The Influence of geology on the solution of global scale problems

Geology is one of the most important science in today's world, which is necessary to solve many global problems. Geology in the modern sense — a growing body of knowledge about the material composition, structure, origin and evolution of geological bodies and the distribution of minerals.

Thus, the objects of study of geology are:

-        composition and structure of natural bodies and the Earth as a whole;

-        processes on the surface and in the depths of the earth;

-        history of the planet;

-        placement of minerals.

In this regard, geology allows you to set the processes of formation of the earth, solves the problem of the industry, is engaged in the discovery of new mineral deposits.

Thus geology solves the following practical tasks:

-        the discovery of new mineral deposits and new ways to develop them;

-        study of groundwater resources (which are also minerals);

-        geotechnical problems connected with the study of geological conditions for the construction of various structures;

-        protection and rational use of mineral resources.

From this we can conclude that the geology is essential to human life. It is impossible to imagine the modern world without industry, construction, modeling processes occurring on the earth, etc

Geology is the study of the Earth, including its physical structure, the materials it is made of, its history, and the processes by which it is constantly being shaped. Geology is also a source of information that has the potential to make a significant contribution to international development.

Geology plays an important role in today's society. Geologists are the men and women who know how to read the story told by the very earth beneath our feet in order to find minerals, oil and gas resourses which are vital resources in our lives.

Understanding groundwater can enable us to bring clean water to communities that previously had to walk many kilometres to collect it. An in-depth knowledge of hazards (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides) can inform and improve efforts to reduce the impact of disaster events. Local minerals and rock materials can improve agriculture, be a source of income generation and be used in infrastructure. Knowledge of chemicals in rocks (e.g., fluoride and arsenic) can inform healthcare. Research on Earth’s past climate gives us a better understanding of current man-made climate change.

The geological knowledge can play a strong and significant role in supporting sustainable international development, fighting poverty and changing lives.

Relevance of a subject of research. Peaking of competitive fight in the modern conditions happens not only in the global market, but also in national economy of Russia. The investment sphere of economy, including in production branches, requires the development in domestic market, supports pulse of competitive fight, is effectively built in national economy and global system of the international competition. Thus nature of investment process of the enterprises, including for mastering of new oil and gas fields changes.

Geology is very important to life as we know it for several reasons. Though the term 'geologist' conjures up an image of a man out looking at rocks, the geologist of today uses tools such as business models and computers to make important contributions to our civilization today. The geologist and all of her tools are very important to how we live our lives.

The value of geology in Mining has long been known but its use in Civil Engineering has been recognized only in comparatively recent years. The importance of geology in civil engineering may briefly be outlines as follows.

-        Geology provides a systematic knowledge of construction material, its occurrence, composition, durability and other properties. Example of such construction materials is building stones, road metal, clay, limestones and laterite.

-        The knowledge of the geological work of natural agencies such as water, wind, ice and earthquakes helps in planning and carrying out major civil engineering works. For example the knowledge of erosion, transportation and deposition helps greatly in solving the expensive problems of river control, coastal and harbour work and soil conservation.

-        Ground water is the water which occurs in the subsurface rocks. The knowledge about its quantity and depth of occurrence is required in connection with water supply, irrigation, excavation and many other civil engineering works.

-        The foundation problems of dams, bridges and buildings are directly concerned with the geology of the area where they are to be built. In these works drilling is commonly undertaken to explore the ground conditions. Geology helps greatly in interpreting the drilling data.

-        In tunneling, constructing roads, canals, docks and in determining the stability of cuts and slopes, the knowledge about the nature and structure of rocks is very necessary.

-        Before staring a major engineering project at a place, a detailed geological report which is accompanied by geological maps and sections, is prepared. Such a report helps in planning and constructing the projects.

-        The stability of civil engineering structure is considerably increased if the geological feature like faults, joints, bedding planes, folding solution channels etc in the rock beds are properly located and suitably treated.

-        In the study of soil mechanics, it is necessary to know how the soil materials are formed in nature.

-        The cost of engineering works will considerably reduced of the geological survey of the area concerned is done before hand.

Main directions of development of Geology

The oil and gas industry is a diverse and vital part of the global economy. A wide range of expertise goes into the discovery, production, and distribution of petroleum products, and Petroleum Geology plays a central role in the exploration and production process.

Petroleum engineering, the branch of engineering that involves the development and exploitation of crude oil and natural gas fields as well as the technical analysis and forecasting of their future performance. Its origins lie in both mining engineering and geology. The petroleum engineer, whose aim is to extract gaseous and liquid hydrocarbon products from the earth, is concerned with drilling, producing, processing, and transporting these products and handling all the related economic and regulatory considerations.

Geology is one of the cornerstones of petroleum engineering. Don't be fooled though, the Geology that Petroleum Engineers deal with on a day-to-day basis is very complex and calculating. Geology is more important for reservoir engineers than it is for production/drilling/completions engineers but it come into play for all types of petroleum engineers. The Geology that a petroleum engineer uses is not the same stuff that an actual geologist will be doing. PetE's might use geology to figure out the porosity of a particular cutting of sandstone, or use it to determine the probable saturation of a carbonate reservoir, whereas a true Geologist will look at «the big picture» and look for traps and rock types that will likely contain hydrocarbons. Petroleum engineers don't generally find oil, their job starts after a likely deposit has been found. Reservoir engineers calculate how much oil is in place for reserve estimation reporting, and also pick well placements and make graphs modeling production-decline.

Petroleum geology refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons (oil exploration). Petroleum geology is principally concerned with the evaluation of seven key elements in sedimentary basins: Source, reservoir, seal, trap, timing, maturation and migration. In general, all these elements must be assessed via a limited 'window' into the subsurface world, provided by one (or possibly more) exploration wells.

These wells present only a 1-dimensional segment through the Earth and the skill of inferring 3-dimensional characteristics from them is one of the most fundamental in petroleum geology. Recently, the availability of cheap and high quality 3D seismic data (from reflection seismology) has greatly aided the accuracy of such interpretation.

Exploration is only a part of the field of Petroleum Geology. There are many technologies available to extract petroleum from the ground and then process it into one of the hundreds of everyday items made from petroleum-based products. This section talks about the structure of a found petroleum accumulation and the technology used to model it for scientists to determine how to best utilize its resources, as well as the refining process, and the end results of that process.

Petroleum economics is a complicated series of political and economic interactions pertaining to the oil industry. While economics in general is a complex subject, in the case of oil, political concerns add a new layer to the study of economics. People who study petroleum economics need to be familiar with economics generally, but also geopolitical history and the history of the oil industry as a whole. Experts in this field can work for government agencies, oil companies, and private companies interested in the economics of oil production, transport, and refining.

As with economics in general, there are a number of approaches to petroleum economics. Many experts boil down economic activities to a balance between supply and demand. In this case, supply and demand are both influenced by political concerns. Political events can have an impact on oil supply as well as demand, and in turn, oil supply and demand can influence politics. People interested in this subject study a wide variety of topics, from theories about global oil availability in the future to the environmental costs associated with oil and gas production. They can apply their studies to shaping oil and gas policy, assisting companies with the development of new oil fields, and educating people interested in the economies and politics of oil-producing nations. Alternative energy is also a topic of study for some people in this field, as they are interested in the political push for the development of alternatives to oil, as well as the economic impacts of shifting energy supplies.

Economic geology is important for locating and extracting minerals and fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gold, iron, and aluminum. Locating these deposits requires a geologist to study the geologic setting and several other factors before deciding what location will produce the most material for the price of extracting it. Geologists are also consulted with regard to construction projects. In some cases, such as areas with active faults, the geologists help predict the type of movement and the magnitude of movement from earthquakes. This helps in the design and construction of buildings and highways to make them safer in areas that experience earthquakes. In other areas, sinkholes are prominent and cause a threat to homes and roads too. Geology is used to determine the extent of the sinkholes and helps decide how to build around them. In areas that depend on groundwater for their drinking water supply, the geology of the area is characterized by geologists who determine how deep the wells should be drilled to recover the most amount of water without stressing the surrounding natural systems.

ENGINEERING GEOLOGY

Engineering geology is the application of geology in design, construction and performance of civil engineering works. Engineering geological 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. Soil/Rock deformability pattern, stability are main concern of Engineering Geology. One of the most important roles as an engineering geologist is the interpretation to forms of land 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 provides them with a unique ability to understand and mitigate for hazards associated with earth-structure interactions.

Engineering geologic 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; geologic hazards, geotechnical, material properties, landslide and slope stability, erosion, flooding, dewatering, and seismic investigations, etc. Engineering geologic 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 man-made structures (and vice versa), and knowledge of methods by which to mitigate for hazards resulting from adverse natural or man-made conditions. The principal objective of the engineering geologist is the protection of life and property against damage caused by geologic conditions.

Engineering geologic practice is also closely related to the practice of geological engineering, geotechnical engineering, soils engineering, environmental geology and economic geology. If there is a difference in the content of the disciplines described, it mainly lies in the training or experience of the practiсе.

IMPORTANCE OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY

Engineering geology is important in following ways:-

1.      Engineering geology can aid in locating natural resources.

2.      It can help us with flood control and other natural disasters.

3.      study of geology gives us clue of people lived many year ago.

4.      it let us know how the environment has evolved and adapted to the world around us.

5.      it is showing its importance in its application i.e in study about soil profile and character about the soil and strength of soil.

6.      it gives us knowledge of hydrological cycle,climatic conditions,living and non-living things on the particular site.

7.      it gives us knowledge of origin's of earth,it's structure.

8.      it plays an important role in interpretation of landforms and earth's process to identify potential geologic and related man made hazards that may impact civil structures and human development.

One of the most important roles as an engineering geologist is the interpretation to forms of land 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 provides them with a unique ability to understand and mitigate for hazards associated with earth-structure interactions.

SCOPE OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY

Engineering geology may be performed:-

1.      for residential,commercial and industrial developments.

2.      for governmental and military installations.

3.      for public works such as power plant,wind turbines,transmission lines,sewage treatment plant,water treatment plant,pipeline works,tunnels,tenchless construction,canal,dams,reservoir building,railroad,transit,highways,bridges,seismic retrofits,airports and parks.

4.      for mining works such as tunneling,excavations.

5.      for wetland and habitat restoration programs.

6.      for coastal engineering,sand replenishment,bluff or sea cliff stability,harbor pier and waterfront development.

7.      for offshore outfall,drilling platform and sub-sea pipeline,sub-sea cable and other type of facilities.

IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

1.      it provides knowledge about materials used in construction.

2.      its knowledge is helpful for river control and shipping work.

3.      its knowledge is helpful for constructing dams.

4.      its knowledge is required for foundations faults.

5.      for design of highways and roads.

6.      in constructing tunnels.

7.      nature of soil materials can be find out.

Geology, though not always recognized, has played an important part in our civilization today from the water we drink, to where and how we build our homes, to providing the gas, oil, and coal to heat our homes and drive our cars.

 

References:

 

1.      Jean Masseron «Petroleum Economics»;

2.      Ingenious Innovations;

3.      Comprehensive internet portal delicated to oil and gas