Geology

Part 3
Physical Geology and Engineering Geology
(compiled and adapted from various sources)

Jerry Hervacio G. Salvador

Professional Geologist and Environmental Planner
 What is Physical Geology?
Erosion Wind
Soils
Water Oceans Glaciers
Weathering
Underground Surface
Fossils Sedimentary

Earth History
Rocks
Volcanoes
Metamorphic Igneous
Earth’s Interior Intrusions
Earthquakes
Plate Tectonics
Mountains Mineral Resources
Other Planets
 Geology and Other Sciences
Physics Chemistry Biology
•Geophysics •Mineralogy •Paleontology
•Seismology •Petrology •Paleo????ology
•Geochemistry

Astronomy Geology •Historical Geology

•Planetary Geology •Economic Geology •Geomorphology
•Helioseismology •Hydrology •Oceanography
•Engineering •Structural Geology
Geology
•Volcanology
 What Geologists Do:
• Locate Geologic Resources
• Geologic Hazard Mitigation
– Geological and Mining Engineering
– Site Study
– Land-Use Planning
• Environmental Protection
– Environmental Impact
– Ground Water and Waste Management
• Basic Research (Furnishes fundamental knowledge
for the applications)
Engineering Geology
The application of the science of geology
to the understanding of geological
phenomena and the engineering solution
of geological hazards and other geological
problems for society
 Zone of interest to the engineering geologist, i.e. the natural
landscape plus the effects of humans

Ancient seabed
unconformity
Variscan folding

Carboniferous swamps

unconformity
Granite batholith Caledonian folding
6
 Topics covered
• Engineering soil & rock description (Eurocode 7)
• Desk studies
• Remote sensing
• Site investigation
• Geographical information systems
• Hazards and risk assessment
• Introduction to hydrogeology
• Soil and rock slope stability analysis
• Earthworks and foundation design
• Tunnelling
• Aggregates
• Waste disposal
A very different
literature

Site work not

field work
Mistakes can
cost lives
 Engineering Geological Techniques
that might have wider applicability
• Eurocodes are standards used throughout Europe
• Rock description – Eurocode chart only contains
some 30 rock types which covers 95 % of the
rocks geologists will ever encounter; strong
emphasis on site observation, simple diagnostics,
and proforma data collection
• Engineering Soil description – again very
pragmatic and based on simple field tests and
observations
Weathered Rock – description after Eurocode 7
Grade Classifier Characteristics
VI Residual soil Soil derived by in situ
weathering; no original
texture or fabric left
V Completely Weakened to a soil; slakes in
weathered water; original texture
apparent; no core stones
IV Highly Mainly a soil; few remaining
weathered core stones cannot be broken
by hand;
III Moderately Considerably weakened;
weathered large core stones cannot be
broken by hand; up to 50%
soil; penetrative discoloration
II Slightly Slight weakening; slight
weathered discoloration
I Fresh Unchanged from original
state
 Natural Hazards and Disasters
Chapter 9
Sinkholes, Land Subsidence and Swelling Soils
 Shrinking Ground
• Groundwater has been critical for agriculture,
mining and municipal uses in southern Arizona for
more than 100 years
• Natural replacement rates do not match rate of
demand for rapidly growing metropolitan areas
• Fall of more than 180 m in groundwater levels has
led to ground subsidence, fissures up to 6 m deep
and 9 m across
• Imported water from Colorado River flows through
concrete channels, themselves damaged by fissures
 Types of Ground Movement
• Ground movements are not as dramatic as earthquakes
or volcanoes, but cause far more monetary damage
• Deform and effectively destroy roads, utility lines,
homes, other structures
• Sinkholes form when overlying ground collapses into
underground cavities
• Land subsidence occurs when sediment becomes more
closely packed, through groundwater or petroleum
extraction, or earthquake shaking
• Swelling soils form from alteration of volcanic ash to
clays
 Karst Topography
• What is Karst topography (KT)?
– The most common soluble rock is limestone
• Others include dolomite, gypsum, and salt
– Unique landscape features exist where limestone strata exists
at or near the surface
– These processes were first studied on the Krš Plateau in
Slovenia (Karst Plateau)
– Features created by ground and surface water are common,
and can be confused with KT, but true KT is rare, due to the
conditions that must be met in order to create such landscapes
– Some glacial features can also be confused with KT
 Regions, Climate, and Time
• KT is generally absent or not well developed in arid
climates
– Where it is found in arid climates, it is a remnant from
when the area was more humid
• The role of climate is uncertain
– Amount and distribution of rainfall are probably key
factors
• KT landscapes do not appear to evolve on a temporal
continuum, but rather, are locally specific
– Nevertheless, they do exhibit specific characteristics
Where is it found?
Karst in the U.S.
 Karst Features
• KT expresses itself in two places
– Surface features, which are due to…
– Underground: limestone caverns and caves
• Surface features
– Disappearing streams
– Sinkholes (dolines)
– Haystack hills (hums)
• Tower Karst if they are high enough
– Valleys and valley sinks
– Potholes
 Surface Features

Tower Karst or Hums Potholes

Carbon dioxide in air and soil combines
with water to form weak carbonic acid.

Karst 2-3
 O’Leno State Park, Florida

Sinkholes
Hums

Disappearing
Stream

Potholes
 Surface Features of KT
• Limestone-dominated
landscapes are usually absent
of surface water due to the
high permeability of the rock
• In spots where shale and/or
clay meets limestone,
swallow holes or potholes
develop, and streams
disappear into them
• If calcium carbonate solution
continues to erode the
limestone, potholes hundreds
of feet deep develop
 Sinkholes
• Ground may suddenly collapse into sinkholes
tens to hundreds of meters across
• Can damage houses and roads
• Can drain streams, lakes and wetlands
• Can channel contaminants directly into
underground aquifers
 Processes Related to Sinkholes
1. Limestone must contain 80% or more
calcium bicarbonate
2. Complex patterns of joints in the limestone
are needed for subsurface drainage patterns
3. An aerated zone between the ground and
the water table must be present
4. Vegetation cover necessary to supply acids
to enhance the processes
 By the Numbers
Formation of Calcium Bicarbonate
H2O (rain water) + CO2 (carbon dioxide) = H2CO3
(carbonic acid in water)

Carbonic acid reacts with limestone to form

calcium bicarbonate:
H2CO3 + CaCO3 = [Ca++ + 2HCO3-]
 Processes Related to Sinkholes
• Limestone dissolves in slightly acidic rainwater: rate mm/ thousand yr
• Slightly faster rate in humid areas  sinkholes and caverns more
common in tropical climates
• Air pollution makes rain more acidic, increases rate of dissolution
• Highest rate of dissolution occurs at level of water table
• Water precipitating down (above water table) can form stalagmites
and stalactites
• Landscape of limestone dissolution: karst
 Types of Sinkholes
1. Dissolution (Solution)
2. Cover Subsidence
3. Cover Collapse (Bedrock Collapse)
 Types of Sinkholes
• Dissolution (Solution): acidic groundwater seeps
through soil, dissolves underlying limestone along
fractures, which widen to lumpy or jagged Karst
surfaces
 Types of Sinkholes
• Cover Subsidence: where deep, permeable sediment
sits atop limestone, numerous gradual sinkholes form
Damages due to subsidence
 Types of Sinkholes

• Cover Collapse (Bedrock Collapse): where deep,

impermeable (clay) sediment sits atop limestone, soil
cavities grow large, become unstable and collapse
suddenly into steep-sided sinkhole – most dangerous
• Roof collapse
• Groundwater lowering
Types of Sinkholes
Truck Stuck in Sinkhole
 Areas That Experience Sinkholes
• Slowly dissolving carbonate rocks underlie more than 40% of humid
eastern U.S.
• Fluctuations of groundwater level can lead to sinkhole formation
(much lower groundwater level during last ice age)
• Greatest potential for sinkholes: where surface water percolates into
ground, recharging aquifers
• Least potential for sinkholes: where water is being discharged to
surface
 Areas That Experience Sinkholes
• Limestone weathering produced Mammoth Caverns in Kentucky, and more
than 60,000 nearby sinkholes
 Areas That Experience Sinkholes
• In urban areas, storm drains and leaky water mains can
contribute to sinkhole formation
• Construction can lead to sinkhole development by
increasing load on ground surface, de-watering
foundations, drilling wells
• Underground mining of salt or gypsum creates artificial
cavities that can be enlarged by groundwater dissolution
 Land Subsidence
• Occurs when ground settles as result of changes in fluid
levels underground
• Occurs across large regions, so less obvious or dramatic
than sinkholes
• Small faults cause some areas to drop more than others
• Fissures form
• Areas are dropped closer to sea level so more vulnerable
to flooding
• Caused by variety of human activities
– Extraction of groundwater
– Drainage of organic or clay-rich soils
– Melting of permafrost
 Mining Groundwater and
Petroleum
• Most common cause of ground subsidence
• Rainwater soaks into ground and travels through aquifers, from
which groundwater can be pumped as source of fresh water for
many communities
• If pumpage rate exceeds recharge rate (from precipitation) 
mining groundwater
• Aquifers consist of loosely packed sand and gravel with water
filling pore spaces
• Withdrawal of water allows sand and gravel to pack more tightly,
take up less space
• Once pore space has collapsed, can not be expanded again 
most ground subsidence is permanent
• Problems in California, Arizona, Texas, Venice, Italy
Mining Groundwater and
Petroleum
Drainage of Organic Soils

• When groundwater levels drop:

– Organic-rich soils (such as peat) are
exposed to aerobic (oxygen-rich)
water instead of anaerobic water
(without free oxygen)
– Allows bacteria to oxidize organic
matter  decomposes mostly to
carbon dioxide
• Problems in California’s Central
Valley, Florida Everglades,
Mississippi River delta
 Drying of Clays
• Clay soils are particularly prone to subsidence
when they dry out
• Especially true of randomly oriented marine
clays with high porosity (quick clays)
– Can collapse when jarred by earthquake or heavy
equipment, or flushed with fresh water
• Leaning Tower of Pisa sits atop marine clay
• Leda clay causes landslides throughout St.
Lawrence River valley in Quebec, Canada
 Swelling Soils
• Smectite clays expand when water soaks into
interlayer spaces of mineral structure (same
process as subsidence when clays dry out)
• Appearance of surface soils as popcorn clay
• Expansion and contraction cause cracking of
foundations, walls, chimneys, driveways
• Wet clay is extremely slippery in dirt roads
• Variable rates of swelling occur when some areas
get wetter than others
Swelling Soils
Case In Point
Case In Point
 Case In Point
• Excessive Mining Causes Roof Collapse: Genesee
Valley, New York State
• Retsof Salt Mine had been active since 1880s
• 1994: section of shale roof rock collapsed into
excavation
• Hole allowed groundwater to sink into mine, filling
its cavities, flooding mine
• Sinkholes as large as 60 m opened across region
• New mine began excavating few years later
 Case In Point
• Subsidence Due to Groundwater Extraction: Venice,
Italy
• Built at sea level on subsided Brenta River delta
• Subsidence mostly caused by extraction of
groundwater from delta sediments
– Load of buildings squeezes water out of sediments
– Groundwater is pumped to surface for domestic and
industrial uses
– Collapsed pore spaces in sediments cause ground to
subside
 Case In Point
• Subsidence Due to Groundwater Extraction: Venice,
Italy
• High tides of winter storms compound problem
• Drainage pipes carry effluent back into city
• Pumping groundwater under city now prohibited
• Subsidence has mostly stopped
• Catastrophic flooding occurs periodically, and will
occur more frequently with global warming and rise
in sea level
• Giant flood protection project under construction
 Case In Point
• Subsidence Due to Groundwater Extraction: Mexico
City, Mexico
• Population over 20 million
• Lies in dry lakebed
• Aquifer has been depleted since early 1900s
• Collapse of porous lake bed sediments has caused
subsidence of up to 8.5 m under central city
• Continuous pumping necessary to prevent flooding
during summer rains
 Case In Point
• Differential Expansion over Layers of Smectite
Clay: Denver, Colorado
• Underlain by flat-lying sedimentary rocks
including Pierre Shale, smectite-rich clay
• Clay layers swell when wet, creating broad waves
that twist, crack and bend structures
• Solution has been excavation and
homogenization of clay layers and non-clay-
bearing layers to depth of at least 3 m