Department of Building & Construction

Engineering Geology
Engineering

Chapter One

INTRODUCTION

What is geology?

Geology is the scientific study of the Earth, including the materials that it is made of, the
physical structure, chemical composition, and the history of the planet and its life forms.

Engineering Geology: defined as that branch of applied sciences which deals with the
application of geology for a safe, Stable, economical design & construction of civil
engineering projects.

Scope of Geology in civil Engineering;

- It enables civil engineer to understand engineering geology implications of certain

conditions related to the area of construction, which are essentially geological in
nature.
- It enables a geologist to understand the nature of geological information which is
absolutely essential for a safe design and construction of a civil engineering
projects.

Earth: it is the planet on which we live of the solar system, the third in order away from
the sun and the fifth in size from the nine major planets. It was formed at about 4.6 billion
years ago.

Dimension of the Earth: The radius of the Earth at the equator is 6378km polar radius is
6357km equatorial circumference is 40075km and polar circumference is 40008km.

Solar System
Department of Building & Construction
Engineering Geology
Engineering

Earth planet dimensions

How was earth formed?

Approximately 4.6 billion years ago, the solar system was a cloud of dust and gas
known as a solar nebula.

Gravity
Collapsed and spin
Forming the sun in the center of the nebula
(Remaining material and small particles)
Gravity
Clump up and drew together (larger particles)
Wind
Swept away lighter elements (hydrogen and helium)
Left heavy and rocky materials
Colliding and binding
Core

Gravity

The denser elements like iron and nickel sank to the center

Low density like silicon floated to the surface

Gravity
The elements formed into layers (zones)
Department of Building & Construction
Engineering Geology
Engineering

Core, Mantle, and Crust

Silica-rich mantle

Earth structure layers

Earth internal structure

Generally, the inside of the earth can be described as being layered in spherical shells (like
an onion). Earth consists of an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous mantle, a liquid
outer core and a solid inner core.

Core: It is the central part of the earth composed of an iron-nickel alloy. The thickness is
about
3000km. The core is divided into two different zones;

- Inner Core: It is a solid iron sphere. In this layer the pressure is significantly higher
than above layers. Therefore, it the reason that the iron is solid. However, the
temperature is slightly higher but the higher pressure solidifies the iron.

-
Department of Building & Construction
Engineering Geology
Engineering

- Outer core: it is the residue of the iron-nickel alloy. This layer is liquid because the
pressure is lower than the inner core and the high temperature takes the role to melt
the solidified iron from the inner core.

Mantle: It is the middle portion of the earth created from iron-magnesium silicate rocks
with a thickness of about 2900km.

It has different temperatures at different depths. The temperature is lowest immediately

beneath the crust and increases with depth. The highest temperatures occur where the
mantle material is in contact with the outer core. This steady increase of temperature with
depth is known as the geothermal gradient

Mantle section

Crust: It is the outer layer of the earth. There are two different types of crust which are;

- Continental crust; it is about 10-75 km (35km in average) thick that underlies

continents with a granitic composition.
- Oceanic crust; it is a thin layer under the ocean basins about 5-20 km thick with a
basaltic composition.

There are other layers that separate crust from mantle;

- Lithosphere: the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper
mantle.
Department of Building & Construction
Engineering Geology
Engineering

- Asthenosphere: the soft upper layer of the earth’s mantle, below the lithosphere.
Flow occurs in this layer because it is a soft layer.

The Theory of Plate Tectonics:

Lithosphere is broken into plates containing both ocean and continental crust. It is in
motion and slides under asthenosphere at a point which two plates sliding past each
other, pulling away from each other, or moving to each other. This movement has created
the earth’s major surface features (topography) in the form of plate boundaries (to be
studied in next chapters)