Geology – Geochemistry

Geology (from Ancient Greek (gê) ‘earth’ and -o (-loga)’study of, discourse’) is the study of the earth.  It is a field of natural science that studies the Earth and other astronomical objects, as well as the characteristics or rocks that make them up and how they change through time. Modern geology is recognised as one of the key aspects of integrated Earth system science and planetary science since it integrates with the other Earth sciences, including hydrology and the atmospheric sciences.

To better understand the earth’s structure and evolution, geologists use Field work, rock description, geophysical techniques, chemical analysis, physical tests, and numerical modelling . In practical terms, geology is vital for mineral and hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation, water resource evaluation, natural hazard assessment, environmental problem remediation, and providing insights into historical climate change. Geology is a key academic discipline that is important in geological engineering and plays a function in geotechnical engineering.

The majority of geological information comes from solid Earth studies. Geological methods are also used to study meteorites and other extraterrestrial natural objects.

Branches of geology

Geology studies the structure of the surface of the Earth and under it, as well as the processes that have contributed to shaping it. Further, It  includes methods that determine the relative and absolute ages of rocks and describes the rock’s history.  Geologists can use a combination of these tools to solve problems. Geologists may document the geological history of the Earth as a whole and demonstrate the age of the Earth by combining these technologies. Plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and the Earth’s previous climates are all supported by geology.

There are mainly four branches of geology

Oceanography 

Oceanography studies  composition and mobility of the water column, and the mechanisms causing it. The main oceanographic phenomena are Waves and tides;  wind-driven and other oceanic currents, that influence continental shelf waters. Understanding the oceanography of shelf waters and how it affects seabed dynamics helps with a variety of tasks, including the following:

seabed mapping and classification for environmental management marine biodiversity surrogacy research assessment of renewable energy potential

Sedimentology

Sedimentology is the scientific study of sediment grains in marine and other deposits, with an emphasis on physical qualities and deposit formation processes. The addition of geological material to a landform is a geological process namely deposition. The following are some of the most important physical properties to consider:

1. the grain size and form of the sediment

2. the degree to which a deposit has been sorted

3. the grain composition of sedimentary formations inside a deposit

These qualities, when combined, provide a record of the mechanisms at work during sediment transit and deposition, allowing for the interpretation of the environmental conditions that led to the formation of a sediment deposit, either in present settings or in the geological record.

Geochemistry

Geochemistry is a field of Earth Science that uses chemical principles to learn more about the Earth system and other planets’ systems.  Earth is seen as a collection of separate spheres — rocks, fluids, gases, and biological — that exchange both matter and energy throughout time. The basis of studying the co-evolution of the solid Earth; its oceans, atmosphere, biosphere, and climate is for an understanding of reaction rates and the spectrum of physical variables responsible for chemical expressions of each sphere. Biogeochemistry, organic geochemistry, trace and elemental geochemistry, and metamorphic and igneous-rock geochemistry are all active sub-disciplines in the department. Inductively coupled plasma and stable-isotope mass spectrometers, a chrome FTIR lab, fully automated electron microprobe, X-ray diffractometer, laser Raman, SEM, and other analytical instruments are among the instruments used. The earth is seen as a collection of separate rocks by Geochemists — rocks, fluids, gases, and biological — that exchange matter and energy throughout time. The basis for studying the co-evolution of the solid Earth, its oceans, atmosphere, biosphere, and climate is an understanding of reaction rates and the spectrum of physical variables responsible for chemical expressions of each sphere. Biogeochemistry, organic geochemistry, trace and elemental geochemistry, and metamorphic and igneous-rock geochemistry are all active sub-disciplines in the department. Inductively linked plasma and stable-isotope mass spectrometers, a chrom FTIR lab, fully automated electron microprobe, X-ray diffractometer, laser Raman, SEM, and other analytical instruments are among the amenities. Jay Ague, Danny Rye, Ruth Blake, Noah Planavsky, Alan Rooney, Lidya Tarhan, Ellen Thomas, and Pincelli are geochemists and affiliated faculty and scientists. The following are some of the subfields of geochemistry: 

Environmental, hydrological, and mineral exploration investigations all benefit from regional geochemical research.

Planetary geology

Planetary geology, also known as astrogeology or exogeology, is a branch of planetary science that studies the geology of celestial bodies such as planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites. Although the geo- prefix usually signifies issues about or related to the Earth, planetary geology is designated as such for historical and practical reasons; it is intimately tied to Earth-based geology due to the types of investigations engaged. The composition, structure, dynamics, and history of a planet are the focus of these studies.Planetary geology studies the interior structure of terrestrial planets, as well as planetary volcanism and surface processes like impact craters, fluvial, and aeolian processes. The structures and compositions of the big planets and their moons, as well as the make-up of the Solar System’s smaller bodies, such as asteroids, the Kuiper Belt, and comets, are also studied. Applications derived from other closely related topics within the geological sciences, such as geophysics and geochemistry, are included in planetary geology.

Conclusion

The importance of various elements in watersheds, such as copper, sulphur, and mercury, as well as how elemental fluxes are exchanged through atmospheric-terrestrial-aquatic interactions, are studied in aqueous geochemistry. Biogeochemistry is the branch of science that studies the impact of life on the Earth’s chemistry. Cosmochemistry is the study of the distribution of elements and isotopes throughout the universe The study of the relative and absolute concentrations of elements and their isotopes in the Earth and on its surface is known as isotope geochemistry. The study of the function of processes and substances derived from living or once-living organisms is known as organic geochemistry. The study of light-induced chemical reactions that occur or may occur among natural components of the Earth’s surface is known as photogeochemistry.