The Earth is our home. Every step we take depends upon a firm foundation under our feet, every breath we breathe requires an atmosphere that is safe to inhale, and every bite we eat must have its source in the land and water that makes up the surface of our world. Our lives intersect with the world around us in countless ways, some we understand but many we don’t and most we take for granted. However, ignorance of the processes that shape and control our environment can cause damage to the ecosystems that help support and sustain the natural resources of the planet that we need. Therefore, a basic understanding of geology, the science that describes and predicts the composition and behavior of the Earth, provides us with the ability to make wise decisions about the utilization and preservation of our natural resources as well as protecting ourselves from natural hazards such as earthquakes and other geologic disasters.
The natural resources that we utilize include water, air, fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), phosphorous, bauxite, copper, helium, iron, other minerals, soil, salt and timber. We also search for gold, silver, diamond and other precious metals for their aesthetic value alone. Concerns about over-utilization of non-renewable resources, pollution of renewable ones, and the effects of an expanding global population produce critical questions about how to best manage these resources to support and sustain economic growth and development across the globe. To be able to make informed decisions about these issues, knowing how the Earth operates is an essential element of that process.
Geologic hazards that we face include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis (tidal waves), landslides, expansive soils, hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding. Many of these natural disasters are not controllable but avoidance and accurate prediction of impending events are possible to mitigate their impact on us. Avoiding building or buying a home placed on expansive soils, which are the most widely encountered geologic hazards across the US, can save you from having to repair structural damage to your foundation and walls. Knowledge about the geologic dangers that surround us even when they cannot be controlled helps us to make informed decisions about the choices we make daily.
The search for accurate prediction of impending events, whether it’s earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis or hurricanes and flooding, has been stimulated by developments in remote sensing technology and computer science. Just as advances in wellbore technology and seismic signal processing have greatly increased our geologic knowledge of the interior of the crust, so too have increased satellite coverage and computer aided analysis of very large data sets increased our knowledge of detailed changes in the surface of the Earth and its atmosphere. As an example, hurricane prediction and warnings have greatly improved because of satellite weather observations and computer modeling of atmospheric conditions. The complexity of these large and destructive weather systems limit the precision of our predictions, but today we are much better prepared to protect ourselves from their harmful effects than ever before.
Our knowledge of the composition and operation of our atmosphere far surpasses our knowledge of the Earth’s interior. The atmosphere is only about 60 miles thick and can be directly observed and measured. In contrast, the interior of the Earth is hidden from direct observation and must be measured by indirect methods such as seismic, gravity, magnetism and heat flow. Our deepest well, the Kola peninsula well in far northwest Russia, reached over 40,000 feet (approximately 8 miles) into the crust, but the radius of the Earth is over 4,000 miles deep. These indirect observations provide a picture of the nature of and the processes operating within the Earth. They are augmented by the surface exposure of rocks that were produced in the subsurface and brought to the surface by tectonic processes that we are currently studying but actually know little about.
The Earth is a dynamic planet, subject to large scale and powerful forces that have produced its current shape and continue to operate. Earthquakes, volcanism and tsunamis are produced by the movement of lithospheric plates comprised of the crust and the uppermost rocky part of the mantle which float on the highly viscous and ductile asthenosphere where convection is thought to occur. This process is called plate tectonics and has provided geologists with a powerful paradigm to describe the tectonic activity observed on the Earth. Much remains to be learned about the process, but a basic understanding of it provides a foundation for appreciating the rapidly accumulating number of discoveries about it.
The study of geology involves most of the basic branches of science, such as physics, chemistry, biology, ecology and astronomy. Geology classes provide an exposure to all of these paths of scientific inquiry, but, through the study of geologic history, they will also give you an understanding of the role of time in the study of geologic processes. Although many geologic agents work very slowly, given enough time, they can accomplish great changes in the shape of the surface of our world. Although seafloor spreading occurs today at a rate of 3-6 inches per year, the distance from the east coast of the US to Africa is 3,154 miles. Assuming the rate of spreading has remained constant at 3 inches per year since the Atlantic Ocean began forming, it would take 66.6 million years to produce the observed width of the ocean today. The classes also allow us to learn about mount sopris instruments and use these tools to further understand the structure of the Earth, etc.
The final reason I would suggest for taking geology courses in college is purely aesthetic. Knowing about the sources and processes of the natural beauty we can observe around us increases my enjoyment of the visual experience. The excitement of matching what I am seeing in a landscape to the forces that produced it brings me profound joy. Understanding geology can be the basis for a greater appreciation and enjoyment of the environment in which we live.
