Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Geoscience-Based Engineering
The role Earth science plays in civil and environmental engineering is often
underappreciated. The foundations of cities, as well as the transportation
networks that connect them and the lifelines of utilities that sustain them, are
necessarily embedded in the Earth. The geology of the Earth's surface therefore
determines many aspects of how this development takes place, from the
distribution of skyscrapers on Manhattan Island to the layout of freeways across
the Los Angeles basin, both of which reflect fundamental geological structures.
The geological problems of the “built environment” are the subject of
geotechnical engineering, which is a major consumer of Earth science
information. Geotechnical engineers must understand the short-term and long-
term properties of soils, rocks, groundwater movement and composite geological
formations, including their static strengths, responses to dynamic stresses and
deformations, and degradation by weathering and other alterations. As urban
areas develop and expand, these engineers are being called upon more frequently
to slow down natural processes or even stop them from running their course. The
challenges cataloged in one popular account 12 include preventing the
Atchafalaya River from capturing the Mississippi River to keep it flowing past
New Orleans, stopping the encroachment of basaltic lava on a community in
Iceland, and minimizing the impact of flooding and debris flows from the steep
scarp of the San Gabriel Mountains adjacent to Los Angeles. Basic research
furnishes the knowledge of Earth materials and processes needed to address these
engineering challenges.
The study of Earth materials has contributed significantly to materials
science and engineering. For example, the study of nanocrystals and biomaterials
originated in research on soils and biominerals, and Earth scientists have
pioneered the development of substances ranging from high-temperature
superconductors to superhard materials. Moreover, they have been leaders in the
development of new analytical technologies, ranging from ultraprecise isotopic
measurements and atomic resolution imaging of minute particles to the
application of synchrotron, neutron, and other major facilities to the study of
complex natural substances. These sophisticated analytical and experimental
techniques have been employed in applications ranging from the engineering of
synthetics to novel methods for forensic investigations. Earth scientists have also
led in research at ultrahigh pressures, with applications to the physics and
chemistry of materials as well as to simulating the deep interiors of planets.
12 J. McPhee, The Control of Nature. The Noonday Press, NY, 272 pp., 1993.
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