REPORTING OUTLINED

Environmental Geology
 Brief introduction in what is the topic all about in general
 Definition
 Application of Environmental Geology
 Fundamental Concepts of Environmental Geology
o Geological Hazards
 Natural Hazards [Causes & Consequences]
 Recalled Plate Tectonics and Boundaries
 Earthquake, Volcanic Eruption/Activity, Landslides, Tsunamis (Tidal wave),
Sink holes, Flood (Costal, Flash, River)]
 Coping Geological Hazards
 Avoid, Evaluate, Minimize, Develop
 Landscape Evaluation / Hazard Minimization/ Land use Planning and
Environmental impact Assessment
o Increasing of Human Population
 Pollution in water and air, land
 Shortage of Resources
 Climate change
o Sustainability
 Geologic Resources
 Renewable Resources
 Non-Renewable Resources
o Earth as a system
 Importance of Environmental Geology in Civil Engineering Perspective
 Indicate final quotation
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
DEFINITION
Environmental geology is applied geology. Specifically, it is the use of geologic information to help us solve
conflicts in land use, to minimize environmental degradation, and to maximize the beneficial results of using our natural
and modified environment. It is simply an interaction between humans and the environment.
APPLICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY
 Earth materials, such as minerals, rocks, and soils to determine how they form, their potential use as resources
or waste disposal sites, and their effects on human health.
 Natural hazards, such as floods, landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic activity, in order to minimize loss of life
and property.
 Landscape for site selection, land use planning, and environmental impact analysis.
 Hydrologic processes of ground water and surface water to evaluate water resources and water pollution
problems.
 Geologic processes, such as deposition of sediment on the ocean floor, the formation of mountains, and the
movement of water on and below the surface of Earth, to evaluate local, regional, and global change.
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY
1. Understanding Geological Hazards
RECALL:
Plate Tectonics is earth lithosphere broken into pieces called plates that move over the plastic asthenosphere
causing earthquakes, volcanoes, and other geologic phenomena. Three boundaries are Convergent (plate moving
towards each other) Divergent (Plates moving away to each other) and Transform (Plates sliding/passing to each
other). And it impacts are these natural hazards that are naturally occur in earth surface.

 Natural Hazards - Refers to processes that produce a hazard to people and property such as.
a) Earthquake is a natural shaking or vibrating of Earth in response to the breaking of rocks along
faults. The earthquake zones of Earth generally are correlated with lithospheric plate boundaries.
i. Causes of Earthquake
 Tectonic Earthquakes [caused by plate tectonics are called tectonic quakes]
 Induced Earthquakes [caused by human activity]
 Volcanic Earthquakes [ associated with active volcanism]
 Collapse Earthquakes [triggered by such phenomena as cave-ins]
ii. Effects of Earthquake
 Shaking and Ground Rupture
 Liquefaction
 Landslides
 Fires
 Disease
 Regional Changes in Land Elevation
iii. Earthquake Cycle Strain is deformation resulting from stress. Elastic strain may be
thought of as deformation that is not permanent, provided that the stress is released.
When the stress is released, the deformed material returns to its original shape. If the
stress continues to increase, the deformed material eventually ruptures, making the
deformation permanent.
iv. Adjustment to Earthquake Activity
 Structural Protection [Earthquake resistant structure]
 Land-use Planning
 Disaster Risk Reduction Plan
b) Volcanic Activity it is the activity of eruption or ejection of molten rock on the surface of Earth.
i. Different types of volcanic eruptive events
  pyroclastic explosions, with is fast-moving hot gas and volcanic matter
 hot ash releases
 lava flows
 gas emissions
 glowing avalanches when gas and ashes release.
ii. Cause of Volcanic Eruption
 When molten rock called magma rises to the surface. Magma is formed when the
earth's mantle melts. Melting may happen where tectonic plates are pulling apart
or where one plate is pushed down under another. Magma is lighter than rock so
rises towards the Earth's surface
iii. Forecasting Volcanic Activity
 Monitoring of seismic activity
 Monitoring of thermal, magnetic, and hydrologic conditions
 Topographic monitoring of tilting or swelling of the volcano
 Monitoring of volcanic gas emissions
 Studying the geologic history of a particular volcano or volcanic center '
iv. Adjustment to Volcanic Activity
 psychological adjustment to losses,
 evacuation plan
 Proper Education/ Awareness
 Disaster Risk Reduction Plan
c) Landslides rapid downslope movement of rock and/or soil.
i. Causes of Landslides
 accompany heavy rains or follow droughts, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions.
Mudslides develop when water rapidly accumulates in the ground and results in a
surge of water-saturated rock, earth, and debris.
ii. Effects of Landslides
 Pollute streams and waterbodies with sediments
 Wipe out large tracts of forest
 Destroy Wildlife Habitat
 Remove productive soils from slopes
 Social destruction, death, and damage infrastructure
iii. Adjustment to Landslides
 Identification of potential landslides
 Engineering techniques [drainage control, proper grading, and construction of
supports such as retaining walls]
 Correction of landslides [means initiating a drainage program that lowers water
pressure in the slope]
d) Floods occur when an overflow of water submerges land that is usually dry. There are
i. Common types of floods
 Flash floods - are caused by rapid and excessive rainfall that raises water
heights quickly, and rivers, streams, channels, or roads may be overtaken.
 River floods - are caused when consistent rain or snow melt forces a river to
exceed capacity.
 Coastal floods - are caused by storm surges associated with tropical cyclones
and tsunami.
ii. Primary Causes of Floods
 Heavy Rains
 Overflowing of Rivers
 Broken Dams
 Urban Drainage Basins
 Strom Surges / Tsunamis
  Lack of Vegetation and many other factors.
iii. Adjustment to Floods
 Physical Barriers [Levees, Floodwalls and Reservoirs Structure]
 Floodplain Regulations and Engineering Techniques
[Mapping the flood Hazards]
 Channelization [straightening, deepening, widening, cleaning, or lining of
existing streams]
e) Tsunamis a seismic sea wave generated mostly by submarine earthquake, but also by submarine
volcanic eruption, landslide, or impact of an asteroid; characteristically has very long wavelength
and moves rapidly in the open sea; incorrectly referred to as tidal wave.
f) Sinkholes a surface depression formed by solution of limestone or collapse over a subterranean
void such as a cave.
 Coping Geological Hazards
Its undeniably true that geological hazards cannot be prevented however, through careful
planning and preparation the damage to property and loss of life can be avoided. And we future
engineers have important roles to ensure the safety standards, setting of designs and cost-effective
design for construction projects.
2. Increasing of Human Population
EMPHASIZES: Overpopulation has been a problem in some areas of the world for at least several hundred
years, but it is now apparent that it is a global problem. Impact according to United Nation Statistics the world
population is projected to reach 8 billion on November 15, 2022, and in 2030 expected to reach 9.7 billion and in
2050 10.4 billion and this is the indication of population bomb. And because of this uncontrollable growth it
results in adverse factors namely.

 Pollution – is an any substance, biological or chemical, of which an identified excess is known to be

detrimental to desirable living organisms.
a) Water Pollution Defined as the contamination of bodies of water whose composition has been
changed to the extent that is unusable.
i. Causes of Water Pollution
 Global Warming [Rising global temperatures caused by CO2 emissions heat the
water, reducing its oxygen content.]
 Deforestation and Landslide [Felling forests can exhaust water resources and
generate organic residue which becomes a breeding ground for harmful bacteria.]
 Industry, agriculture, and livestock farming [Chemical dumping from these
sectors is one of the main causes of eutrophication of water.]
 Rubbish and Faecal Water Dumping [80% of the world's sewage finds its way
into seas and rivers untreated.]
 Maritime Traffic [Much of the plastic pollution in the ocean comes from fishing
boats, tankers, and cargo shipping.]
 Fuel Spillages [The transportation and storage of oil and its derivatives is subject
to leakage that pollutes our water resources.]
 Waste Disposal
ii. Reducing the effects of Water Pollution
 water treatment technologies such as Wastewater-treatment facilities include
septic-tank sewage disposal systems and wastewater-treatment plants.
b) Air Pollution Defined as the presence of substances in the atmosphere that have a harmful effect
on human health and to other living organisms
i. Causes of Air Pollution
 Combustion of fossil fuels [like coal and oil for electricity and road transport,
producing air pollutants like nitrogen and sulfur dioxide]
 Emissions from industries and factories [ releasing large amount of carbon
monoxide, hydrocarbon, chemicals, and organic compounds into the air]
  Agricultural activities [due to the use of pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers
that emit harmful chemicals]
 Waste production [ mostly because of methane generation in landfills]
ii. Reducing the effects of Air Pollution
 Renewable Fuel and Clean energy production
 Energy conservation and efficiency
 Eco-Friendly Transportation
 Green Building
iii. Land Pollution Defined as the deposition of solid or liquid waste materials on land or
underground in a manner that can contaminate soil which threaten public health and
cause unsightly conditions.
i. Causes of Land Pollution
 Municipal Solid Waste [Non-hazardous garbage, rubbish, and trash from home
and other institutions]
 Construction or Demolition waste [Wood, metal objects, wallboard, concrete
rubble, asphalt, and other materials used when built, renovated, demolished
structures]
 Hazardous waste [Harmful and dangerous substance generated primarily as
liquid, solids, sludges, gases by various chemical companies like petroleum
refineries, paper mills, smelters, machine shops, automobile repair shops etc.
 Mining [Soil Erosion]
 Farming [Fertilizers and Insecticides]
ii. Reducing the effects of Land Pollution
 Reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticide
 Reforestation
 Recovering and Recycling Material [Managing waste disposal]

 Shortage of Resources – When the demand of human need is increasing the consumption level of
extracting resources is also increasing which leads to limited natural resources available to sustain each
individual. Remember that what we use in our shelter, food, and other basic necessities is from extraction
of minerals, rocks, fossil fuels and etc. thus when this becomes limited where we will get our needs?
 Climate Change – Population growth along with increasing consumption tends to increase emission of
climate-changing greenhouse gases, by straining resources
3. Sustainability
Generally, refers to development or use of resources in such a way that future generations will have a fair share of
Earth's resources and inherit a quality environment. In other words, sustainability refers to types of development
that are economically viable, do not damage the environment, and are socially just.
 Resource Depletion occurs when the renewable and non-renewable natural resources become scarce because
they are consumed faster than they can recover. The term resource depletion is commonly associated with water
usage, fossil fuel consumption, trees, and fishing.
a) Renewable Resources
 Renewable resources cannot be depleted over time.
 include sunlight, water, wind, and geothermal sources such as hot springs and fumaroles.
 Most renewable resources have low carbon emissions and low carbon footprint.
 The upfront cost of renewable energy is high. For instance, generating electricity using
technologies running on renewable energy is costlier than generating it with fossil fuels.
 Infrastructure for harvesting renewable energy is prohibitively expensive and not easily
accessible in most countries.
 Requires a large land/ offshore area, especially for wind farms and solar farms.
b) Non-Renewable Resources
 Non-renewable resources deplete over time.
 includes fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum.
 has a comparatively higher carbon footprint and carbon emissions.
 has a comparatively lower upfront cost.
 Cost-effective and accessible infrastructure is available for non-renewable energy across most
countries.
 Comparatively lower area requirements.
IMPORTANCE:
Resources are important for the development of any country to generate energy, one need fossil fuels; and
for industrial development, we require mineral resources
Key points: Non-Renewable resources are limited supply only and cannot be used sustainably because once a
resource is used it cannot produce itself sustainability.
4. Earth as a System
Earth system is itself an integrated system, but it can be subdivided into four main components, sub-systems, or
spheres: the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. These components are also systems in their own
right and they are tightly interconnected. This is to understand the complex causes and impacts of a changing
climate.
IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE
 Some of the components of environmental geology overlap with engineering geology. Engineering geologists
apply geological knowledge to engineering in order to ensure that geological factors are recognized and accounted
for when designing, siting, and constructing infrastructure such as roads and buildings. Engineering geologists
assess potential geological hazards such as hillslope instability, erosion, and flooding, which creates overlap with
environmental geology. In practice, many individuals engaged in these fields consider themselves to be both
environmental and engineering geologists.
 Engineering geology deals with the study of the structure of earth in relation to civil engineering for the execution
of safe and cost-effective design for construction projects. Every civil engineering works involve earth and its
every stage of the project be it planning, designing or construction phase of the project. Hence, understanding
interactions of human to environment is necessary.

REFERENCES:
Geological Hazards
o https://www.colorado.edu/faculty/amadei/sites/default/files/attached-files/geohazards2019.pdf

Floods
o https://b-air.com/2018/02/common-causes-flooding/

Landslide
o https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/landslides.html#:~:text=Landslides%20are%20caused%20by%20disturbances,rock
%2C%20earth%2C%20and%20debris.
Volcano Activity
o http://www.seismo.ethz.ch/en/knowledge/things-to-know/causes-of-earthquakes/general/

Environmental Geology
o https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book
%3A_Introductory_Biology_(CK-12)/06%3A_Ecology/6.27%3A_Renewable_and_Nonrenewable_Resources
Pollution
o https://www.toppr.com/guides/chemistry/environmental-chemistry/land-pollution/
#Prevention_of_Land_Pollution
o https://www.slideshare.net/akhtarkamal94/environment-environmental-pollution-causes-effects-privents
o https://solarimpulse.com/air-pollution-solutions?utm_term=air
%20pollution&utm_campaign=Solutions&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=1409680977&hsa
_cam=11451944566&hsa_grp=117528789968&hsa_ad=474951698775&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-
10746156&hsa_kw=air
%20pollution&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnvOaBhDTARIsAJf8eVPeGIYcUEb
opZjx_2UC8l2EOrZbppwjTdm9xMfiIvdc0LVXlrj_naUaAoKpEALw_wcB#
o https://www.iberdrola.com/sustainability/water-pollution
Resources
o https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book
%3A_Introductory_Biology_(CK-12)/06%3A_Ecology/6.27%3A_Renewable_and_Nonrenewable_Resources
o