GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING

CE 222 LECTURE BY: ENGR. ERISH KEN F. DOMINGO

examine rocks for important metals, oil, natural

UNIT 1. GENERAL GEOLOGY gas and ground water.

TOPIC OUTLINE 2 BRANCH OF GEOLOGY

1.​ Geology in Civil Engineering ●​ Can be arranged according to the
2.​ Branch of Geology fundamental classifications of physical and
a.​ Physical Geology historical geology.
b.​ Geophysicsoceanic ●​ Time-oriented.
c.​ Economic Geology ●​ Reconstructing the past (landscapes, magnetic
d.​ Geochemistry fields, or fossils).
e.​ Mineralogy
f.​ Petrology PHYSICAL GEOLOGY
g.​ Historical Geology
●​ A branch of geology that studies the structure,
h.​ Paleontology
composition, physical qualities, constituent
i.​ Paleography
rocks and minerals, and surficial features of the
j.​ Stratigraphy
earth.
3.​ Earth Structure
a.​ Crust
GEOPHYSICSOCEANIC
b.​ Mantle
c.​ Core ●​ The study of physical properties like density and
4.​ Elementary Knowledge magnetism of the Earth or its parts. Engineering
a.​ Continental Drift geophysics is a branch of exploration
b.​ Fossil Evidence geophysics, which aims at solving civil
5.​ Weathering engineering problems by interpreting the
a.​ Types of Weathering subsurface concerned
b.​ Geological Work by River
c.​ Geological Work of Oceans ECONOMIC GEOLOGY
6.​ Origin, Occurrence of Earthquake ●​ Is a branch of Geology that deals with metal
7.​ Mode Occurence of Earthquake, Prospecting ores, fossil fuels and other commercially
8.​ Groundwater valuable commodities including salt, gypsum,
9.​ Importance of Geology in Civil Engineering and building stone.

1 GEOLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING GEOCHEMISTRY

●​ The study of earth's structure in connection to ●​ A branch that is relatively more recent and
civil engineering is the focus of engineering deals with the occurrence, distribution,
geology, which is concerned with ensuring that abundance, and mobility of different elements
construction projects are designed in a safe in the earth crust.
and cost-effective manner.
●​ Geologists study the land to determine whether MINERALOGY
it is stable enough to support the proposed ●​ This deals with the study of minerals. Minerals
project. They also study water patterns to are basic units with different rocks and ores of
determine if a particular site is prone to the earth are made up of.
flooding. Some civil engineers use geologists to

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 GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING
CE 222 LECTURE BY: ENGR. ERISH KEN F. DOMINGO

PETROLOGY ●​ It focuses on understanding the sequence,

●​ The study of rocks is referred as petrology. The composition, and distribution of these layers to

earth's crust are made up of several types of interpret the Earth's geological history.
rocks and from the aspect of civil engineering, ●​ Stratigraphy is crucial for reconstructing past
this is the most important branch of geology. environments, events, and the evolution of life
on Earth.

HISTORICAL GEOLOGY
3 EARTH STRUCTURE
●​ Focuses on the study of Earth's history and the
processes that have shaped the planet over ●​ On the basis of relative position, Density &
geological time. Composition of Earth summarize there are
●​ It involves investigating the Earth's past through three different types of layers of the Earth.
the examination of rocks, fossils, and other Which is identified the structure of the Earth.
geological features to understand the evolution
of the Earth and the life forms that have THREE LAYERS OF THE EARTH
inhabited it.

PALEONTOLOGY
●​ Paleontology is the scientific study of prehistoric
life, including the study of fossils, ancient
organisms, and the evolution of life on Earth.
●​ Paleontologists, scientists who specialize in this
field, examine and analyze the remains of
plants, animals, and other organisms that lived
in the distant past.

PALEOGRAPHY
CRUST
●​ Paleography is the study of ancient handwriting
●​ Earth's crust is both the outermost and the
and the deciphering of historical texts. This field
thinnest of the planet's layers, is composed
is essential for understanding and interpreting
mostly of oxygen and silicon, and is where the
historical manuscripts, documents, and
most ancient rock samples in the world have
inscriptions.
been found. It is also the surface of the earth.
●​ Paleographers analyze the script, style, and
language of written records to date them,
TWO TYPES OF CRUST
identify their origin, and gain insights into the
1.​ Continental Crust is composed of crystalline
historical, cultural, and social contexts in which
and granitic rocks mainly of silica and
they were produced
aluminum and therefore also called SIAL layer.
2.​ Oceanic Crust the oceanic crust is mainly
STRATIGRAPHY composed of basaltic igneous rocks, mainly of
●​ Stratigraphy is a branch of geology that silica and magnesium and therefore also called
involves the study of rock layers or strata in the SIMA layer.
Earth's crust.

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 GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING
CE 222 LECTURE BY: ENGR. ERISH KEN F. DOMINGO

MANTLE ●​ Continent- A continent is one of the earth

●​ Mantle are made of rock or ices, and are seven main division of land.

generally the largest and most massive layer of ●​ Oceanic ridge- is an under water mountain
the planetary body. system for med by tectonic plates. an Iceland
1.​ Upper Mantle is a very thick layer of rock inside are is a type of archipelago often composed of
the planet, which begins just beneath the crust. a chain of volcanoes with are shaped
2.​ Lower Mantle The lower mantle, historically also alignment situated parallel and close to a
known as the mesosphere, represents boundary between two converging tectonic
approximately 56% of Earth's total volume, and plates
is the region from 660 to 2900 km below Earth's
surface, between the transition zone and outer 4 ELEMENTARY KNOWLEDGE
core.
It can be subdivided into four layers namely CONTINENTAL DRIFT
1.​ Lithosphere ●​ Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's land
2.​ Asthenosphere masses are in constant motion. The realization
3.​ Upper Mantle that Earth's land masses move was first
4.​ Lower Mantle proposed by Alfred Wegener, a German
meteorologist and geophysicist, which he
CORE called continental drift.
●​ Earth's core is the very hot, very dense center of ●​ Trivia: The story begins with Alfred Wegener
our planet. It is made mostly of Iron and it has a (1880–1930), a German meteorologist and
magnetic field. geophysicist who noticed something curious
when he looked at a map of the world. Wegener
PARTS OF CORE observed that the continents of South America
1.​ Outer Core is a hot and liquid layer comprising and Africa looked like they would fit together
mainly of nickel and liquid iron. The transition remarkably well—take away the Atlantic Ocean
space between outer core and mantle is called and these two massive landforms would lock
Gutenberg discontinuity. neatly together. He also noted that similar
2.​ Inner Core-is mostly made of solid iron and has fossils were found on continents separated by
little amounts of nickel. oceans, additional evidence that perhaps the
landforms had once been joined. He
●​ The transition region between outer core and hypothesized that all of the modern-day
inner core is called Lehmann discontinuity. continents had previously been clumped
●​ Earth's magnetic field is believed to be together in a supercontinent he called Pangaea
controlled by the liquid outer core. It is also from ancient Greek words "Pan" meaning entire,
believe to be the responsible force of Earth's and "Gaia" meaning Earth.
rotation and electric currents. ●​ Trivia: Wegener first presented his idea of
●​ Ocean the vast body of salt water that cover continental drift in 1912, but it was widely
almost three fourth of the earth surface. ridiculed and soon, mostly, forgotten. Wegener
●​ Trenches- from when one tectonic plates slides never lived to see his theory accepted—he died
beneath another plates at a subduction zone. at the age of 50 while on an expedition in
●​ Hot spot a small area with relatively high Greenland
temperature in a comparison to its surrounding

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 GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING
CE 222 LECTURE BY: ENGR. ERISH KEN F. DOMINGO

●​ He suggests that continents were moving crust of the Atlantic Ocean. Oddly, it looks like a
around due to Earth rotation which turned out larger boundary of the African continent, itself.
to be wrong. Secondly, he was a meteorologist
(studies weather), not a geologist, so geologist ANTARCTIC PLATE
didn't think he knew what he was talking about. ●​ The Antarctic plate holds the entire continent of
Antarctica including its surrounding oceanic
FOSSIL EVIDENCE crust. This plate is surrounded by parts of the
●​ One type of evidence that strongly supported African, Australian, Pacific, and South American
the Theory of Continental Drift is the fossil plates.
record. Scientists have found fossils of similar
types of plants and animals in rocks of similar EURASIAN PLATE
age. These rocks were on the shores of different ●​ The Eurasian major plate consists of most of
continents. This suggests that the continents Europe, Russia, and parts of Asia. This plate is
were once joined sandwiched between the North American and
●​ According to the National Geographic Society, African Plates on the north and west sides.
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that
explains how major landforms are created as a
INDO-AUSTRALIAN PLATE
result of Earth's subterranean movements. The
theory, which solidified in the 1960s, ●​ The Indo-Australia plate is a major plate
transformed the earth sciences by explaining combining the Australian and Indian Plates. But
many phenomena, including they are widely considered to be two separate
mountain-building events, volcanoes, and plates.
earthquakes. ●​ The Indo-Australia plate stretches from
●​ According to the book, Plate Tectonics, The Australia to India. It also includes the oceanic
Theory of Plate Tectonics builds on Wegener's crust of the Indian Ocean. The northeast side of
Theory of Continental Drift. In the Theory of Plate the Australian plate converges with the Pacific
Tectonics, it is tectonic plates, rather than Plate.
continents that are moving
NORTH AMERICAN PLATE
There are currently 7 major plates that make up most of ●​ The North American major plate not only
the continents and the Pacific Ocean They are: contains the continent of North America but
●​ African Plate also part of the Atlantic Ocean.
●​ Antarctic Plate ●​ This plate extends all the way over the North
●​ Eurasian Plate Pole and even contains Siberia and the
●​ Indo-Australian Plate northern island of Japan. It also includes
●​ North American Plate Greenland, Cuba, and the Bahamas.
●​ Pacific Plate
●​ South American Plate PACIFIC PLATE
●​ The Pacific major plate is the largest which
AFRICAN PLATE underlies the Pacific Ocean. Specifically, it
●​ The African plate contains the whole continent stretches all the way along the west coast of
of Africa as well as the surrounding oceanic North America to the east coast of Japan and
Indonesia.

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 GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING
CE 222 LECTURE BY: ENGR. ERISH KEN F. DOMINGO

PHYSICAL also known as mechanical

SOUTH AMERICAN PLATE weathering or disaggregation, is
●​ The South American plate is a major plate that the process class that causes rocks
includes the continent of South America and a to disintegrate without chemical
large portion of the ocean from the Atlantic change.
Ocean ABRASION (the process by which clasts and
other particles are reduced in size)
There are also 8 minor tectonic plates: is the primary process in physical
●​ Arabian Plate. weathering. Chemical changes
●​ Caribbean Plate. rock composition, often
●​ Cocos Plate. transforming them into different
●​ Juan de Fuca Plate. chemical reactions when water
●​ •Nazca Plate. interacts with minerals.
●​ Philippine Sea Plate. BIOLOGICAL Is the weakening and subsequent
●​ Scotia Plate. breakdown by plants, animals and
microbes of rock.
Tectonic Plates not only move land masses or
continental crust but also oceans or oceanic crust.
GEOLOGICAL WORK BY RIVER
Since the plates are floating on the liquid rock, they are
constantly bumping against each other. ●​ Rivers play a significant role in shaping the
Plate tectonics explains why Earth's continents are Earth's surface through various geological
moving; the theory of continental drift did not provide processes. The work of rivers, often referred to
an explanation. Therefore, the theory of plate tectonics as fluvial processes, involves the erosion,
is more complete. It has gained widespread transportation, and deposition of sediments,
acceptance among scientists. This shift from one contributing to the formation of landscapes
theory to another is an example of the scientific and geological features
process: As more observations are made and ●​ The geological work by river may be divided
measurements are collected, scientists revise their into three
theories to be more accurate and consistent with the 1.​ Erosion
natural world. 2.​ Transport
3.​ Deposition

5 WEATHERING
METHOD BY RIVER EROSION
●​ Weathering describes the breaking down or
dissolving of rocks and minerals on the surface ●​ River erosion is a natural process by which
of the Earth. Water, ice, acids, salts, plants, rivers wear away and remove rock, soil, and
animals, and changes in temperature are all other materials from their channels and
agents of weathering. surrounding areas. There are several methods
●​ Once a rock has been broken down, a process through which rivers erode the landscape
called erosion transports the bits of rock and
mineral away. No rock on Earth is hard enough RIVER VALLEYS
to resist the forces of weathering and erosion ●​ River valleys are landforms created by the
erosional and depositional actions of rivers over
TYPES OF WEATHERING time. These valleys are typically characterized

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 GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING
CE 222 LECTURE BY: ENGR. ERISH KEN F. DOMINGO

by a low-lying, elongated depression or basin ●​ Using hydraulic action, abrasion, and corrosion,
carved into the Earth's surface by the flowing marine water erodes shorelines and other rocks
water. River valleys can vary widely in size, in a similar way as stream water
shape, and topography, influenced by factors
such as the type of rock, climate, and tectonic HYDRAULIC ACTION
activity. ●​ It is the process of loose, fragmented rock
blocks being broken, loosened, and plucked out
WATERFALLS of their original locations by the powerful
●​ Waterfalls are natural geological features pressures produced by the impact of sea
where water descends from a higher elevation waves and currents.
to a lower elevation over a vertical or near MARINE ABRASION
vertical drop. They are often formed as rivers or ●​ This involves the grinding and rubbing of
streams flow over resistant rock formations and seawater on the rocks of the shore with the help
erode the underlying softer rock, creating a of sand particles and other small fragments are
sudden change in elevation. Waterfalls can hurdled up again these rocks
vary in size, shape, and appearance, and they
are found in diverse landscapes around the
CORROSION
world
●​ It is the solvent action of seawater which is
particularly strong in environment where the
TRANSPORT BY RIVERS
shore is vulnerable of chemical composition.
●​ Transport in a river refers to the movement of
sediments, particles, and dissolved materials
6 ORIGIN, OCCURRENCE OF EARTHQUAKE
within the river channel. Rivers are dynamic
systems that continuously transport and ●​ An earthquake is a rapid movement of
redistribute materials, influencing the geological elements under the earth's surface
landscape and ecosystems they traversE that causes a weak to intense shaking of the
ground. The earthquakes originate in the
tectonic plate boundary.
DEPOSITION BY RIVERS
●​ Focus - is the point inside the earth where the
●​ Deposition by rivers refers to the process by earthquake started, sometimes called the
which sediments, particles, and other materials
hypocenter, Epicenter - the point on the surface
carried by flowing water are deposited or of the earth directly above the focus.
settled in a particular location. Deposition is a
natural and integral part of the river's erosional
and sedimentary cycle.

GEOLOGICAL WORKS OF OCEANS

●​ Marine water covers two-thirds of Earth's
surface, making it a potent geological agent.
Marine geology is rapidly becoming its own
branch of geology.

MARINE EROSION

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 GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING
CE 222 LECTURE BY: ENGR. ERISH KEN F. DOMINGO

●​ Magnitude - is proportional to the energy industrial processes including geothermal

released by an earthquake at the focus. It is energy extraction, mining, dam building,
calculated from earthquakes recorded by an construction, and hydraulic fracturing.
instrument called seismograph and is 2.​ Volcanic Earthquakes
represented by Arabic Numbers 3.​ Collapse Earthquake
●​ Intensity - is the strength of an earthquake as
perceived and felt by people in a certain 7 PROSPECTING
locality ●​ Prospecting is the first stage of geological
●​ The largest, main earthquake is called the analysis (followed by exploration)of territory. It
mainshock. Mainshocks always have is the search for minerals, fossils, precious
foreshocks that follow. These are smaller metals, or mineral specimen. It is also known as
earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same fossicking.
place as the mainshock. Depending on the size ●​ Traditionally prospecting relied on direct
of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for observation of mineralization in rock outcrops
weeks, months, and even years after the or in sediments. Modern prospecting also
mainshock. includes the use of geologic, geophysical, and
geochemical tools to search for anomalies
7 MODE OCCURRENCE OF EARTHQUAKE which can narrow the search are.
●​ Most earthquakes occur along tectonic plate
boundaries, along cracks in the lithosphere 8 GROUND WATER
called faults, or along the mid-oceanic ridges ●​ Groundwater is the water found underground
but the majority of the seismic energy released in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock.
in the world is from earthquakes occurring It is stored in and moves slowly through
along the plate boundaries, particularly around geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks
the Pacific Rim or the so-called Ring of Fire called aquifers.
where there is a particularly intense tectonic ●​ Aquifers are typically made up of gravel, sand,
activity that causes Tsunamis on a regular sandstone, or fractured rock, like limestone.
basis. Water can move through these materials
because they have large connected spaces
WHAT IS AN EARTHQUAKE AND WHAT CAUSES THEM TO that make them permeable. The speed at
HAPPEN? which groundwater flows depends on the size
●​ An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a of the spaces in the soil or rock and how well
fault. The tectonic plates are always slowly the spaces are connected.
moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to
friction. When the stress on the edge
overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake
that releases energy in waves that travel
through the earth's crust and cause the shaking
that we feel.

1.​ Induced Earthquakes - When caused by

humans, seismic activity (also called
earthquake activity) is known as induced
seismicity. Induced seismicity is associated with

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 GEOLOGY FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING
CE 222 LECTURE BY: ENGR. ERISH KEN F. DOMINGO

g.​ Historical Geology

HOW MUCH DO WE DEPEND ON GROUNDWATER? h.​ Paleontology
1.​ Groundwater supplies drinking water for 51% of i.​ Paleography
the total U.S. population and 99% of the rural j.​ Stratigraphy
population.
2.​ Groundwater helps grow our food. 64% of
groundwater is used for irrigation to grow crops.
3.​ Groundwater is an important component in
many industrial processes

9 IMPORTANCE OF GEOLOGY IN CIVIL

ENGINEERING
What do engineers have to do with geology?
●​ One of the most important task as a civil
engineer needs to complete is site surveying.
Surveying requires civil engineers to determine
the relative positions of points that are at,
above, and below the surface of the earth. This
requires geological surveying tools and skills.

ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GEOLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

Geology play a very important role in the field of civil
engineering. Some applications of the knowledge of the
geology are given below:
●​ It provides knowledge about materials used for
construction.
●​ Its knowledge is helpful for river control and
shipping.
●​ Its knowledge is helpful for constructing.
●​ Geotechnical engineers need knowledge about
this subject for digging works.
●​ Its knowledge is required for foundation faults.
●​ For design of highways and roads.
●​ In construction of tunnels.
●​ Soils tests are done before any project.
●​ Economical design is advanced.
●​ Nature of soil materials can be found out.

a.​ Physical Geology

b.​ Geophysicsoceanic
c.​ Economic Geology
d.​ Geochemistry
e.​ Mineralogy
f.​ Petrology

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