Geology and Geophysics (GG)

The GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) 2022 examination includes 29 papers. One of them is Geology & Geophysics (Code: GG). The paper is bifurcated into 2 parts, with Part B consisting of 2 sections, namely Geology (section 1) and Geophysics (section 2). Here is the detailed syllabus below:

Part A: COMMON SECTION

Earth and planetary system: 

• Gravitational Field Of The Earth
• Size, Shape, Internal Structure And Composition Of The Earth
• Continental And Oceanic Crust – Composition, Structure, And Thickness
• Terrestrial Planets And Moons Of the Solar System  
• Concept of isostasy
• Elements Of Seismology – Body and Surface Waves, Propagation Of Body Waves In The Earth’s Interior 
• Heat Flow Within The Earth 
• Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism 
• Landforms Created By River, Wind, Glacier, Ocean, And Volcanoes
• Plate Tectonics – Relationship With Earthquakes, Volcanism, And Mountain Building 
• Continental Drift 
• Weathering And Soil Formation
• Landforms Created By River, Wind, Glacier, Ocean, And Volcanoes

Basic Structural Geology: 

• Brittle And Ductile Deformation
• Stress, Strain, And Material Response 
• Nomenclature And Classification Of Folds And Faults

Crystallography: 

• Basic Crystal Symmetry And Concept Of Point Groups

Mineralogy: 

• Mineral, Coal, and Petroleum Resources Of India
• Geological Time Scale, Geochronology And Absolute Time, Stratigraphic Principles; Major Stratigraphic Divisions Of India 
• Elements Of Hydrogeology
• Introduction To Remote Sensing
• Silicate Crystal Structure And Determinative Mineralogy Of Common Rock Forming Minerals.
• Engineering Properties Of Rocks And Soils 
• Petrology Of Common Igneous, Sedimentary And Metamorphic Rocks
• Principles and Applications Of Gravity, Magnetic, Electrical, Electromagnetic, Seismic, And Radiometric Methods Of Prospecting For Oil, Mineral, And Groundwater; Introductory Well Logging 

Part B (SECTION-1): GEOLOGY

Geomorphology: 

• Geomorphic Processes And Agents 
• Tectonic Geomorphology
• Development And Evolution Of Landforms In Continental And Oceanic Settings

Structural Geology:

• Shear Zones, Thrusts, And Superposed Folding
• Geometry And Genesis Of Planar And Linear Structures (Bedding, Cleavage, Schistosity, Lineation) 
• Folds, Faults, Joints, and Unconformities 
• Stereographic Projection 
• Interpretation Of Geological Maps
• Basement-Cover Relationship
• Primary And Secondary Structures
• Forces And Mechanism Of Rock Deformation

Crystallography And Mineralogy: 

• Elements Of Crystal Symmetry, Form And Twinning 
• Crystal Chemistry 
• Crystallographic Projection
• Classification Of Minerals, Physical And Optical Properties Of Rockforming Minerals 

Geochemistry:

• Cosmic Abundance Of Elements 
• Elements Of High Temperature and Low-Temperature Geochemical Thermodynamics
• Geochemical Evolution Of The Earth 
• Geochemistry Of Water And Water-Rock Interaction
• Distribution Of Major, Minor, And Trace Elements In Crust And Mantle 
• Geochemical Cycles
• Isotopic Evolution Of the Crust And the Mantle, Mantle Reservoirs
• Meteorites

Igneous Petrology: 

• Major and Trace Elements as Monitors Of Partial Melting and Magma Evolutionary Processes 
• Classification, Forms, Textures, And Genesis Of Common Igneous Rocks
• Binary And Ternary Phase Diagrams
• Magmatic Differentiation
• Mantle Plumes, Hotspots, And Large Igneous Provinces 

Sedimentology:

• Texture, Structure, and Sedimentary Processes
• Sedimentary Facies And Environments, Cyclicities in Sedimentary Succession 
• Petrology Of Common Sedimentary Rocks 
• Important Sedimentary Basins Of India 
• Provenance And Basin Analysis 

Metamorphic Petrology: 

• Structures and Textures Of Metamorphic Rocks
• Role Of Bulk Composition Including Fluids In Metamorphism
• Chemographic Projections 
• Metamorphism Of Pelitic, Mafic, and Impure Carbonate Rocks
• Physico-Chemical Conditions Of Metamorphism And Concept Of Metamorphic Facies, Grade And Baric Types
• Thermobarometry And Metamorphic P-T-t Paths, and Their Tectonic Significance 

Paleobiology: 

• Diversity Of Life Through Time, Mass Extinctions- Causes And Effects 
• Basic Concepts Of Ecology/Paleoecology
• Taxonomy
• Microfossils (Foraminifera, Ostracoda, Conodonts, Bryozoa)
• Paleobotany (Plant, Spores, Pollens)
• Morphology and Functional Morphology Of Invertebrates (Bivalves, Brachiopods, Gastropods, Echinoids, Ammonites)
• Vertebrate Paleontology (Equus, Probicidea, Human)
• Classification – Ecological And Taxonomic Schemes (Diversity And Richness)
• Taphonomy – Processes Of Fossilization
• Fossils and Paleoenvironments

Stratigraphy: 

• Stratigraphy Of Peninsular and Extra-Peninsular India
• Lithostratigraphy, Biostratigraphy, And Chronostratigraphy 
• Principles Of Sequence Stratigraphy And Applications 
• Principles Of Stratigraphy And Concepts Of Correlation
• Boundary Problems In Indian Stratigraphy

Resource Geology: 

• Ore-Mineralogy 
• Ore Forming Processes Vis-À-Vis Ore-Rock Association (Magmatic, Hydrothermal, Sedimentary, Supergene, And Meta-morphogenic Ores) 
• Prospecting and Exploration Of Economic Mineral Deposits – Sampling, Ore Reserve Estimation, Geostatistics, Mining Methods
• Marine Mineral Resources
• Coal and Petroleum Geology
• Ore Dressing And Mineral Economics 
• Fluid Inclusions As Ore Genetic Tools
• Distribution Of Mineral, Fossil, And Nuclear Fuel Deposits In India 

Global Tectonics:

• Plate Boundaries
• Driving Mechanisms
• Supercontinent Cycles 
• Plate Motions

Applied Geology: 

• In-Situ Stresses
• Rock Mass Classifications (RMR And Q Systems) 
• Natural Hazards (Landslide, Volcanic, Seismogenic, Coastal) and Mitigation 
• Rock Index Tests 
• Geological Factors In the Construction Of Engineering Structures Including Dams, Tunnels, And Excavation Sites
• Shear Strength Of Rock Discontinuities
• Principles Of Climate Change
• Rocks As Construction Materials 
• Analysis Of Slope Stability 
• Rock Failure Criteria (Mohr-Coulomb, Griffith, and Hoek-Brown Criteria)
• Physico-Mechanical Properties Of Rocks And Soils 

Hydrogeology: 

• Groundwater Flow And Exploration 
• Well Hydraulics And Water Quality 

Basic Principles Of Remote Sensing: 

• Aerial-Photo Interpretation
• Energy Sources and Radiation Principles 
• Interaction Of Energy With Earth’s Surface 
• GIS – Basic Concepts, Raster, And Vector Mode Operations
• Multispectral Remote Sensing In Visible, Infrared, Thermal IR, And Microwave Regions
• Atmospheric Absorption 
• Digital Processing Of Satellite Images 

Part B (SECTION-2): GEOPHYSICS

Solid-Earth Geophysics:

• The Earth As A Planet
• Gravity Field Of The Earth, Clairaut’s Theorem, Size And Shape Of Earth
• Different Motions Of The Earth
• Variation Of Density, Velocity, Pressure, Temperature, Electrical And Magnetic Properties Of The Earth
• Seismology and Interior Of The Earth
• Geomagnetic Field, Paleomagnetism 
• Geothermics and Heat Flow

Geodesy:

• Gravitational Field Of The Earth
• Geoid; Ellipsoid
• Geodetic Reference Systems
• Datum
• Everest (1830) And WGS 84 (1984) Systems
• GPS and DGPS
• Levelling And Surveying

Earthquake Seismology:

• Elements Of Seismic Tomography
• Body And Surface Waves
• Eikonal Equation and Ray Theory
• Reflection And Refraction Of Elastic Waves
• Inhomogenous And Evanescent Waves And Bounded Waves
• Rotational, Dilatational, Irrational, And Equivolumnal Waves
• Earthquakes-Causes And Measurements, Magnitude And Intensity, Focal Mechanisms 
• Earthquake Quantification, Source Characteristics, Seismotectonics And Seismic Hazards
• Digital Seismographs, Earthquake Statistics, Wave Propagation In Elastic Media, Quantifying Earthquake Source From Seismological Data
• Elements Of Elasticity Theory- Stress And Strain Tensors, Generalized Hooke’s Law

Potential And Time-Varying Fields:

• Scalar And Vector Potential Fields
• Image Theory
• Green’s Theorem
• Laplace, Maxwell, And Helmholtz Equations For Solution Of Different Types Of Boundary Value Problems In Cartesian, Cylindrical, And Spherical Polar Coordinates
• Integral Equations In Potential And Time-Varying Field Theory

Gravity Methods:

• Absolute And Relative Gravity Measurements
• Preparation And Analysis Of Gravity Maps
• Land,  Airborne, Shipborne, And Bore-Hole Gravity Surveys
• Tensorial Gravity Sensors And Surveys
• Data Enhancement Techniques, Upward And Downward Continuation
• Regional And Residual Gravity Separation
• Principle Of Equivalent Stratum
• Derivative Maps, Wavelength Filtering
• Gravimeters
• Various Corrections For Gravity Data Reduction – Free Air, Bouguer, And Isostatic Anomalies; Density Estimates Of Rocks
• Gravity Anomalies and their Interpretation – Anomalies Due To Geometrical And Irregular Shaped Bodies, Depth Rules, Calculation Of Mass.

Magnetic Methods:

• Depth Rules
• Elements Of Earth’s Magnetic Field, Units Of Measurement, Magnetic Susceptibility Of Rocks And Measurements, Magnetometers And Magnetic Gradiometers, Land, Airborne, And Marine Magnetic And Magnetic Gradiometer Surveys, Various Corrections Applied To Magnetic Data, IGRF, Reduction To Pole Transformation,  Poisson’s  Relation  Of  Gravity  And  Magnetic  Potential  Field, Preparation Of Magnetic Maps, Upward and Downward Continuation, Magnetic Anomalies Due To Geometrical And Irregular Shaped Bodies
• Image Processing Concepts In Processing Of Magnetic Anomaly Maps
• Derivative, Analytic Signal, and Euler Depth Solutions
• Interpretation Of Processed Magnetic Anomaly Data
• Applications Of Gravity And Magnetic Methods For Mineral And Oil Exploration

Electrical Methods:

• Apparent Resistivity And Apparent Chargeability, Concept Of Negative Apparent Resistivity And Negative Apparent Chargeability
• Induced  Polarization,  Time, And  Frequency  Domain  IP Measurements
• Electrical Conductivities Of Metals, Non-Metals, Rock-Forming Minerals And Different Rocks, Concepts Of D.C. Resistivity Measurement And Depth Of Investigation
• Theory Of Reciprocity, Sounding And Profiling, Various Electrode Arrangements, Application Of Linear Filter Theory, Sounding Curves Over Multi-Layered Earth, Dar-Zarrouk Parameters, Reduction Of Layers, Triangle Of Anisotropy, Interpretation Of Resistivity Field Data, Principles Of Equivalence And Suppression, Self-Potential Method And Its Origin
• Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT)
• Conduction Of Electricity Through Rocks
• Interpretation And Applications Of SP, Resistivity, And IP Data Sets For Ground-Water Exploration, Mineral Exploration, Environmental, And Engineering Applications

Electromagnetic Methods:

• Earth’s Natural Electromagnetic Methods-Tellurics, Geomagnetic Depth Sounding, And Magnetotellurics
• Geo-Electromagnetic Spectrum
• Ground And Airborne Methods, Measurements In Different Source-Receiver Configurations
• Geological Applications Including Groundwater, Mineral Environmental, And Hydrocarbon Exploration
• Maxwell’s Equation, Helmotz Equation, Basic Concept Of EM Induction In The Earth, Skin-Depth, Elliptic Polarization, Inphase And Quadrature  Components, Phasor Diagrams
• Response Function And Response Parameters
• Effect Of Conducting Overburden
• Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Methods
• Biot Savart’s Law
• Electromagnetic Profiling And Sounding, Time Domain EM Method; EM Scale Modeling, Processing Of EM Data And Interpretation

Seismic Methods:

• Reservoir Geophysics- Rock Physics And Petrophysics
• Land And Marine Seismic Sources, Generation And Propagation Of Elastic Waves, Velocity–Depth Models, Geophones, Hydrophones, Digital Recording Systems, Digital Formats, Field Layouts, Seismic Noise, And Noise Profile Analysis, Optimum Geophone Grouping, Noise Cancellation By Shot And Geophone  Arrays,  2D, 3D,  And  4D  Seismic  Data  Acquisition,  Processing, And Interpretation
• Reflection, Refraction, And CDP Surveys
• CDP Stacking Charts, Binning, Filtering, Static And Dynamic Corrections 
• Digital Seismic Data Processing, Seismic Deconvolution And Migration Methods,  Attribute Analysis, Bright And Dim Spots, Seismic Stratigraphy, High-Resolution Seismics, VSP, AVO, Multi-Component Seismics, And Seismic Interferometry
• Elastic Properties Of Earth Materials
• Geophysical Survey Design

Geophysical Signal Processing:

• Power Spectrum, Delta Function, auto-correlation, Cross Correlation, Convolution, Deconvolution, Principles Of Digital Filters, Windows, Poles, And Zeros
• Sampling Theorem, Nyquist Frequency, Aliasing, Fourier Series, Periodic Waveform,  Fourier And Hilbert Transform, Z-Transform And Wavelet Transform

Geophysical Well Logging:

• Quantitative Evaluation Of Formations From Well Logs
• Principles And Techniques Of Geophysical Well-Logging, SP, Resistivity, Induction, Gamma Ray, Neutron, Density, Sonic, Temperature, Dip Meter, Caliper, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance- Longitudinal And Transverse Relaxation, CPMG Sequence, Porosity Characterization, Cement Bond Logging, Micro-Logs. Pulsed Neutron Devices And Spectroscopy Multi-Array And Triaxial Induction Devices
• Lithology And Porosity Estimation
• Logging While Drilling
• Application Of Bore Hole Geophysics In Ground Water, Mineral, And Oil Exploration
• Clay Quantification
• High Angle And Horizontal Wells
• Saturation and Permeability Estimation

Radioactive Methods:

• G M Counter
• Prospecting And Assaying Of Mineral (Radioactive And Non-Radioactive) Deposits
• Semiconductor Devices
• Decay Constant
• Assaying And Radioactive Waste Disposal
• Scintillation Detector
• Radioactive Equilibrium
• Application Of Radiometric For Exploration
• Half-Life

Geophysical Inversion:

• Basic Concepts Of Forward And Inverse Problems, Ill-Posedness Of Inverse Problems, Condition Number, Non-Uniqueness, And Stability Of Solutions
• Statistics Of Misfit And Likelihood, Bayesian Construction Of Posterior Probabilities, Sparsity Promoting L1 Optimization
• Backus-Gilbert Method, Simulated Annealing, Genetic Algorithms, Swarm Intelligence, Machine Learning, And Artificial Neural Networks
• Ambiguity And Uncertainty In Geophysical Interpretation
• L1, L2 And Lp Norms, Overdetermined, Underdetermined And Mixed Determined Inverse Problems, Quasi-Linear And Nonlinear Methods Including Tikhonov’s Regularization Method, Singular Value Decomposition