Engineering geology

Engineering geology is the application of geology to engineering study for the purpose of
assuring that the geological factors regarding the location, design, construction, operation
and maintenance of engineering works are recognized and accounted for.[1] Engineering
geologists provide geological and geotechnical recommendations, analysis, and design
associated with human development and various types of structures.[2] The realm of the
engineering geologist is essentially in the area of earth-structure interactions, or investigation
of how the earth or earth processes impact human made structures and human activities.

An engineering geologist logging rock core in

the field, Western Australia.

Engineering geology studies may be performed during the planning, environmental impact
analysis, civil or structural engineering design, value engineering and construction phases of
public and private works projects, and during post-construction and forensic phases of
projects. Works completed by engineering geologists include; geologic hazards assessment,
geotechnical, material properties, landslide and slope stability, erosion, flooding, dewatering,
and seismic investigations, etc.[3] Engineering geology studies are performed by a geologist
or engineering geologist that is educated, trained and has obtained experience related to the
recognition and interpretation of natural processes, the understanding of how these
processes impact human made structures (and vice versa), and knowledge of methods by
which to mitigate hazards resulting from adverse natural or human made conditions. The
principal objective of the engineering geologist is the protection of life and property against
damage caused by various geological conditions.[4]

The practice of engineering geology is also very closely related to the practice of geological
engineering and geotechnical engineering. If there is a difference in the content of the
disciplines, it mainly lies in the training or experience of the practitioner.

History
Although the study of geology has been around for centuries, at least in its modern form, the
science and practice of engineering geology only commenced as a recognized discipline until
the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first book titled Engineering Geology was
published in 1880 by William Penning. In the early 20th century Charles Peter Berkey, an
American trained geologist who was considered the first American engineering geologist,
worked on several water-supply projects for New York City, then later worked on the Hoover
Dam and a multitude of other engineering projects. The first American engineering geology
textbook was written in 1914 by Ries and Watson. In 1921 Reginald W. Brock, the first Dean
of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia, started the first undergraduate and
graduate degree programs in Geological Engineering, noting that students with an
engineering foundation made first-class practising geologists. In 1925, Karl Terzaghi, an
Austrian trained engineer and geologist, published the first text in Soil Mechanics (in
German). Terzaghi is known as the parent of soil mechanics, but also had a great interest in
geology; Terzaghi considered soil mechanics to be a sub-discipline of engineering geology. In
1929, Terzaghi, along with Redlich and Kampe, published their own Engineering Geology text
(also in German).Engineering geology are the different types of rocks.

The need for geologist on engineering works gained worldwide attention in 1928 with the
failure of the St. Francis Dam in California and the death of 426 people. More engineering
failures that occurred the following years also prompted the requirement for engineering
geologists to work on large engineering projects.

In 1951, one of the earliest definitions of the "Engineering geologist" or "Professional

Engineering Geologist" was provided by the Executive Committee of the Division on
Engineering Geology of the Geological Society of America.
The practice
One of the most important roles of an engineering geologist is the interpretation of landforms
and earth processes to identify potential geologic and related human-made hazards that may
have a great impact on civil structures and human development. The background in geology
provides the engineering geologist with an understanding of how the earth works, which is
crucial minimizing earth related hazards. Most engineering geologists also have graduate
degrees where they have gained specialized education and training in soil mechanics, rock
mechanics, geotechnics, groundwater, hydrology, and civil design. These two aspects of the
engineering geologists' education provide them with a unique ability to understand and
mitigate for hazards associated with earth-structure interactions.

Scope of studies
Engineering geology investigation and studies may be performed:

for residential, commercial and

industrial developments;
for governmental and military
installations;
for public works such as a stormwater
drainage system, power plant, wind
turbine, transmission line, sewage
treatment plant, water treatment plant,
pipeline (aqueduct, sewer, outfall),
tunnel, trenchless construction, canal,
dam, reservoir, building foundation,
railroad, transit, highway, bridge,
seismic retrofit, airport and park;
for mine and quarry developments,
mine tailing dam, mine reclamation
and mine tunneling;
for wetland and habitat restoration
programs;
for government, commercial, or
industrial hazardous waste
remediation sites;
for coastal engineering, sand
replenishment, bluff or sea cliff
 stability, harbor, pier and waterfront
development;
for offshore outfall, drilling platform
and sub-sea pipeline, sub-sea cable;
and
for other types of facilities.

Geohazards and adverse

geological conditions
Typical geologic hazards or other adverse conditions evaluated and mitigated by an
engineering geologist include:

fault rupture on seismically active

faults;
seismic and earthquake hazards
(ground shaking, liquefaction, lurching,
lateral spreading, tsunami and seiche
events);
landslide, mudflow, rockfall, debris
flow, and avalanche hazards;
unstable slopes and slope stability;
erosion;
slaking and heave of geologic
formations, such as frost heaving;
ground subsidence (such as due to
ground water withdrawal, sinkhole
collapse, cave collapse, decomposition
of organic soils, and tectonic
movement);
volcanic hazards (volcanic eruptions,
hot springs, pyroclastic flows, debris
flow, debris avalanche, Volcanic gas
emissions, volcanic earthquakes);
 non-rippable or marginally rippable
rock requiring heavy ripping or
blasting;
weak and collapsible soils, foundation
bearing failures;
shallow ground water/seepage; and
other types of geologic constraints.
An engineering geologist or geophysicist may be called upon to evaluate the excavatability
(i.e. rippability) of earth (rock) materials to assess the need for pre-blasting during earthwork
construction, as well as associated impacts due to vibration during blasting on projects.

Soil and rock mechanics

Soil mechanics is a discipline that applies principles of engineering mechanics, e.g.
kinematics, dynamics, fluid mechanics, and mechanics of material, to predict the mechanical
behaviour of soils. Rock mechanics is the theoretical and applied science of the mechanical
behaviour of rock and rock masses; it is that branch of mechanics concerned with the
response of rock and rock masses to the force-fields of their physical environment. The
fundamental processes are all related to the behaviour of porous media. Together, soil and
rock mechanics are the basis for solving many engineering geology problems.
Methods and reporting
The methods used by engineering geologists in their studies include

geologic field mapping of geologic

structures, geologic formations, soil
units and hazards;
the review of geologic literature,
geologic maps, geotechnical reports,
engineering plans, environmental
reports, stereoscopic aerial
photographs, remote sensing data,
Global Positioning System (GPS) data,
topographic maps and satellite
imagery;
the excavation, sampling and logging
of earth/rock materials in drilled
borings, backhoe test pits and
trenches, fault trenching, and bulldozer
pits;
geophysical surveys (such as seismic
refraction traverses, resistivity surveys,
ground penetrating radar (GPR)
surveys, magnetometer surveys,
electromagnetic surveys, high-
resolution sub-bottom profiling, and
other geophysical methods);
deformation monitoring as the
systematic measurement and tracking
of the alteration in the shape or
dimensions of an object as a result of
the application of stress to it manually
 or with an automatic deformation
monitoring system; and
other methods.
The fieldwork is typically culminated in analysis of the data and the preparation of an
engineering geologic report, geotechnical report or design brief, fault hazard or seismic
hazard report, geophysical report, ground water resource report or hydrogeologic report. The
engineering geology report can also be prepared in conjunction with a geotechnical report,
but commonly provides the same geotechnical analysis and design recommendations that
would be presented in a geotechnical report. An engineering geology report describes the
objectives, methodology, references cited, tests performed, findings and recommendations
for development and detailed design of engineering works. Engineering geologists also
provide geologic data on topographic maps, aerial photographs, geologic maps, Geographic
Information System (GIS) maps, or other map bases.

See also

Earthquake engineering
Geological engineering
Geoprofessions
Geotechnics
Geotechnical engineering
Geotechnical investigation
 Hydrogeology
Important publications in engineering
geology
Mining engineering
Petroleum engineering

References

1. engineering geology | Britannica (https://

www.britannica.com/technology/engineer
ing-geology)

2. How to become an engineering

Geologist? | EnvironmentalScience.org (ht
tps://www.environmentalscience.org/care
er/engineering-geologist)

3. What is Engineering Geology? | Geology

Buzz (https://geology.buzz/threads/what-i
s-engineering-geology.18/)
 4. Importance of Geology in Civil
engineering - Civil Wale (https://civilwale.c
om/importance-of-geology-in-civil-engine
ering/)

Further reading

Engineering geology

Brock, 1923, The Education of a

Geologist: Economic Geology, v. 18,
pp. 595–597.
Bates and Jackson, 1980, Glossary of
Geology: American Geological
Institute.
González de Vallejo, L. and Ferrer, M.,
2011. "Geological Engineering". CRC
Press, 678 pp.
Kiersh, 1991, The Heritage of
Engineering Geology: The First
Hundred Years: Geological Society of
America; Centennial Special Volume 3
Legget, Robert F., editor, 1982, Geology
under cities: Geological Society of
America; Reviews in Engineering
Geology, volume V, 131 pages;
contains nine articles by separate
authors for these cities: Washington,
DC; Boston; Chicago; Edmonton;
Kansas City; New Orleans; New York
City; Toronto; and Twin Cities,
Minnesota.
Legget, Robert F., and Karrow, Paul F.,
1983, Handbook of geology in civil
 engineering: McGraw-Hill Book
Company, 1,340 pages, 50 chapters,
five appendices, 771 illustrations.
ISBN 0-07-037061-3
Price, David George, Engineering
Geology: Principles and Practice,
Springer, 2008 ISBN 3-540-29249-7
Prof. D. Venkat Reddy, NIT-Karnataka,
Engineering Geology, Vikas Publishers,
2010 ISBN 978-81259-19032
Bulletin of Engineering Geology and
the Environment

Geological modelling

Wang H. F., Theory of Linear

Poroelasticity with Applications to
 Geomechanics and Hydrogeology,
Princeton Press, (2000).
Waltham T., Foundations of
Engineering Geology, 2nd Edition,
Taylor & Francis, (2001).

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