The role or importance of geology in civil engineering may be EARTHQUAKE: An earthquake is shaking of the surface of

briefly outlined as follows: earth, caused by sudden movement in the Earth's crust. They
Geology provides a systematic study of the structure and can be extremely violent. They are the result of a sudden
properties of construction materials and their occurrence. The civil release of energy in the Earth's crust. This creates seismic
engineers need to know the properties of rocks accurately to waves. which are waves of energy that travel through the Earth.
enable them to consider different rocks for any required purpose The study of earthquakes is called seismology.
that is as a foundation rock, as road metal, as concrete aggregate, Causes Of Earthquake
as building stones, as the roofing material for decorative purpose. Natural causes: Volcanic Eruptions: When magma and ash
The selection of a site is important from the viewpoint of stability escape from the volcano, it often results in an earthquake.
of foundation and availability of construction materials. Geology
Isostatic Adjustments: Isostatic adjustments are changes in
provides knowledge about the site used in the construction of
the level of the ground due to the removal or addition of
buildings, dams, tunnels, tanks, reservoirs, highways and bridges.
material..
Geology helps to identify area susceptible to failures due to
geological hazards such as earthquake, landslides, weathering Tectonic Plate Movements: The Earth’s crust is made up of
effects, etc. several large plates that are constantly moving. When two
The knowledge about the nature of the rocks is very necessary for plates collide, it can cause an earthquake.
tunnelling, constructing roads and in determining the stability of
cuts and slopes. Man-made causes: Mining: One of the most common man-
The foundation problems of dams, bridges and buildings are made causes of earthquakes is mining. When miners remove
directly related to the geology of the area where they are to be large amounts of coal, oil, or gas from the ground, it can cause
built. the ground to collapse. This can create an earthquake.
The knowledge of groundwater is necessary for connection with Dams: Another common cause of earthquakes are dams. When
excavation works, water supply, irrigation and many other a dam is built, it can change the water levels in the area. This
purposes. Hydrological maps provide information about the can create an earthquake.
distribution of surface water channels and the groundwater depth. Construction: Construction can also cause earthquakes. When
Geological maps help in planning civil engineering projects. It large buildings are built, they can change the way the ground
provides information about the structural deposition of rock types
moves. This can create an earthquake.
in the proposed area.
Explosions: Explosion can also cause earthquakes. When an
Geology helps in determining the earthquake-prone areas. If any
geological features like faults, folds, etc. are found, they have to
explosion happens, it can create shockwaves that can travel
be suitably treated to increase the stability of the structure. through the ground and cause an earthquake.
The knowledge of erosion, transportation and deposition (ETD) Hydrostatic Pressures: When water is pressurized, it can
by surface water helps soil conservation, river control, coastal and create a lot of force on the surrounding rocks. This can cause
harbour works. the rocks to break and create an earthquake.

Tectonic Plate Theory Internal Structure of Earth 1

Plate tectonics is the movement of 7 major plates of earth
crust. Movement of these plates is due to the generation of The Crust: It is the top most shell of the earth, which has a
convective current inside the earth. Generation of this thickness of 30-40 km in the continents and 5-6 km in oceans.
convective current is due to huge temperature differences There is a striking variation in the materials or rocks, as they
between core and crust. Due to this movement, displacement are called, composing the crust over the continents and ocean
will take place in the rocks of earth crust, due to floors. the oceanic crust is made up of heavier and darker rocks
displacement work has been done and work will be stored in called basalts compared to light-coloured and light-density,
the form of energy called as strain energy. Due to this granitic rocks of continental crust. When considered as a part
displacement, a slip will take place in the faults of rock. Due of the total structure of the earth, crust makes only an
to slip stored strained energy will be released which will insignificant part represented by a thin layer, similar to the skin
induce violent shaking of earth called earthquake. of an apple. The crust has silica as the most dominant
Types of tectonic plate boundaries component, its value lying above 50% by volume in the
Divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move oceanic crust and above 62% in the continental crust. alumina
away from each other. Along these boundaries, earthquakes is the next important oxide, varying between 13-16% followed
by iron oxides (8%), lime (6%), sodium (4%), magnesium
are common and magma (molten rock) rises from the
(4%), potassium (2.5%) and titanium (2%). the crust itself
Earth’s mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new
shows a complicated structure both in make-up and
oceanic crust. compositional variations.
Convergent boundary: The impact of the colliding plates Mantle: At the base of the crust materials of the earth become
can cause the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into greatly different in many properties from those overlying them
mountain ranges or one of the plates may bend down into a in the crust. These materials appear to form an early
deep seafloor trench. At convergent plate boundaries where homogeneous zone till a depth of 2900 km is reached. This
an oceanic plate meets a continental plate, oceanic crust is zone of materials lying between crust and a depth of 2900 km
forced down into the Earth’s mantle and begins to melt. is known a MANTLE.
Transform plate boundary. One of the most famous The Core: It is the third and the inner most structure shell of
transform plate boundaries occurs at the San Andreas fault the earth, which is clearly marked by the seismic evidence. It
zone, which extends underwater. Natural or human-made starts at a depth of 2900 km below the surface and extends
structures that cross a transform boundary are offset — split right up to the center of the earth at 6370 km. the material
into pieces and carried in opposite directions. Rocks that making the core is found to be from seismic studies only
line the boundary are pulverized as the plates grind along, strikingly different from that making the other 2 shells in one
creating a linear fault valley or undersea canyon. major aspect, in elastic properties.
Metamorphism is the transformation of Black Soil:- These are residual soils mainly from the
existing rock (the protolith) to rock with a alteration of basalts. Black soils are typically highly clay.
different mineral composition or texture. Metamorphism takes Black soils are fine grained, porous, sticky and swell
place at temperatures in excess of 150 °C (300 °F), and often also
at elevated pressure or in the presence of chemically active fluids,
when wet and contracts on drying with the development
but the rock remains mostly solid during the transformation of a network of deep cracks. These highly fertile and
Metamorphism distinct from weathering or digenesis, which are excellent for cotton cultivation, hence called black cotton
changes that take place at or just beneath Earth's surface. soil locally. In India black soils are derived from the
Contact metamorphism alteration of Deccan Basalts and occur over a very wide
At shallow depths within the crust (usually less than 6 km) the area of over 200,000 sq miles in western and central parts
heat sources responsible for contact metamorphism are bodies of covering the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, parts of M.P ,
hot magma which raise the temperature of the surrounding rocks.
Orissa, A.P and Karnataka. 3
Dynamic metamorphism Laterites: - Laterites are residual soils formed in tropical
Dynamic metamorphic rocks are restricted to narrow zones regions. Laterites are very soft D when freshly cut but
adjacent to faults or thrusts. The high shear stresses associated become hard after long exposure. Hardness is due to
with faults and thrusts crush the adjacent rocks. cementing action of iron oxide and aluminium oxide that
are most resistant to leaching. Valuable metals like
Regional metamorphism aluminum, copper, silver, gold, nickel and iron are
Most metamorphic rocks occur in fold mountain belts or cratonic
areas. Such rocks cover large areas of the Earth's crust and are
concentrated in literates. These soils are also called
therefore termed regional metamorphic rocks. lateritic soils.
Red Soil: - These are residual soils derived mainly from
High pressure regional metamorphism the disintegration and decomposition of ancient granites
In some parts of the world, geologically young (Cenozoic and and geneisses and contain coarse grains of quartz and
Mesozoic) fold mountain belts contain sequences of mica and fines mainly kaolinite. Red Soils are generally
metamorphosed fine-grained sedimentary rocks and basic heavily stained red with iron oxides grading into brown,
volcanic rocks that contain unusual blue amphiboles.
yellow gray and even black. These are fairly rich in
Retrogressive metamorphism potash, porous and contain no salts and free carbonate and
Many metamorphic rocks contain evidence of retrograde mineral moderately fertile. Red Soils occur extensively in
changes, that is, alteration of higher grade minerals into lower peninsular India covering the states of Bihar, West
grade ones. Bengal, Orissa, Parts of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra
2 Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
WEATHERING It is a process that causes the Soil is an important natural resource, they represent the
breakdown of rocks, either to form new minerals that are interface between the lithosphere and the biosphere. As
stable on the surface of the earth, or to break the rock soil provides nutrients to plants, soils consists of
down into smaller particles. Weathering is the result of the weathered rock plus organic material that comes from
interactions of air, water, and temperature on exposed decaying plants and animals. Engineers define soil as any
rock surfaces and prepares the rock for erosion. unconsolidated material that may be excavated without
There are two kinds of weathering: 1. mechanical 2. blasting. Soil contains mostly quartz and clay particles of
chemical. varying sizes. The quartz sand grains help keep the soil
Mechanical weathering: It is the process by which rocks porous, and the clay particles hold water and nutrients for
are broken down into smaller pieces by external plant growth. Sand – composed of sand grains mostly
conditions. Processes of Mechanical Weathering: without clay Loam – Mixture of sand and clay Clay– The
 Block disintegration finest material, mostly kaoline without sand.
 Granular Disintegration
 Thermal or Heat Effect 3 Importances of soils are: 3
 Frost Action
 Plant and Animal activities 1) Natural resource (for agriculture, for construction
Chemical weathering: it is a process where chemical material)
alteration or decomposition of rock sand minerals takes 2) Soil erosion
due to rain water and other atmospheric agents. chemical 3) As a sediment source (via erosion)
weathering weakens the bonds in rock and makes them 4) As a water filter (for water infiltrating the ground)
more vulnerable to decomposition and erosion. 5) As a contaminant sink
Process of Chemical Weathering 6) As a bearing material (for building on)
 Hydrolysis
 Carbonation Soil Profile: When a soil develops on a rock, a soil profile
 Oxidation develops as shown below. These different layers are not
 Hydration the same as beds formed by sedimentation, instead each
of the horizons forms and grows in place by weathering
and the addition of organic material from decaying plants
and plant roots. Vertical sequence of A, B, C and D
horizon is the soil profile which is as follows.
FOLDS: Folds occurs when rock deforms in such a way An aquifer is an underground layer of porous rocks or
that it bends instead of breaking. The rocks, like any other permeable rocks that store and retain groundwater levels in
material, deform to the action of external efforts. We do the soil. The underground aquifer is built with all types of
not grasp this deformation, but we know when a rock is porous or permeable rock materials, such as sand, gravel, or
deformed. Folds come from pressure on the rocks that silt, making it a suitable water absorber. The rainwater
occur over very long periods of time and vary in size from enters the aquifer through the soil and becomes a part of the
microscopic crinkles to mountain-sized folds groundwater. The groundwater from the aquifers then
Classification of Folds: The important types are:- resurfaces from springs and wells. The study of
Anticline: - is a fold that arches up as both sides of the groundwater, aquifer, and their property is known as
rock are pushed inward. You can remember that the hydrogeology.
anticline creates this type of fold because the arch looks
like an 'A' (for anticline) Syncline: - is a fold that sinks Types of Aquifers 5
down as both sides of the rock are pushed inward. You
can remember that a syncline creates this type of fold Confined Aquifer: A confined aquifer is a part of a rock
because the fold 'sinks' downward, which sounds like bed or sand covered by a clay confining layer and prevents
'syncline. Domes: - which are like anticlines but instead the groundwater from moving from one aquifer to another.
of an arch, the fold is in a dome shape, like an inverted Unconfined Aquifer: An unconfined aquifer is a section of
bowl. Basins:-which are like synclines but again, instead rock bed or sand not covered by a confining layer. An
of a sinking arch, the fold is in the shape of a bowl unconfined aquifer is always shallow in-depth, and its top
sinking down into the ground. Isoclinal Folds:- are similar consists of the water table.
to symmetrical folds, but these folds both have the same Saturated Aquifer: Saturated aquifers are those aquifers
angle and are parallel to each other. 'Iso' means 'the same' that are filled with water and have no space to store more
(symmetrical), and 'cline' means 'angle,' so this name water. These aquifers store water with high-pressure heads.
literally means 'same angle.' So, isoclinal folds are both Unsaturated Aquifer: Unsaturated aquifers are those
symmetrical and aligned in a parallel fashion. Overturned aquifers that contain water but still have some space filled
Folds:- occur when the folding is so intense that the fold with air and can store more water.
appears to have turned over on itself. Chevron Fold: - If Perched Aquifer: Perched aquifer is a type of aquifer that
the crest point is a cute then it is referred as Chevron fold. occurs over unsaturated rock formations. These aquifers
This is due to very much of magnitude of force is acted develop as a result of discontinuous impermeable layers of
on either side. 4 rock or sand.

FAULTS: Fault is a fracture or fracture zone in rock Water bearing properties of rocks 5
along which there has been displacement of 2 sides
relatively to one another parallel to fracture. A fault is a
rupture deformation produced either by tensional or (i) Permeability and non-porosity which is
compressive force. significant in water yielding of rocks.
Parts of Fault:- Fault plane:-The planar fracture surface (ii) Beside weathering and texture, the presence
along which the break and dislocation of rock beds have of numerous sets of joints, fractures, cleavages
taken place and faults breccias form the good water bearing
Throw:-The vertical component of fault movement
zones in igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Heave: - The horizontal component of the fault
movement, the shift in measured at right angles to the (iii) Solution opening in limestones and
strike movement. Hade: - The angle between the inclined dolomites may yield water.
fault plane and the vertical. (iv) Water may be yielded through cracks. In
Classification and Types of Faults: Faults are classified consolidated formations.
and described on the basis of (a).The direction ofslip of (v) Basalts form a good source of water.
beds, ie the apparent displacement of fault blocks relative
(vi) Selection of well site in shaly region must be
to each other and the causative forces called the genetic
types. (b).The attitude of fault plane relative to the done carefully, recognising the storage,
attitude of rocks beds called the geometric types. infiltration and seepage.
Importance of Fault: 1) Fault movement triggers (vii) Sandstones are very good aquifers.
earthquake and landslides. 2) Fault zones are most (viii) Marble with fissures and cracks, heavily
undesirable features in dam and reservoir sites. 3) Faults shattered quartzites and slates weathered gneisses
provide passages for percolation of water and
and schists serve as good aquifers.
mineralizing solutions 4) Fault zones form sites of
mineralization 5) Fault are responsible for lakes, swamp (ix) Faults generally affect the water table by
sand spring heads 6) Fault zones often form potential oil blocking or diverting the flow.
traps 7) Faults from a major defect in rock and there a (x) Synclinal trough of alternating layers of
potential hazards in engineering and mining works. permeable and impermeable beds of rocks
4 providing artesian conditions.