GEOLOGY &

EARTHQUAKE
ENGINEERING
GENERAL
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
 Geology (from Greek Geo means “Earth" and
logos means "study")
 It is a science and study of the solid Earth,
processes by which it shapes and changes.
Geology provides primary evidence for plate
tectonics, the history of life and evolution, and
past climates.
 In modern times, geology is commercially
important for minerals and hydrocarbon
exploration, is publicly important for predicting and
understanding natural hazards, plays an essential
role in geotechnical engineering, and is a major
academic discipline.
GEOLOGICAL CYCLE
INTERNAL STRUCTURE
OF EARTH
SCHEMATIC VIEW OF THE
INTERIOR OF EARTH

1. continental crust – 2. oceanic crust – 3. upper

mantle – 4. lower mantle – 5. outer core – 6. inner
core
 The interior structure of the Earth, similar to the outer, is layered.
These layers can be defined by either their chemical or their
rheological properties.
 The Earth has an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous mantle,
a liquid outer core that is much less viscous than the mantle, and a
solid inner core.
 Scientific understanding of Earth's internal structure is based on
observations of topography and bathymetry, observations of rock in
outcrop, samples brought to the surface from greater depths by
volcanic activity, analysis of the seismic waves that pass through
the Earth, measurements of the gravity field of the Earth, and
experiments with crystalline solids at pressures and temperatures
characteristic of the Earth's deep interior.
COMPOSITIONAL/CHEMICAL
LAYERING
 The chemical layering of the earth formed as
part of the earth's differentiation-resulting from
the heat generated during the process of
planetary accretion.
 As a general rule, denser materials settled to
the center of the earth, leaving lighter
materials on top.
 Thus, the earth consists of successive layers
of material getting less dense as you
approach the surface.
 Core is made of iron with minor amounts of nickel
(NiFe), and lies at the center of the earth.
 Mantle is made of iron-magnesium silicates and
surrounds the core. The mantle makes up the bulk
of the earth.
 Crust occurs as two distinct types, oceanic crust and
continental crust. Both types of crust are lighter
(less dense) and contain more silica than the
mantle.
1. Oceanic crust is the crust that underlies most of the
areas we call "oceans“. It is thinner, is more dense,
and contains less silica and aluminum and more
magnesium and iron than continental crust. The lack
of silica makes it darker than continental crust.
2. Continental crust is thicker and made of less dense
material than the oceanic crust, it "floats" higher on
the earth.
PLATE TECTONICS THEORY
 Plate tectonics (from the Late Latin
tectonicus, from the Greek: τεκτονικός
"pertaining to building") is a scientific
theory which describes the large scale
motions of Earth's lithosphere.
 The theory builds on the older concepts of
continental drift, developed during the
first decades of the 20th century (one of
the most famous advocates was Alfred
Wegener), and was accepted by the
majority of Geo-Scientific community when
the concepts of seafloor spreading were
developed in the late 1950s and early
1960s.
 The lithosphere is broken up into what are
called "tectonic plates".
 “Tectonic plates". In the case of the Earth,
there are currently seven to eight major
(depending on how they are defined) and
many minor plates.
Major Plates
 African Plate
 Antarctic Plate
 Eurasian Plate
 Indo-Australian Plate
 North American Plate
 Pacific Plate
 South American Plate
TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDRIES
1. Transform boundaries:
 Occurs where plates slide or, perhaps
more accurately, grind past each other
along transform faults.
 The relative motion of the two plates is
either sinistral (left side toward the
observer) or dextral (right side toward the
observer).
 The Chaman Fault in Pakistan is an
example of a transform boundary
exhibiting dextral motion.
2. Divergent boundaries: Occurs where two
plates slide apart from each other. Mid-ocean
ridges (e.g., Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and active
zones of rifting (such as Africa's Great Rift
Valley) are both examples of divergent
boundaries, Karoli Village In Salt Range in
Pakistan.
3. Convergent boundaries: Occurs where two
plates slide towards each other commonly
forming either a sub-duction zone (if one plate
moves underneath the other) or a continental
collision (if the two plates contain continental
crust).
Deep marine trenches are typically associated
with subduction zones. The subducting slab
contains many hydrous minerals, which release
their water on heating; this water then causes
the mantle to melt, producing volcanism.
DIFFERENT FIELDS OF
GEOLOGY
 Physical Geology: General mechanism of
geological processes and their products, resulting
land forms, topography etc
 Petrology: Different rocks types, material evolution,
properties, their current position and other
parameters.
 Stratigraphy: Mode of formation of different rock
units, geological time scale, laws of geology, nomen-
clature, fauna and flora occurrence.
 Engineering Geology: Determination of
engineering properties of rock, soil material types,
aggregates, design parameters, useful geotechnical,
civil engineering tool for mega structures and
foundation designs.
 Structural Geology: Different earth
structures, folds, faults, dome, their
interpretation, hazards and economic
interpretation.
 Petroleum Geology: Mode of
hydrocarbon generation, their migration,
traps and reserve estimations etc.
 Geohydrology: Groundwater studies,
exploration, their mode of occurrence,
recovery and environmental issues etc.
 Environmental Geology: Geological
hazards like slope stability issues, debris,
earthflows, rock falling, flooding, seismic
hazards, rock soil, water contamination
and other environmental issues etc.
 Geo-physics: Combination of geological
and physic techniques used for subsurface
exploration, material evaluation,
properties, groundwater studies and oil
gas exploration.
 Economic Geology: Exploration of
different metallic and non-metallic
resources, mode of occurrence and their
extraction and different investment
opportunities.
 Sedimentology: Deals with
sediment/particles of rocks and soils,
transportation, lithification etc.
 Volcanogeology: It is about volcanoes,
igneous processes, and related issues.
 Oceanography: World seas, oceanic
pollutions, offshore structure stability,
Tsunamis etc.
 Paleontology: It deals with fauna and flora
species, fossils and dating of rocks.
 Astero-geology: Geology of other planets
rather than Earth, Meteorite and Space
geology etc.