ECG 103 - GEOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO
GEOLOGY
DIANA BT CHE LAT
017-2034061 / 07-3818328
ROOM LEVEL 5
dianacl@johor.uitm.edu.my

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 At the end of this course, students should
be able to:

COURSE
OUTCOMES CO1 : Define the geological principles in
(CO) civil engineering works
CO2 : Identify rock types and geological
process of rock-soil formation
CO3 : Perform laboratory test for
engineering classification.
CO4 : Perform effectively as a team in
carrying out laboratory works.

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 LEARNING
OUTCOMES
(LO)

LO1 : The student should LO2 : The student should

understand the definition of understand the plate
geology. boundary.

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WHAT IS GEOLOGY????
• From the Greek ‘geo’ and ‘logos’ is defined as the study of the
Earth
• Divided in 2 broad areas:
a) Physical geology~ the study of earth materials, such as
minerals and rocks, as well as the process operating
within earth and on its surface
b) Historical geology~examine the origin and revolution of
earth, its continents, oceans, atmosphere and lives
• Natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruption,
tsunami, landslides, and floods are the components of
geology that affect everyone
• The more we understand how these phenomena work, the
better prepared we can be to lessen their destruction and
minimize the loss of life resulting from them.

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 22nd March 2007 – Putrajaya Precint 9
-23 vehicles burried
-50m high hill, 45° slopes, 10m from the resident areas

6th Dec 2009- landslide at Taman Bukit Mewah, Bukit Antarabangsa

-109m in width at the crest, 120m in length, 15m in depth
and the angle of the scarp of the crown ranges from 45° to 50°
-14 units of bungalows swept away

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 1.1
PRINCIPLE DIVISIONS
OF THE EARTH

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THE EXPANDING
UNIVERSE

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BIG BANG THEORY

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1.1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE SOLAR
SYSTEM

THE SUN

9 PLANETS

SOLAR 101 MOONS OR SATELLITES

SYSTEM (THE NUMBERS KEEP CHANGING)
CONSIST OF
TREMENDOUS NUMBERS OF ASTEROIDS
(BETWEEN MARS AND JUPITER)

MILLION OF COMETS AND METEORITES

INTERPLANETARY DUST AND GASES

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 Pluto
Mars
SUN
Neptune
Earth

Venus
Mercury
Uranus

Saturn
Jupiter

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 Saturn Uranus
Neptune

Pluto

Jupiter

Mars

Earth

Venus

Mercury
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CONT…
Earth is the only
planet revolve
around the sun

Pluto???
Not included in either category

TWO GROUPS OF PLANET

• 4 smaller planets orbiting close to

the sun (TERRESTRIAL PLANETS~ Mercury,
Venus , Earth and Mars)
• 4 larger planets occupying the outer
reaches of the solar system (JOVIAN PLANETS~
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune)

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TERRESTRIAL AND
JOVIAN PLANETS

SIZE The largest Terrestrial planets (Earth & Venus) have

diameters only ¼ as great as the diameter of the
smallest Jovian planet (Neptune)

The Terrestrial masses are only 1/17 as great as

MASS Neptune’s.

The densities of the Terrestrial planets average about

DENSITY five times the density of water, whereas the Jovian
planets have densities that average only 1.5 times that
of water.

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 SUBSTANCES THAT MAKE UP
THE PLANETS BASED ON THEIR MELTING POINT

The gases, hydrogen The ices include ammonia

and helium are those
with melting points near
absolute zero.
(NH3), methane (CH4),
carbon dioxide (CO2)
and water (H2O).
They have intermediate
melting points.

The rocks are principally

silicate minerals and
metallic iron which have
melting points exceeding
700°C

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CONT…

The inner, or Terrestrial planets are dense

bodies mainly composed of iron and silicate
(containing the element silicon) rocks with
minor amounts of gases and ices.

The Jovian planets on the other hand contain large

amounts of gases (hydrogen and helium) and ices (mostly water,
ammonia, and methane) are much lighter in density.

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1.1.2 PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE EARTH

HYDROSPHERE

MAJOR GEOSPHERE
ATMOSPHERE
4 SPHERES

BIOSPHERE

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 HYDROSPHERE (THE WATER ON EARTH)
Earth is sometimes called the dynamic mass of water that is
continually on the move, evaporating
blue planet, water makes
from the oceans to the atmosphere,
earth unique. precipitating to the land,
and running back to the ocean again.

The oceans cover 71 percent of

Earth’s surface to an average
depth of about 3800 meters (12,500 feet).
It accounts for about 97 percent of includes the fresh
Earth’s water. water found
underground and
in streams, lakes and glaciers.

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ATMOSPHERE (THE AIR SURROUNDING THE
EARTH)
Earth is surrounded by a life-giving gaseous
envelope called the atmosphere.

The atmosphere is a mixture of gases, mostly nitrogen and oxygen,

with smaller amounts of argon, carbon dioxide and other gases.

The atmosphere supports life because animals need oxygen,

and plants need both carbon dioxide and oxygen.

The atmosphere supports life indirectly by regulating climate,

air acts both as a filter and as a blanket – retaining heat night
and shielding us from direct solar radiation during the day.

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BIOSPHERE (THE AREA ON EARTH WHERE
THE LIFE EXIST)
The biosphere is the zone inhabited by life.
It includes the uppermost geosphere, the hydrosphere,
and the lower parts of the atmosphere.

Sea life concentrates near the surface, where sunlight

is available.

Plants also grow on the Earth’s surface,

with root penetrating a few meters into the soil.

Animals live on the surface, fly a kilometer

or two above it, or burrow a few meters underground.

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 GEOSPHERE

CONSIST OF THREE MAJOR

LAYERS

a less dense rocky

a dense metallic CORE MANTLE

an even less dense

surface CRUST

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21
 THE CORE

composed mainly of iron and nickel,

heated to 6000°C, about as hot as the surface of the Sun.

the outer core is apparently liquid.

the inner core is a solid.

both are thought to consist largely of iron

and a small amount of nickel.

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 THE MANTLE

surrounds the core and lies beneath the crust.

the physical characteristics of the mantle vary with depth.

near the surface, the outermost mantle is cool

because the Earth’s interior heat has escape into
space: this cool rock is relatively strong and hard

the layer below the surface is so hot: the

rock is weak, soft, plastic and flows slowly.

deeper in the Earth, pressure overwhelms

temperature: the mantle rock becomes strong again.

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 THE CRUST

Earth’s outermost layer, consists of two types.

Continental crust is thick (20-90 km),

has an average density of 2.7 g/cm3 and
contains considerable silicon and aluminum.

Oceanic crust is thin (5-10 km), denser than continental

crust (3.0 g/cm3) and is composed of the dark
igneous rock basalt and gabbro.

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CONT…

Earth can be divided into five main layers based

on physical properties and hence mechanical strength

LITOSPHERE ASTHENOSPHERE

MESOSPHERE

INNER CORE OUTER CORE

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 LITOSPHERE

Earth’s outermost layer consists of the crust

and uppermost mantle and forms a relatively
cool, rigid shell.

Although this layer is composed of materials with

markedly different chemical composition, it tends to act
as a unit that exhibits rigid behavior,
mainly because it is cool and thus strong.

This layer, called the lithosphere (sphere of rock),

averages about 100 kilometers in thickness but may be
more than 250 kilometers thick below the older
portions of the continents.

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 ASTHENOSPHERE
Beneath the lithosphere, in the upper mantle
(to a depth of about 660 kilometers), lies a soft,
comparatively weak layer known as the asthenosphere (“weak sphere”).

The top portion of the asthenosphere has a temperature/pressure

regime that results in a small amount of melting.

Within this very weak zone the lithosphere is mechanically

detached from the layer below.

The lithosphere is able to move independently of the asthenosphere.

The uppermost asthenosphere is weak because it is near

its melting point, the rocks are very easily deformed.

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 MESOSPHERE (LOWER MANTLE)

Below the zone of weakness in the uppermost asthenosphere,

increased pressure counteracts the effects of higher temperature,
and the rocks gradually strengthen with depth.

Between the depths of 660 kilometers and 2900 kilometers

a more rigid layer, called the mesosphere (middle sphere)
or lower mantle is found.

Despite their strength, the rocks of the mesosphere

are still very hot and capable of very gradual flow.

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 INNER AND OUTER CORE

The core, which is composed mostly of an

iron-nickel alloy, is divided into two regions that
exhibit very different mechanical strengths.

The outer core is a liquid layer 2270 kilometers (1410 miles)

thick. It is the convective flow of metallic iron within this zone
that generates Earth’s magnetic field.

The inner core is a sphere having a radius of 1216 kilometers (754 miles).
Despite its higher temperature, the material in the inner core is
stronger (because of immense pressure) than the outer core
and behaves like a solid.

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LABEL THE EARTH DIAGRAM

CRUST

MANTLE

OUTER CORE

INNER CORE

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