ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY

PHILOSOPHY & FUNDAMENTAL

CONCEPTS

DR. ADLY Kh. AL-SAAFIN

Eng’g. / Env. Geology
KFUPM - DHAHRAN
 Sources
Keller, E. A., 1999, “Environmental Geology”
Murk, B. W. et. al, 1996, “Environmental Geology”
Montgomery, C. W., 1997, “Environmental Geology”
Lundgren, L. W., 1999, “Environmental Geology”
Some other Technical and Professional Articles………….
 OUTLINE
I.I. WHY
WHY DO
DO WE
WE NEED
NEED ENVIRONMENTAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
GEOLOGY?
GEOLOGY?
II.
II. CULTURE
CULTURE &
& ENVIRONMENTAL
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS
AWARENESS
III.
III. ENVIRONMENTAL
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
ETHICS
IV.
IV.ENVIRONMENTAL
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
CRISIS
V.
V. FUNDAMENTAL
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS
CONCEPTS OF
OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
VI.
VI.GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY AS
AS A
A BASIC
BASIC ENV.
ENV. SCIENCES
SCIENCES
VII.
VII.SCIENTIFIC
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
METHOD
I. WHY DO WE NEED
ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY?
1. Increasing of population growth rate;
2. Expectation of a higher standard of living;
3. Expanding demand of natural resources;
4. Conversion of undeveloped land;
5. Environmental awareness;
6. Environmental ethics;
7. The growth in Public policy (i.e.
environmental studies should be made…).
8. --
 II. Environmental Awareness
Environmental awareness involves the entire
way of life that we have transmitted from one
generation to another (Future).
Future

The integration of the environment into our

daily life is dependent on:
1. Physical, Chemical, and biological conditions of
the earth’s environment.
2. Socio-economic, and cultural conditions that
influence the earth’s environment.
 II. Environmental Awareness
To understand the roots of our present condition
 look to the past
To solve environmental problems
 look to the future
Population and industrial revolution will change the
relationship between Man & Earth’s Environment:
 Shortage of resources
 Wastes and Pollution
Thus;
Public concern for the environment should be increased.
We should begin to see real progress in finding adequate
solutions to environmental problems.
 III. Environmental Ethics
 Environmental ethic is the discipline that
studies the moral relationship of human to the
environment and its nonhuman contents.
 Ethical approach to the environment is a recent approach;
 Land ethic assumes we are responsible to the entire environment;
 People should be the “Land’s Citizens and Protectors not Land’s
Conquers”.
Conquers
 In the past, people were unaware of depletion of recourses and
environment degradation “a crisis survival”;
 Today,
Today environmental knowledge is increased rapidly, and we are
aware than ever of Environmental Problems (local,
regional and global)
 III. Environmental Ethics

 Environmental problems should be

tackled based on scientific knowledge;
 In the modern society, policies and
regulations should be developed to
benefit ourselves and the rest of the
natural world………….
 IV. Environmental Crisis

Natural Factors Man-made-Factors

 Environmental Crisis
“MAN-MADE FACTORS”
The "environmental crisis"
crisis is a combination of
three aspects:
 Human needs
 Limited resources, and
 Waste & Pollution problems

Human
Needs
+ Limited
Resources
+ Waste &
Pollution
 How do human actions demolish the natural
resources  environmental crises?

 Deforestation Examples
 Heavily mining of natural resources
 Farming activates  depletion of aquifers, and
introducing contaminants into the groundwater
 Groundwater and surface water development
projects  damaging the environment (i.e. building
a dam will change the stream system)
 Industrial activates  increasing the concentration
of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere  global
climatic problems
 -------
NATURAL FACTORS
 External geologic Processes

 External geologic Processes

V. Fundamental Concepts of
Environmental Geology
1. Population Growth
2. Sustainability
3. Earth System
4. Hazardous Earth Processes
5. Scientific Knowledge

6. Limitation of resources
7. Unifomitarianism
8. Our obligation
Human Population Growth

Population
Bomb:
About to
Explode?.......
Human Population Growth

Population:
At
Exponential
Growth Rate?
 1. Human Population Growth
1. Principal environmental problem: population growth increases
the impacts on the limited resources.
 Growth rate (G) (%)
 Doubling time (D): the time it takes for population to double,
generally equal to 70 divided by the growth rate = 70/G
2. Human population through history
 Exponential growth: a constant percentage of people are
added to the population each year
 Human population growth has coincided with changes in
technology and lifestyles.
3. Population growth and the future:
 Earth as the only suitable human habitat will be damaged..
 As population growth continuously, it may be difficult to
supply sufficient resources and a high-quality environment
 Notice: “the rate of change in human population growth is
decreasing for the first time since the mid-1900’s”.
 2. Sustainability
(Management of Earth's Resources)

Two goals:
1. Conservation of Resources
2. Prevention of environmental
degradation during resource
extraction.
 Management of Earth's Resources
???
 Are there sufficient resources to support
the growing global population?
 What steps can be taken to preserve the
most heavily exploited resources?
 How can resources be mined safely and
economically?
economically
 Urban Machine
INPUTS
INPUTS OUTPUTS
OUTPUTS
Energy
Urbanization Products
Water
Waste
Soil
Pollution
Minerals
Population, Industry, Agriculture, Technology

The
The Key
Key toto Sustainable
Sustainable Development
Development isis Effective
Effective Environmental
Environmental Management.
Management
Management.
HOW?????
HOW?????
INPUTS
INPUTS and
and OUTPUTS
OUTPUTS Should
Should be
be Balanced
Balanced with
with NO
NO Disturbance
Disturbance for
for the
the
Natural
NaturalEquilibrium
Equilibrium ofof Earth
Earth Systems.
Systems.
 3. Earth System

Types of Systems
 Open System
 Closed System
 Isolated System

Will be Discussed later …….

 4. Hazardous Earth Processes

Environmental geology is entitled to

identify, evaluate and mitigate the natural
hazards in the modern society.

What, How, why?

Identification of Natural Hazards
1. WHAT DO YOU NEED?

Requirements:
 Landform features;
 Earth materials distribution;
 Tectonic features;
 Physical and chemical properties of earth
materials.

Scientific Information
 Evaluation of Natural Hazards
2. HOW?

1.How
1. How often
often do
do such
such
naturalhazards
natural hazardsoccur?
occur?
2.How
2. How large
large an
an area
area will
will
beaffected?
be affected?
3.How
3. How grave
grave is
is the
the risk
risk
for
for people
people and
and
properties?
properties?

Records
 Evaluation of Natural Hazards
2. How?
Determine Risks (R) of natural
hazards:
 Earthquakes
Risk analysis
 Landslides R = Pe  $
 Flooding
 Volcanic eruptions
 Sand movement
 Mitigation of Natural Hazards
3. Why?
Actions to be taken to stop / minimize the
adverse impacts…………

Attempt to mitigate risks associated with hazards……….

Examples
Earthquakes  implement building codes, -----
Landslides  reduce slopes, add drainage, -----
Flooding  building dams, flood monitoring, -----
Volcanoes  predict type/ timing of eruptions, -----
 5. Geosciences &
Environmental Geology
Environmental geology has
been born from the need for
interaction of the three main
Geomorph- Engineering
fields of applied Earth ology Geolog
sciences: y

 Applied geomorphology
 Economic geology and Environmental Economic
Geology Geology
 Engineering geology

Other Basic Geosciences

 Types of scientific information
Planners used to utilize different types of information to build logical
predictive knowledge:

1. Factual knowledge: Provides the basic information encountered

the project (maps showing the land surface, bed rock configuration,
and distribution, ……………………………).

2. Historical knowledge: provide the keys to analyzing the

consequences of the past decisions and helping the future
consequences of decisions yet to be made (records of geologic
hazardous events, ……………………….)

3. Predictive or forcasting knowledge: is commonly

expressed in the form of forecasts and predictions. Predictive
statement should contain the basic elements that specify the location,
time of occurrence, and the scale of the event.
Prediction PROVIDE precise specification of the location, time,
occurrence, and scale of a future HAZARD.

Forecast GIVES broad statement indicating thE LIKELHOOD OF

HAZARD (I.E EQ is much more likely to occur in one area than
another.
 SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION AND
LAND-USE PLANNING
[Case Studies]
Love Canal Toxic Waste Disposal Site is a familiar example to
show the failure to make a significant use of scientific
information led to serious problems.

It is a symbolic example to show how a land-use decision was made

without employing appropriate scientific information.
Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is a familiar example to
show:
How scientific information was used successfully to avoid
situations that might otherwise have been harmful to the pipeline
and the surrounding environment.
 Name Description
Geopotential Maps Maps demonstrating the resource and development potential of land.

Engineering geology Maps Maps, which record, ground conditions, and rock/soil properties useful in
the design of engineering works.
Thematic Maps Maps devoted to specific specialist topics.

Element Maps Thematic Maps showing observational or factual data on a single theme.
Examples of these include solid geology maps, surficial geology maps,
structural geology maps, Geomorphological maps, land-use maps and soil
maps.
Derived Maps Interpretation maps based on one or more element maps, synthesizing
(Analytical Maps) several types of information relevant to a single issue.

Potential Maps Thematic Maps which demonstrate potential uses of land, or the potential
for processes to occur.
Constraint Maps Thematic Maps which indicate limitations on the use of land (e.g.
agricultural land capability maps; in the UK).
Hazard Maps Thematic Maps which show the known extent and types of hazards in an
area.
Risk Maps Maps which attempt to quantify the likelihood of a damaging event of a
given type and size occurring.
Vulnerability Maps Thematic Maps which assess the vulnerability of a population or
environment to a particular hazard.
Resource Maps Thematic Maps indicating the nature, extent and quality of resources, on
and under the ground.
 Scientific Method
 Science
 Geologists work through:
1. Facts collection
 Observations
 Measurements
2. Hypothesis
3. Testing-hypothesis
 Reject;
 Modify; or
 Accept
4. Theory
 1

Scientific
Method 2

1. ---------------
2. --------------- 3
3. ---------------
4. ---------------
4
 Assignment # 1
Write a short essay in One of the following topics:
1. WHY HAS THE PRACTICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL
GEOOGY BECOMES SO IMPORTANT IN THE
MODERN SOCIETY?

2. Impacts of Population Growth on the Earth’s

Environment.
http://www.cwac.net/population/index.html

To what extent the scientific information is important in

the planning phase of environmental works. (Comment
on the Love Canal, and Trans Alaska Pipeline projects).
WORK FOR WORLD…………
CARE FOR COMMUNITY….
How to Tackle Environmental
Problems?
Principle Aspects
Controlling and Defining the
Influencing the Types and Magnitude
Problem of the Problem

How to tackle environmental problems?

Environmental Impact
Solutions Assessment.
Risk Analysis

Warning System
and
Monitoring Program