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 EARTH-

INTERNAL 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 open-

cut 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 clean-

up.

Origins of the “Environmental Movement”

• THE ‘RADICAL’ MOVEMENTS OF THE 1960’S AND 1970’S AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE

• THE ROOTS- 1960’S RACHAEL CARSON SILENT

SPRING1970- 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

INCREASINGSOCIETAL BENEFITS

COSTS $$$$$

DIMINISHINGRETURNS

    

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