Geology. Some have referred to
it as the “Kardashians of Science”.
Others know it as an easy way to fulfill their science general education
requirement in college. But what is
geology? I feel that many people don’t
fully understand what geology is. Many
people think of it as simply the study of rocks, which, while partially true,
is not the whole story.
Geology, also known as Earth Science or Geoscience, is the study of our
Earth. This includes a wide variety of
topics such as:
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Seismology, the study of earthquakes. Seismologists use field study and computer
modeling to understand where and why earthquakes occur and how they travel
through the earth. This allows them to
predict the locations and magnitudes of future earthquakes which can be used to
create safety guidelines for high-risk areas.
-
Field Geology, the study of the
relationships between different rock types in a natural setting through
observation and mapping. Field Geologists spend time in the field making maps
of the locations of different rocks.
These maps can be used to locate mineral resources or understand the
geologic evolution of an area. With the
technology available today field geologists can also use satellite images and
drones to be more effective.
Here
are some pictures from my field geology class, on the left is the area I was
studying and on the right is the map I made.
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Hydrology, the study of the movement of
water through Earth. Hydrologists use
modeling and direct observations to understand the movement of water above and
below ground. Using these tools they can
make predictions about how much water is present in an area and how fast and
far it will travel. This information is
especially helpful in times of drought or during a chemical spill that could
affect drinking water.
During my hydrology
class field trip we installed seepage meters to determine how fast water was
draining out of this pond.
-
Geochemistry, the study of the chemistry
of rocks and minerals. Geochemists study
the chemical make-up of rocks, minerals, and even magma to understand their
physical properties. Using this
information they can explain how a rock formed, what temperature it will melt
at, and how it will cycle through the earth.
-
Glaciology, the study of large-scale ice
on earth. Glaciologists use field study,
imaging, and modeling to understand how ice formed, moves, and melts. Their work often gives them the opportunity
to spend time in the arctic or even Antarctica!
-
Structural Geology, the study of how
rocks deform. Structural geologists use
field study and physics to determine how rocks have been squeezed, folded, or
fractured during their existence. Structural
geology has been able to explain how mountains form and tectonic plates move.
-
Geophysics, the study of the physics that
control Earth. Geophysics use math,
physics, and modeling to try and understand the Earth’s magnetic field, the
convection of heat and material inside Earth’s mantle, and the structure of the
interior of the Earth.
-
Geomorphology, the study of land features
and how they form. Geomorphologists
study the properties and evolution of features present on the surface of the
Earth. They try to understand how hills
form, rivers move, and mountains erode.
Using this information they can make predictions about natural hazards
such as landslides and floods.
In my geomorphology class we studied how rivers transport sediments. It was the middle of January and the professor lectured us for two hours while we were standing in this river! Brrrr!
-
Geochronology, the study of determining
ages of rocks. Geochronologists use
field work to obtain their samples and then lab work to determine how old they
are. They have a variety of techniques
to determine ages which have been used to date significant events in Earth’s
history.
-
Paleoclimatology, the study of Earth’s
climate in the past. Paleoclimatologists
use biology, chemistry, and modeling to understand how climate has changed over
Earth’s history. To do this they study
anything that might have recorded past conditions such as gas bubbles in ice or
tiny fossils on the sea floor.
This
list covers only some of the topics that fall under geology. Some fields of study include a combination of
two or more. For example, my own area of study, mineral physics, is a
combination of both geophysics and geochemistry. This means that geoscientists need to
understand a variety of different sciences such as math, chemistry, physics,
and sometimes even biology to do our work.
The principles we use don’t only apply to the Earth, they apply
throughout the Universe. This allows
geoscientists to study other objects in our Solar System. For example, a geomorphologist can look at a
picture of a landform taken by a rover on Mars, compare it to a similar feature
on Earth, and by understanding how the feature on Earth was formed can
determine similar processes are likely responsible for the feature on
Mars. This had led to the belief that in
the past there was actively flowing water. We call this application of
geosciences on other objects in our solar system Planetary Science.
Geology is a
complex and diverse science that uses many different fields to understand the
past, present and future of our Earth other bodies in our solar system. You can bet you’ll find a geoscientist
pondering the many mysteries of our home: from how the molten outer core churns
to the causes of a landslide all the way to how the frozen plains on the dwarf
planet Pluto formed. If you’re
interested in the processes that shape our planet and others then geology might
be for you!
