A Proposed Environmental Outlook for the Engineering Geology Course of the Undergraduate Degree Programme in Geology

 

NUMAN, Nazar

Department of Geology, Mosul University, Iraq

 

Abstract: In different parts of the world, the geological profession has taken on a new dimension towards inventory, monitoring and tackling problems of the environment. Engineering geology constitutes an intrinsic part of the Bachelor of Science, general geology degree course in Iraq. Many of the environmental aspects that have been bypassed in this course have deemed it unfulfilling for the modern day requirements of the new swerve in the geological profession. The presently running course in engineering geology emphasizes mostly executive or operational engineering geology such as rock and soil mechanics in major civil engineering projects and aspects that overlap a great deal with the other degree courses in structural geology, geomorphology and field geology especially regarding the different geological hazards. The classical course structure urgently needs to be revamped. An environmental approach should be embodied into the basic structure of the course together with modern techniques of environmental monitoring and protection.

Keywords: prophylactic, engineering geology, environmental geology, remedial stages, remote sensing

 

Our proposition is a tripartite course which embraces three interdigitating arenas:

  1. Prophylactic environmental and engineering geology, including terrain classification and appropriate land-use, field and remote sensing techniques in delineating problematic and hazardous areas, waste disposal, detection of environmental detriments and counter pollution measures.

  2. Executive or operational engineering geology, including site choice and site investigation, inventory of available construction materials, grouting, quarrying, tunnelling etc.

  3. Remedial engineering and environmental geology, including cleaning up of the environmental (soils, ground water, oil slicks, pollution), control of landslides, soil creep, sand dunes, subsidence and hydraulic rectification of buildings, implementation of an appropriate circumstantial seismic code for buildings and dams.

A discussion of the philosophy of approach is given together with suggestions for practical exercises.

1  Introduction

The framework of the B.Sc. degree course in general geology conceptually constitutes three hierarchical levels. The first deals with the basic geological sciences including mineralogy, petrology, stratigraphy, palaeontology, historical geology, structural geology and geotectonics. The second level of the degree programme deals with the applied aspects of geology, namely, hydrogeology, petroleum geology, field and economic geology, geophysics, geochemistry, remote sensing and engineering geology. The third level of the course involves optional courses designed to preliminarily channel the candidate into a particular field.

The order of importance naturally starts with the first level which should in our view take no less than 60% of the academic unit hours for the degree requirements. The second level should have 30% and the third level would have the remaining 10%. The general geology degree course in Iraqi universities follows generally this pattern [1] except that the first level includes up to 15% basic sciences of mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, statistics and computer programming. The percentages for the course allocations are a matter of debate between advocates of different philosophies of approach. The present day demand for tackling environmental problems necessitates an adequate knowledge on environmental geology. The first degree course programme has a modicum space to allow for a separate course in environmental geology to be given [1], yet there is ample space for it within the concurring engineering geology course especially when unnecessary overlap with the courses is excluded.

2  Orthodox general geology versus narrow specialisation

There are two conflicting views as to the type of training that should be given for the first-degree course in geology. The first view advocates a broadly based course that concentrates in detail on the basic geological sciences i.e. the pure side of geology or the first level in the aforementioned hierarchy of courses. The second view goes for channelling the candidate in a certain applied aspect of geology. The second level of the above hierarchy is expounded at the expense of the first level so those dual names of geology/geophysics, geology/geochemistry or other combinations are given to the B.Sc. degree. The Iraqi degree course in geology in the seventies and eighties oscillated between these two outlooks [2].

Axiomatically narrow specialisation cannot be sound if not on a broader context of basic geological knowledge. Experience with graduates who were later employed in the main geological organisations in Iraq i.e. the national petroleum company, the state organisation for geological survey and mineral investigation as well as the groundwater exploration establishment has shown that geologists whose B.Sc. training emphasised the orthodox general geology are more competent even in specialised geological work than those who had taken the narrow specialisation aspect in geology. It was quite alarming and meaningful to the writer to notice for instance that geologists with general geology degree were doing better job with geophysical interpretation than those geologists whose B.Sc. degrees were named geology/geophysics. It is therefore our conviction that the above allocated percentages of academic unit hours together with the given order of importance of the three levels of the course for a general geology degree serve best for improving the quality of our geological graduates.

3  The present engineering geology course

The engineering geology course falls within the second level of courses in geology i.e. within the applied aspect. In its present state, it concentrates mostly on executive or operational engineering geology such as rock and soil mechanics for major civil engineering projects. There is a great deal of wasteful overlap between this course and other courses given in geomorphology, structural geology and field geology, for instance rock mechanics and factors controlling behaviour of rocks are a must for any basic course in structural geology, yet they are covered again in the engineering geology course. The same could be said regarding overlaps with the geomorphology and filed geology courses with respect to topics like landslides, soil mechanics, soil erosion, and site investigation. There is a clear lack of environmental approach in the engineering geology course in its current state. There is also a cavity with respect to the applications of modern techniques of remote sensing and photogrammetry in prophylactic and remedial engineering geology [3]. The course in its present state fails in our view to bridge gaps or produce a necessary common language between geologists, civil, highway and irrigation engineers, for instance the civil engineer needs a specially modulated geomorphological or geological map which is rather different to the type of map needed in provisional geological surveying [4, 5].

4  The rationale for transformation of the course

Three points become evident from the foregoing description of the present course in engineering geology in the context of the general geology degree course.

  1. There are wasteful overlaps between the present course in engineering geology course and other undergraduate courses in structural geology, geomorphology and field geology.

  2. There is an urgent need for enhancing the practicability of the course material to cater for the modern needs of the geological profession in dealing with environmental applications and problems.

  3. Implementation of the above-described framework of the general geology degree course leaves a modicum space for introducing a separate course in environmental course in environmental geology. By avoiding the unnecessary overlaps between the engineering geology course and other courses, a profusion of time becomes available for giving the environmental aspect of geology within the engineering geology course.

5  Basifixations for the structure of the course in engineering and environmental geology

For a duration of ten weeks with 2 theory and 3 practical hours per weeks plus two one-day field excursions, the following framework is suggested:

  1. Theory

    1. Introductory part on the scope of engineering and environmental geology and the role of the geologist in these aspects. Indispensability and interdependence of the different scales of geological observation for environmental studies and engineering applications.
    2. Prophylactic environmental and engineering geology, including terrain classification and appropriate land-use, field and remote sensing techniques in delineating problematic and hazardous areas, waste disposal, detection of environmental detriments and counter pollution measures.
    3. Executive or operational engineering geology including site choice and site investigation inventory of available construction materials, grouting, quarrying, tunnelling etc.
    4. Remedial engineering and environmental geology, including cleaning of the environment (soils, groundwater, oil slicks, pollution), control of landslides, soil erosion sand dunes, subsidence and hydraulic rectification of buildings, implementation of an appropriate circumstantial seismic code for buildings and dams.

  2. Practical

    1. Two one-day field excursions to areas of choice for diagnosis and study of two engineering and environmental problems.
    2. Two weeks exercise in terrain classification and land-use classification using remote sensing data including aerial photographs. Production of two interpretation maps in terrain and land-use classification.
    3. Two weeks in site investigations, types and scales of maps and presentations specially modulated for engineering and environmental applications.
    4. Two weeks in relevant computer software applications for photogrammetry, volumes and quantity estimations, cross-sections, contouring, linear and non-linear interpolations, highway route selection etc.
    5. Two weeks exercises or case studies in grouting, quarrying, tunnelling and slope stability surveying.
    6. Two weeks exercises or case studies in environmental clean ups (soils, groundwater oil slicks and other pollution) control of landslides and desertifcation, subsidence and hydraulic rectification of buildings.

6  Conclusions

Modern day civilization has added a new arena to the geological profession. Dealing with environmental problems of different origins, scales and impacts becomes necessarily a broader context within which engineering geology operates. The approach of the proposed modified course is from the point of view of three contiguous stages in environmental and engineering geology, namely they are: prophylactic executive or operational and remedial stages.

References

  1. NUMAN, N.M.S. A display and suggestions regarding problems in geological university education. In Arabic. The 2nd Iraqi conference on geological education, Baghdad, Iraq: 1977.

  2. Tectonic plates and how we introduce them to the student. In Arabic. The 4th Iraqi conference on geological education. Mosul, Iraq: 1986.

  3. A view of the ITC course on remote sensing applications. ITC Journal, Vol 2 Holland: 1981.

  4. AL-BARANI, S.K. Highway route selection in northern Iraq using terrain evaluation from aerial photographs, ITC Journal, Vol.2, Holland 1995.

  5. AL-BARANI, S.K. Deduction of soil supporting values from surface drainage bifurcation ratios calculated from aerial photographs in northern Iraq. ITC Journal, Vol. 3/4. Holland: 1996