PHYSICAL GEOLOGY

NRE103
UG1
Rubar Dizayee

Lecture 1
course objectives
This module is designed to:
• Provide a comprehensive knowledge of physical geology which involves the study of the
earth materials, and various processes that shape our dynamic planet, this also includes
minerals and rock types as well as the internal and external structure of the earth.
• Understand the origin of the Earth and how the Earth has evolved during the past 4.6
billion years, including the origin of continents, oceans, atmosphere and life.
• Applying knowledge of Earth processes and time scale is fundamental to locating resources
such as groundwater, petroleum and minerals, and understanding climate and
environmental changes.
Module Assessment

Weight
Time Week Due
(%)

Mid-Term Exam 2 hours 25 7

Lab 15 Whole semester
Quiz 10 6 & 13
Report 5 11
Final Exam 2 hours 45 14

EXAM MATERIAL FROM LECTURE NOTES, DO NOT MISS LECTURES

Required Texts

• Charles C. Plummer, Diane H. Carlson, and Lisa Hammerly,

2010. Physical geology, thirteen edition. New York, USA.
• W. Kenneth Hamblin, Eric H. Christiansen, 2003. Earth
Dynamic System. 10th Edition. Prentice Hall.
• John Grotzinger, Thomas H. Jordan, Frank Press, and
Raymond Siever, 2007. Understanding Earth, fifth edition.
New York, USA.
Recommended books
• Charles Fletcher, 2011. Physical geology the science of earth.
John Wiley and Sons Incorporation.
• Edgar Winston Spenser, The dynamics of the earth an
introduction to physical geology.
Class Policies
• Be on time.
• Take notes.
• Please ask questions if the material is not clear.
• Class participation.
• Switch off your electronic devices.
• Pop quizzes.
Introduction to Geology
• Geology (Geo= Earth; Logy= Science) is the study of the Earth, its origin, history,
systems, and processes.
• Geology includes all the materials that make up the earth, the forces that act upon
the earth, as well as the biology of inherited inhabitants based on fossil records.
• Geology deals with the physical nature and history of the earth, including the
structure and development of its crust, the composition of its interior, individual
rock types, the forms of life found as fossils, etc.
Introduction to Geology
• Geologists study the evidence that they
see around them, but in most cases,
they are observing the results of
processes that happened thousands,
millions, and even billions of years in the
past. Those were processes that took
place at incredibly slow rates—
millimeters per year to centimeters per
year—but because of the amount of
time available, they produced massive
results
Introduction to Geology
• Geology is the study of Earth — its interior and its exterior surface, the rocks
and other materials that are around us, the processes that have resulted in the
formation of those materials, the water that flows over the surface and lies
underground, the changes that have taken place over the geological time, and
the changes that might take place in the near future.

• Geology is a science, meaning that we use logical reasoning and scientific

methods to understand geological problems. It is the most integrated of all of
the sciences because it involves understanding and application of all of the
other sciences: physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, astronomy, and
others. But unlike most of the other sciences, geology has an extra
dimension, that of time — deep time — billions of years of it.
Introduction to Geology
• Geology is also about understanding the evolution of life on Earth;
about discovering resources such as metals and energy; about
recognizing and minimizing the environmental implications of our use
of those resources; and about learning how to mitigate the hazards
related to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and slope failures.
Introduction to Geology
• Our continued existence requires a
complete understanding of how the
earth works, and how we can continue
to utilize the resources on the planet
without destroying the ecosystem that
we are part of.
• The science of geology is generally
divided into three sub-disciplines:
physical geology, historical geology,
and environmental geology.
o Physical Geology
Examines the materials and processes of the
Earth.

o Historical Geology
Examines the origin and evolution of our planet
through time.

o Environmental Geology
It is an applied science concerned with the
practical application of the principles of geology
in the solving of environmental problems.
Introduction to Geology
How do geologists study the history of earth?
• In order to understand the earth we must use scientific method.
- First you should make observations concerning what is there, what it
is made of and what processes are operating
- Then, these observations are used to develop hypotheses or theories
to explain what we see.
- These hypotheses or theories are then tested by making further
observations, doing experiments, or doing some kind of modeling,
either physically or theoretically.
Why we study geology & Who needs geology?
• The simple answer to this question is that Earth is our home, our only home for the
foreseeable future, and in order to ensure that it continues to be a great place to live,
we need to understand how it works. However, there is more to it than that:
- We rely on Earth for valuable resources such as soil, water, metals, industrial minerals,
and energy, and we need to know how to find these resources and exploit them
sustainably.
- We can study rocks and the fossils they contain, to understand the evolution of our
environment and the life within it.
Why we study geology & Who needs
geology?
- We can learn to minimize the risk from
earthquakes, volcanoes, slope failures, and
damaging storms.
- We can learn how and why Earth’s climate has
changed in the past, and use that knowledge to
understand both natural and human-caused
climate change.
- We can recognize how our activities have altered
the environment in many ways and the climate in
increasingly serious ways, and how to avoid more
severe changes in the future.
Rocks and Fossils are important tools for geologists
• Life Forms (flora and fauna)
• Plate Tectonics
• Mountain Building
• Volcanic Eruptions
• Age Dating
• Paleoclimate
• Extinctions
• Global Sea Level (Rise and Fall)
• Ice Ages
What does a Geologist do?
Geologists work to understand the history of the planet. The better
they understand Earth’s history the better they foresee how events
and processes of the past might influence the future.
Here are some examples:

1. Geologists study earth’s processes:

Many processes such as:
landslides, earthquakes, floods, and volcanic
eruptions can be hazardous to people. Geologists
work to understand these processes very well so that
to minimize the damage from such processes.
What does a Geologist do?
2. Geologists study earth resources:
People use earth resources every day.
They use oil that is produced from
wells, minerals that are produced from
mines, and water that has been
withdrawn from streams or from
subsurface. Geologists conduct studies
that locate rocks that contain important
metals, plan the mines that produce
them and the methods used to remove
the metals from the rocks. They do
similar work to locate and produce oil,
natural gas, and groundwater.
What does a Geologist do?
3. Geologists study earth history:
Today we are concerned about
climate change. Many geologists are
working to learn about the past
climates of earth and how they have
changed across time. The
information from historical and
environmental geology is valuable to
understand how our current climate
is changing.
Branches of Geology
• All divisions of geology provide highly useful information towards
understanding the earth and its inhabitants. Depending on the
particular specialization in geology, a geologist may study and map
rock formations, collect rock samples and fossils, or measure the
physical properties of the earth. This helps geologists interpret the
active geological processes during the past several million years of
earth's history. Geology plays a vital role behind the success of many
other different disciplines, such as climatology, engineering, and
evolutionary biology.
Branches of Geology
• Mineralogy: the study of minerals, their formation,
occurrence their properties and composition and their
classification.

• Petrology: dealing with the origin, occurrence, structure

and history of rocks especially igneous and
metamorphic rocks.

• Geo-chemistry: the study of distribution and amounts of

the chemical elements in minerals, ore, rocks, soils,
water etc.

• Paleontology: the study of life in past geologic periods,

based on fossils, plants and animals.
Branches of Geology
• Structural Geology: the general deposition,
attitude, arrangements, or relative positions of
the rock masses of a region or area.

• Plate Tectonics: related to the ​structure of the ​surface of

the ​earth and the way it is ​formed, ​changed,
and ​moved by ​forces inside it.

• Stratigraphy: deals with the definition and description of

major and minor natural divisions or rocks & with the
interpretation of their significance in geologic history.

• Sedimentology: The processes of forming or

accumulating sediments in layers (weathering,
transportation, and deposition).