply, and
excavation operations, understanding groundwater is
necessary.
• Understanding Erosion, Transportation, and Deposition
(ETD) by Surface Water aids in soil conservation and
river control.
• Many engineering projects benefit greatly from the use
of geological maps and sections in planning.
• If geological structures such as faults, joints, beds, or
folds are discovered, they must be dealt with
appropriately. Thus, the rock structures' stability is
important.
• The cost of planning work is decreased by doing a pre-
geological survey of the area.
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listening!!