Chapter 2

Earth structure, anatomy and its composition

Formation of the planets and Earth

Dust particles drawn together by random collisions and gravity, Particles eventually form
planetesimals. The Earth formed 4.56 billion years ago. Earth Science is the study of the
Earth and its neighbors in space. It is an exciting science with many interesting and practical
applications. Some Earth scientists use their knowledge of the Earth to locate and develop
energy and mineral resources. Others study the impact of human activity on Earth's
environment, and design methods to protect the planet. Some use their knowledge about
Earth processes such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes to plan communities that will
not expose people to these dangerous events. The earth is divided into three zones
corresponding to the three states of matter constitute the earth.

 Lithosphere

 Hydrosphere

 Atmosphere

Lithosphere -is the relatively brittle outer rock layer (rigid part of the earth), consisting of the
crust and upper mantle; it is broken into large slabs known as plates.

Hydrosphere -a sphere of water containing absorbed water, and carrying particles of rock as
sediment surrounds the earth

Atmosphere – the envelope of gases surrounding the earth

Many different sciences are used to learn about the Earth; however, the four basic areas of
Earth science study are: geology (Earth science), meteorology (Science of Atmosphere),
oceanography (Science of Ocean), and astronomy (Science of the Universe). Basically we
will focuses on the science of earth as we have discussed in previous introduction.
Anatomy of Earth structure
 Three main layers of the earth Structures

1. Crust

It is the thin, solid, outermost layer of the Earth. It is thinnest beneath the oceans (thickness 5
km) and is thickest beneath large mountain ranges (thickness 70 km). The average thickness
of the crust is 30-35 km.
All Engineering structures are constructed on the surface of the crust, which is under
continuous change by the various surface (atmospheric gases & moistures surface water) and
subsurface processes (groundwater, magmatic activity, tectonic activity, etc). These (surface
& sub-surface) factors are always under dynamic operation, at places individually, at other
places in close cooperation with one another. They (surface & sub-surface) are responsible
for modifying the physical features existing on the surface of the earth. The rate of change or
modification varies depending on the properties of the earth materials & on the type of
agents. Thus, the input of the Geologist/Engineering Geologist here is to address this
variability in relation to the design life of the Engineering projects

2. Mantle
Upper Mantle

It is the solid uppermost part of the mantle found below the crust

Lithosphere: Rigid uppermost section of Earth's mantle combined with the crust. The mantle
has more iron & magnesium than the crust
Lower Mantle

As we go deep into the Earth, temperature rises and we reach part of the mantle that is
partially molten, the asthenosphere. Rocks in the lower mantle are plastic and can easily bent
(fold) and flow very slowly without fracturing due to the heat rise.

3. Core
It is the center of the Earth and is super-dense. The core of the Earth is made up of two
distinct layers: (A liquid outer layer & a solid inner core), the core is made up of metallic
iron-nickel alloy. Surface features are landforms and bodies of water that cover the Earth’s
surface such as: mountains, valleys, gorges, beaches sand, barrier Islands, flood-plains,
volcanoes, oceans, lakes and lakes.

Application of Engineering Geology in engineering discipline

Civil engineering:
 Buildings, industrial and offshore foundations.

 Reservoirs, fills and embankments.

 Slopes.

 Roads, airports and industrial pavements.

 Bridges.
 Retaining structures.

 Tunnels and underground space facilities.

 Mining and resource development.

 Environment: waste containment systems and site remediation.
 Military engineering: recent developments.
 Groundwater resources development and management.
Premises of Engineering Geology:

The philosophy of engineering geology is based on three simple premises:

1. All engineering works are built in or on the ground:

 The structure is but an extension of the ground.

2. The ground will always, in some manner, react to the construction of the engineering work.

 Assess the magnitude and nature of the reaction of the ground to both
the construction and the operation of the project.

3. The reaction of the ground (its ―engineering behavior‖) to the particular engineering work
must be accommodated by that work.

Tunnel collapse
Slope failures
 Geologic Structures

Geomorphology.

Geomorphology: is the science that studies the surficial processes operated on the earth and
the landform nature, origin, and interrelationships formed by the processes. Geomorphologic
processes are processes that are operated on the surface of the earth resulting different
landforms. Rivers, wind, moving ice and sea waves are agents of Geomorphologic processes.

Structural Geology is the study of the origin, occurrence, classification and effects of
various secondary structures like folds, faults and joints.

Primary structures are those structures, which are developed in a body of a rock during
its formation. E.g. bedding for sedimentary rocks, flow structure for lava.

Secondary structures- The modification of the original shape, arrangement and

development of new forms in the rock body subsequent to its formation are termed secondary
structures.

Plate Tectonic

Plate tectonics explains the movement of earth’s surface, it is the theory of large-scale motion
of the plates making up earth’s lithosphere. From the deepest ocean trench of the tallest
mountain, plate tectonics explains the features and movement of earth’s surface in the present
and the past. The driving force behind plate tectonics is convection in the mantle.
Rocks form part of many civil engineering projects and rock properties are part of the
exploration, design, construction and in service phases of such projects.

In Engineering Geology, rocks are subdivided into two:

(a) Intact rock (Rock material) –

Is rock containing no discontinuities such as joints and bedding.

(b) Rock Mass-

Is a mass of rock interrupted by discontinuities, with each constituent discrete
block having intact rock properties.

Folds

When a set of horizontal rock layers are subjected to compressive force, undulations or bends
or curvatures developed in the rock layers. These bends are called ―FOLDS”. It is the result
of permanent and slow deformation of rocks due to pressure. It happens deep underground
where the rocks are under pressure and temperatures are high. When two and opposite
direction forces come together/collide the upper beds bend downwards and the bottom beds
bend upwards. The folds consists of arches and troughs in alternate manner. They are best
displayed by the sedimentary rocks. The extent of folding undergone by the rocks and their
ultimate folded shapes depend upon the intensity, magnitude, type and duration of the rock
folding forces, and the nature of the rocks withstanding these forces.
Parts of fold divided into

Hinge: where the flanks (margins or border) join together. It is the location where tow limbs
contact one another. It is the part of folded structure which its edge is curve (crest)

Limbs: it is the sloping sides of a fold. Those hinges and limbs are known by anticlines and
synclines
 Types of folds based on upward or downward bending

ANTICLINE: When the beds are bent upwards, into an arch-like structure, it is called
anticline or anticline fold. This fold is convex upward (concave downward)

SYNCLINE: When the beds are bent downwards, into a trough like form, the structure is
called syncline. This fold is convex downward (concave upward). The crestal line of an
anticline is the line that joins the highest parts of the fold, whereas the trough line runs
through the lowest parts of a syncline. The amplitude of a fold is defined as the vertical
difference between the crest and the trough, whereas the length of a fold is the horizontal
distance from crest to crest or trough to trough. The hinge of a fold is the line along which the
greatest curvature exists and can be either straight or curved. The axial plane of a fold is
commonly regarded as the plane that bisects the fold and passes through the hinge line.
Anticlines : beds are bent (curved, twisted) upwards

 fold will be convex upwards

 younger beds occur towards convex side

Synclines: beds are bent downwards, fold will be convex downwards, younger beds occur
towards the concave side.
 Fault

Faults are fractures in crustal strata along which rocks have been displaced. The amount of
displacement may vary from only a few tens of millimetres to several hundred kilometres. In
many faults, the fracture is a clean break; in others, the displacement is not restricted to a
simple fracture, but is developed throughout a fault zone. It is zone of fractures between two
blocks of rocks. It may be defined as a fracture surface along which relative movement of
adjacent blocks has taken place. It is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of
rocks. Major displacement of rock material along a crack in a rock --- important in
mountain formation. Faults can be vertical, horizontal, or a combination of these
movements

Folding is generally favored by the dev’t of compressional stresses within the crust, whereas
fracturing is favored by the shearing stresses. When internal shearing stresses exceed the
shearing strength of the rocks, fracturing does occur. When the fracturing becomes severe,
dislocation of rock blocks along a fracture (blokes moves over the other), rock faults occur.
The entire process of dev’t of fractures and displacement of the rock blocks against each
other is termed as faulting.

Hanging wall and foot wall

The hanging wall of a fault refers to the upper rock surface along which displacement has
occurred, whereas the foot wall is the term given to that below. A normal fault is
characterized by the occurrence of the hanging wall on the downthrown side, whereas the
foot wall occupies the downthrown side in a reverse fault

Normal fault (gravity fault)

Hanging wall moves down in respect to footwall—on a large scale can cause continental
lengthening tensional forces.

Reverse Fault

Hanging wall moves up in respect to footwall--low angle crack is called thrust fault—on a
large scale, can cause

Effect of faults

 Collapsed Structure
  Faults generate earthquakes
 Bound the tectonic plates of the Earth
 Deform the Earth’s surface
 Fluid transport in the Earth's crust
 Water

 Magma

 Hydrocarbons

 Hydrothermal fluids

 Faults are zones of weakness to account for in engineering projects

Discontinuities

A discontinuity represents a plane of weakness within a rock mass across which the rock
material is structurally discontinuous. it is a plane or surface that makes a change in physical
or chemical characteristics in a rock mass. Although discontinuities are not necessarily planes
of separation, most in fact are and they possess little or no tensile strength. The most
common discontinuities are joints (connections) and bedding planes. Other important
discontinuities are planes of cleavage (separation) and schistosity (division into slabs or
slates), fissures (crack or opening in rock) and faults (zone of weakness).

Joints are fractures along which little or no displacement (sometimes, there is joint but no
displacement) has occurred and are present within all types of rocks. At the ground surface,
joints may open as a consequence of denudation (washing away of rock by running water),
especially weathering, or the dissipation of residual stress. A group of joints that run parallel
to each other are termed a joint set, whereas two or more joint sets that intersect at a more or
less constant angle are referred to as a joint system.
 Fig. Discontinuities in sandstone of Carboniferous age, near Mansfield, England.

Rock Joints

Rock joint: It is a brittle-fracture surface in rocks along which little or no displacement has
occurred. Joints are formed through failure of rock masses in tension, in shear or through
some combination of both. Joints are fractures along which, little or no displacement has
occurred and are present within all types of rocks, normally have a regular spacing,

Fracture: total displacement of rock from rock mass.

Joints have often developed suddenly during quarrying operations.

The shear strength of a rock mass and its deformability are influenced very much by the
discontinuity pattern, its geometry and how well it is developed.

Causes of joints

 Unloading or Sheeting (weathering) effects

 Compression forces
 Effects of Joints

 Reduce the competence (capability, quality) of rock mass

 Increase the porosity and permeability
 Make them susceptible to quick decay and weathering
 Avenues for the leakage of water in case of reservoirs
 expose ground water problems in tunneling
 Increases the ground water potentiality facilitate the quarrying process or tunneling
process (+ve or –ve)
 Also reduce the cost by decreasing the use of explosives (+ve)