GEOS 348
Environmental
Geology
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY
• LINKAGES BETWEEN SOUND
SCIENCE AND POLICY
• INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH
WITHIN THE SCIENCES
• MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH
WITHIN ALL DISCIPLINES
EXAMPLES
DECISION TO BUILD IN HAZARD
PRONE AREAS
• DISPOSAL OF TOXIC AND
RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN
GEOLOGIC MATERIALS
• DEVELOPMENT OF WATER
RESOURCES BOTH GROUND AND
SURFACE WATERS
Earthquakes
Flooding in Mozambique February 2000
Sinkholes: Berry College
Copper Basin, TN- Burra Burra Mine
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY
• WHAT DOES THE TERM ENVIRONMENTAL
MEAN?
• INTERACTION OF HUMANS AND THE
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL & BIOLOGICAL EARTH
• WHAT IS GEOLOGY?
• THE STUDY OF THE PHYSICAL EARTHINTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PROCESSES
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY
• THE PRESENT DAY CONCERNS
• HUMAN ACTIONS ARE CAUSING ADVERSE
ENV. CHANGE
• DECREASING BIODIVERSITY
• THE EVENTUALITY THAT HUMANS WILL
SUFFER THE SAME FATE IN THE FUTURE
• THE FAILURE OF HUMANS TO ADAPT TO
CHANGE WILL PUT MORE HUMANS AT RISK
• The environmental geology discipline, often called engineering geology,
involves studies, investigations, and reviews that often include an analysis
of :
• a) environmental hazards, such as growth faults in urban areas, water well
failures, hillside slumping, landslides, subsidence, etc.,
• b) soil contamination, as a result of leaks from service stations, and other
industrial sources of leaks, spills, and accidents,
• c) associated ground-water contamination requiring remediation, and
• d) other subsurface conditions requiring sampling and geologic
interpretation and assessment of hydrogeologic data and hydrochemical
analyses.
• Subsequent evaluations require:
• e) a definition and interpretation of correlative subsurface lithology and
stratigraphy,
• f) an evaluation of local hydrogeologic conditions for dewatering of opencut and underground mines,
• g) an assessment of the potential development of drinking water supplies
and associated impact of contaminants on the ground-water resources,
• h) an assessment of risk exposure from any potential contaminant on
human health and the environment, and
• i) a cost-benefit analyses of all applicable remedial approaches to cleanup.
Origins of the “Environmental
Movement”
• THE ‘RADICAL’ MOVEMENTS OF THE
1960’S AND 1970’S AS A CATALYST
FOR CHANGE
• THE ROOTS1960’S RACHAEL CARSON SILENT
SPRING
1970- NEPA [NATIONAL
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT]
THE SCIENCE OF GEOLOGY
• 1795 THEORY OF THE EARTH- JAMES
HUTTON
• “THE PRESENT IS THE KEY TO THE PAST”
 TO UNDERSTAND THE EVOLUTION OF THE
EARTH THROUGH TIME BY OBSERVING
NATURAL PHENOMENA
 TO UNDERSTAND HOW GRADUALISTIC
CHANGES COUPLED WITH CATASTROPHIC
PROCESSES CHANGE AND SCULPT THE
EARTH
•
THE SCIENCE OF GEOLOGY
• TO ACCOMPLISH THIS BY;
 MAPPING PRESENT PATTERNS OF
SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE MATERIALS
 DEVELOPING MODELS OF THE WAY THE
PLANET WORKS
 PREDICTING AND FORECASTING FUTURE
EVENTS BASED ON PRESENT DAY
KNOWLEDGE
THE SCIENCE OF GEOLOGY
• ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY APPLIES
THE FIRST TWO POINTS AND
CENTERS ON THE THIRD
“THE PAST AND THE PRESENT ARE THE
KEYS TO THE FUTURE”
AIMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL
GEOLOGY
 TO DECREASE ENVIRONMENTAL
THREATS TO HUMANS
 TO AID IN MINIMIZING ADVERSE
EFFECTS ON ECOSYSTEMS
• TO PROVIDE A SCIENTIFIC
FOUNDATION FOR DECISION-MAKING
WITH TOLERABLE RISKS AND WITHIN
COST
TO PROVIDE A SCIENTIFIC
FOUNDATION FOR DECISION-MAKING
WITH TOLERABLE RISKS AND WITHIN
COST
DIMINISHING
RETURNS
INCREASING
SOCIETAL
BENEFITS
COSTS
$$$$$
Associated Problems
• Placed in a context of litigation, each of the
above activities, analyses, evaluations, or
assessments may have been conducted in a
biased manner, by inadequate methods, or
by personnel without appropriate training
and experience and the associated
professional certifications and/or state
licenses. These actions contribute, to one
extent or another, to "errors and omissions,"
which can lead to unnecessary financial
losses or injury to human health and/or the
environment.
Litigation
• Litigation is common in cases where a
contaminant is found on the water table at
depth in the subsurface but has migrated
beyond a property boundary.
• Other types of contamination sink through
the water table, seeking subsurface avenues
to sink to even greater depths.
– What damage has occurred?
– Who has been exposed and damaged, and for
what duration?
– Who is responsible for the damage and for the
cost of clean-up?
– These are all typical questions and elements
encountered in many cases.
Additional Information:
http://www.epa.gov/students/
Other Useful Websites
• http://geology.usgs.gov/index.shtml
– United States Geological Service
• http://www.nasm.si.edu/ceps/
– Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
• http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmnh/start.htm#
Geology
– Geology and mineral sciences
• http://www.ncseonline.org/nle/index.cfm?&CFID
=11986118&CFTOKEN=31370981
– National Library for the Environment