Engineering geology
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An engineering geologist logging rock core in the field,
Western Australia.
Engineering geology is the application of
the 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. Engineering geologists
provide geological and geotechnical
recommendations, analysis, and design
associated with human development and
various types of structures. 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.
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; geological
hazard assessments, geotechnical,
material properties, landslide and slope
stability, erosion, flooding, dewatering, and
seismic investigations, etc. 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 against 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.
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 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).
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 which 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 as an
engineering geologist is the interpretation
of landforms and earth processes to
identify potential geologic and related
man-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, power generation facility, 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, 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
