The Geology Portal
Geology (from Ancient Greek γῆ (gê) 'earth' and λoγία (-logía) 'study of, discourse') is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth sciences, including hydrology. It is integrated with 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. Geologists study the mineralogical composition of rocks in order to get insight into their history of formation. Geology determines the relative ages of rocks found at a given location; geochemistry (a branch of geology) determines their absolute ages. By combining various petrological, crystallographic, and paleontological tools, geologists are able to chronicle the geological history of the Earth as a whole. One aspect is to demonstrate the age of the Earth. Geology provides evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and the Earth's past climates.
Geologists broadly study the properties and processes of Earth and other terrestrial planets. Geologists use a wide variety of methods to understand the Earth's structure and evolution, including fieldwork, 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 natural hazards, remediating 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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On March 27, 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows began at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, United States. A series of phreatic blasts occurred from the summit and escalated until a major explosive eruption took place on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am. The eruption, which had a volcanic explosivity index of 5, was the first to occur in the contiguous United States since the much smaller 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California. It has often been declared the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history. (Full article...)
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Philip Dean Gingerich (born March 23, 1946) is an American paleontologist and educator. He is a Professor Emeritus of Geology, Biology, and Anthropology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and directed the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan (UMMP) from 1981-2010. His research focus is on vertebrate paleontology, especially the Paleocene-Eocene transition and early Cenozoic mammals. His primary research focus is on the origin of modern orders of mammals and he is a leading expert on the evolution of primates and whales. Gingerich was among the experts who analyzed the skeleton of Darwinius masillae. (Full article...)
Did you know
- ... that the geology of the Ellsworth Mountains was explored by geologists using motor toboggans in 1961?
- ... that the Danish geologist Tove Birkelund received a gold medal for her early work on fossils of Scaphites in Greenland?
- ... that Frederick Murray Trotter had a distinguished career as a field geologist despite losing a part of his skull and an eye to shrapnel during World War I?
- ... that the most significant rock from New Caledonia is peridotite, which comes from the Earth's mantle?
- ... that from 1904 to 1911 Arthur Lewis Hall covered 17,479 miles (28,130 km), mostly on foot, to map the geology of the Transvaal?
- ... that the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is a leading laboratory of geologically recent crustal growth?
- ... that Karen Hanghøj, the 2023 winner of the William Smith Medal for applied geology, became the first female director of the British Geological Survey, 183 years after it was founded?
- ... that the groundwater level of a coastal aquifer system changes with the tide?
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