The Geology Portal
Geology (from Ancient Greek γῆ (gê) 'earth', and -λoγία (-logía) 'study of, discourse') is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth sciences, including hydrology and the atmospheric sciences, and so is treated as one major aspect of integrated Earth system science and planetary science.
Geology describes the structure of the Earth on and beneath its surface, and the processes that have shaped that structure. It also provides tools to determine the relative and absolute ages of rocks found in a given location, and also to describe the histories of those rocks. By combining these tools, geologists are able to chronicle the geological history of the Earth as a whole, and also to demonstrate the age of the Earth. Geology provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and the Earth's past climates.
Geologists use a wide variety of methods to understand the Earth's structure and evolution, including field work, rock description, geophysical techniques, chemical analysis, physical experiments, and numerical modelling. In practical terms, geology is important for mineral and hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation, evaluating water resources, understanding of natural hazards, the remediation of environmental problems, and providing insights into past climate change. Geology is a major academic discipline, and it is central to geological engineering and plays an important role in geotechnical engineering. (Full article...)
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The 1949 Ambato earthquake was the deadliest earthquake in the Western Hemisphere in five years. On August 5, 1949, it struck Ecuador's Tungurahua Province southeast of its capital Ambato and killed 5,050 people. Measuring 6.4 on the Ms scale, it originated from a hypocenter 15 km beneath the surface. The nearby villages of Guano, Patate, Pelileo, and Pillaro were destroyed, and the city of Ambato suffered heavy damage. The earthquake flattened buildings and subsequent landslides caused damage throughout the Tungurahua, Chimborazo, and Cotopaxi Provinces. It disrupted water mains and communication lines and opened a fissure into which the small town of Libertad sank. Moderate shaking from the event extended as far away as Quito and Guayaquil. (Full article...)
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Wolfgang "Wolf" Helmut Berger (5 October 1937, Erlangen – 6 August 2017 San Diego, California) was a German-American oceanographer, geologist, micropaleontologist and emeritus professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. His research interests comprise "micropaleontology, marine sedimentation, ocean productivity, carbon cycle, ocean history, climate history, and history of oceanography." (Full article...)
Did you know
- ... that Zeng Rongsheng organized a Sino-American joint investigation of the geology of the Tibetan Plateau and examined the collision process of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate?
- ... that the most significant rock from New Caledonia is peridotite, which comes from the Earth's mantle?
- ... that the permeability of rocks affected by faults can increase or decrease as a result of seismic activity?
- ... that LiDAR can be used to make a digital terrain model?
- ... that the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is a leading laboratory of geologically recent crustal growth?
- ... that the Gemmi Fault is a geological fault in Switzerland that was active in the last 10,000 years?
- ... that for nearly two decades Alfred Woodford was the sole professor in Pomona College's geology department?
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