“Geology is a way of life,” a geologist will most likely say when answering a question about his profession before moving on to dry and boring formulations, explaining that geology is a science about the structure and composition of the earth, about the history of its birth, formation and the laws of development, about once countless, and today, alas, the "estimated" riches of its bowels. Other planets of the solar system are also objects of geological research.
The description of a particular science often begins with the history of its origin and formation, forgetting that the narrative is full of obscure terms and definitions, therefore it is better to begin with the essence.
Stages of geological research
The most general scheme of the research sequence into which all geological work aimed at identifying mineral deposits (hereinafter MPO) can be "squeezed", in essence, is as follows: geological survey (mapping of outcrops of rocks and geological formations), prospecting works , exploration, reserves estimation, geological report. Surveying, prospecting and exploration, in turn, are naturally divided into stages depending on the scale of the work and taking into account their feasibility.
To carry out such a complex of works, a whole army of specialists from a wide range of geological specialties is involved, which a real geologist should possess much more than at the “little by little” level, because he is faced with the task of summarizing all this versatile information and ultimately arriving at the discovery of a field ( or make it), since geology is a science that studies the bowels of the earth primarily for the development of mineral resources.
Family of geological sciences
Like other natural sciences (physics, biology, chemistry, geography, etc.), geology is a whole complex of interrelated and interwoven scientific disciplines.
Directly geological subjects include general and regional geology, mineralogy, tectonics, geomorphology, geochemistry, lithology, paleontology, petrology, petrography, gemology, stratigraphy, historical geology, crystallography, hydrogeology, marine geology, volcanology and sedimentology.
The applied, methodological, technical, economic and other related geology sciences include engineering geology, seismology, petrophysics, glaciology, geography, mineral geology, geophysics, soil science, geodesy, oceanography, oceanology, geostatistics, geotechnology, geoinformatics, geotechnology, cadastre and monitoring lands, land management, climatology, cartography, meteorology and a number of atmospheric sciences.
"Pure", field geology still remains largely descriptive, which imposes a certain moral and ethical responsibility on the performer, therefore, geology, having developed its own language, like other sciences, cannot do without philology, logic and ethics.
Since exploration and exploration routes, especially in hard-to-reach areas, are almost uncontrollable work, the geologist is always tempted by subjective, but competently and beautifully presented judgments or conclusions, and this, unfortunately, happens. Harmless "inaccuracies" can lead to very serious consequences both in the scientific and industrial, and material and economic terms, so the geologist simply does not have the right to deceive, distortion and error, like a sapper or surgeon.
The backbone of geosciences is arranged in a hierarchical series (geochemistry, mineralogy, crystallography, petrology, lithology, paleontology, and geology proper, including tectonics, stratigraphy, and historical geology), reflecting the subordination of sequentially complicated objects of study from atoms and molecules to the Earth as a whole.
Each of these sciences branches out widely in various directions, just as geology proper includes tectonics, stratigraphy, and historical geology.
Geochemistry
The field of view of this science is the distribution of elements in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.
Modern geochemistry is a complex of scientific disciplines, including regional geochemistry, biogeochemistry and geochemical methods of searching for mineral deposits. The subject of study for all these disciplines are the laws of migration of elements, the conditions for their concentration, separation and redeposition, as well as the evolutionary processes of finding forms of each element or associations from several that are especially close in properties.
Geochemistry is based on the properties and structure of the atom and crystalline matter, on the data on the thermodynamic parameters characterizing part of the earth's crust or individual shells, as well as on the general laws formed by thermodynamic processes.
The direct task of geochemical research in geology is to detect MPO, therefore, geological exploration for ore minerals is mandatory preceded and accompanied by a geochemical survey, according to which scattering areas of the useful component are distinguished.
Mineralogy
One of the main and oldest sections of geological science, studying the huge, beautiful, unusually interesting and mysterious world of minerals. Mineralogical studies, the goals, objectives and methods of which depend on specific tasks, are carried out at all stages of prospecting and exploration work and include a wide range of methods from visual assessment of mineral composition to electron microscopy and x-ray structural diagnostics.
At the stages of the survey, search and exploration of MPO, research is carried out in order to clarify the mineralogical search criteria and a preliminary assessment of the practical significance of potential deposits.
During the exploration stage of geological work and when assessing the reserves of ore or nonmetallic raw materials, its full quantitative and qualitative mineral composition is established with the identification of useful and harmful impurities, the data on which are taken into account when choosing a processing technology or a conclusion on the quality of the raw materials.
In addition to a comprehensive study of the composition of rocks, the main tasks of mineralogy are to study the patterns of combination of minerals in natural associations and improve the principles of the taxonomy of mineral species.
Crystallography
Once crystallography was considered a part of mineralogy, and the close relationship between them is natural and obvious, but today it is an independent science with its own subject and its own research methods. The tasks of crystallography are to comprehensively study the structure, physical and optical properties of crystals, the processes of their formation and the characteristics of interaction with the environment, as well as changes that occur under the influence of various natures.
The science of crystals is divided into physical and chemical crystallography, which studies the laws of formation and growth of crystals, their behavior under various conditions depending on the shape and structure, and geometric crystallography, the subject of which is the geometric laws that govern the shape and symmetry of crystals.
Tectonics
Tectonics is one of the core sections of geology, which studies the structure of the earth's crust structurally, the features of its formation and development against the background of different-scale movements, deformations, discontinuous disturbances and dislocations caused by deep processes.
Tectonics is divided into regional, structural (morphological), historical and applied branches.
The regional direction operates with such structures as platforms, plates, shields, folded areas, troughs of the seas and oceans, transform faults, rift zones, etc.
An example is the regional structural-tectonic plan, which characterizes the geology of Russia. The European part of the country is located on the East European platform, composed of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks. The territory between the Urals and the Yenisei is located on the West Siberian platform. From the Yenisei to the Lena extends the Siberian platform (Central Siberian Plateau). Folded areas are represented by the Ural-Mongolian, Pacific and partially Mediterranean folded belts.
Morphological tectonics, compared with the regional one, studies lower-order structures.
The history of the origin and formation of the main types of structural forms of the oceans and continents is engaged in historical geotectonics.
The applied direction of tectonics is associated with the identification of patterns of distribution of various types of MPO in connection with certain types of morphostructures and the features of their development.
In the "mercantile" geological sense, faults in the earth's crust are regarded as ore supply channels and ore controlling factors.
Paleontology
Literally meaning "the science of ancient creatures", paleontology studies fossil organisms, their remains and traces of life, mainly for the stratigraphic division of rocks of the earth's crust. The competence of paleontology includes the task of restoring a picture reflecting the process of biological evolution based on data obtained as a result of reconstruction of the appearance, biological features, methods of reproduction and nutrition of ancient organisms.
According to quite obvious signs, paleontology is divided into paleozoology and paleobotany.
Organisms are sensitive to changes in the physico-chemical parameters of the environment, so they are reliable indicators of the conditions in which rocks were formed. This implies the close connection of geology and paleontology.
Based on paleontological studies, together with the results of determining the absolute age of geological formations, a geochronological scale is compiled in which the history of the Earth is divided into geological eras (Archaea, Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic). Eras are divided into periods, and those, in turn, are divided into eras.
We live in the Pleistocene era (20 thousand years ago to the present) of the Quaternary, which began about 1 million years ago.
Petrography
The study of the mineral composition of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, their texture and structural characteristics and genesis is carried out by petrography (petrology). Research is carried out using a polarizing microscope in the rays of transmitted polarized light. To do this, thin (0.03-0.02 mm) thin plates (thin sections) are then cut from rock samples, then glued to a glass plate with Canadian balsam (the optical characteristics of this resin are close to the glass parameters).
Minerals become transparent (most), and minerals and their constituent rocks are identified by their optical properties. The interference images in the section resemble the patterns in a kaleidoscope.
Petrography of sedimentary rocks occupies a special place in the cycle of geological sciences. Its great theoretical and practical significance is due to the fact that the subject of research is modern and ancient (fossil) precipitation, which occupy about 70% of the Earth's surface.
Engineering geology
Engineering geology is the science of those features of composition, physico-chemical properties, formation, occurrence and dynamics of the upper horizons of the earth's crust, which are associated with economic, mainly engineering and construction activities of man.
Geotechnical surveys are aimed at a comprehensive and comprehensive assessment of geological factors caused by human activities in conjunction with natural geological processes.
If we recall that, depending on the guiding method, the natural sciences are divided into descriptive and exact, then engineering geology, of course, refers to the latter, unlike many of its "shop associates."
Marine geology
It would be unfair to ignore the vast section of geology that studies the geological structure and developmental features of the earth's crust, which makes up the bottom of the oceans and seas. If you follow the shortest and most capacious definition that characterizes geology (the doctrine of the Earth), then marine geology is the science of the sea (ocean) bottom, covering all branches of the "geological tree" (tectonics, petrography, lithology, historical and Quaternary geology, paleogeography , stratigraphy, geomorphology, geochemistry, geophysics, the doctrine of minerals, etc.).
Research in the seas and oceans is carried out from specially equipped vessels, floating drilling rigs and pontoons (offshore). For sampling, in addition to drilling, dredges, grab type bottom grabs and straight-through pipes are used. Using autonomous and towed vehicles, discrete and continuous photographic, television, seismic, magnetometric and geolocation surveys are carried out.
In our time, many problems of modern science have not yet been solved, and the undisclosed secrets of the ocean and its bowels belong to them. Marine geology is honored not only for the sake of "making secret the secret", but also to master the colossal mineral resources of the oceans.
The main theoretical task of the modern marine branch of geology remains the study of the history of the development of the oceanic crust and the identification of the main laws of its geological structure.
Historical geology is the science of the laws governing the development of the earth's crust and the planet as a whole in the historically visible past from the moment of its formation to the present day. The study of the history of the formation of the structure of the lithosphere is important because the tectonic movements and deformations occurring in it are represented by the most important factors determining the majority of changes that occurred on the Earth in past geological eras.
Now, having received a general idea of geology, we can turn to its origins.
An excursion into the history of earth science
It is difficult to say how far the history of geology goes back deep into the millennia, but the Neanderthal man already knew how to craft a knife or an ax using flint or obsidian (volcanic glass).
From the time of primitive man to the middle of the XVIII century, the pre-scientific stage of accumulation and formation of geological knowledge, mainly about metal ores, building stones, salts and groundwaters, continued. About rocks, minerals and geological processes in the interpretation of that time they started talking in ancient times.
By the 13th century, mining is being developed in Asian countries and the foundations of mining knowledge are emerging.
In the Renaissance (XV-XVI centuries), the heliocentric view of the world (J. Bruno, G. Galilei, N. Copernicus) is affirmed, geological representations of N. Stenon, Leonardo da Vinci and G. Bauer are born, and cosmogonic concepts of R Descartes and G. Leibniz.
During the formation of geology as a science (XVIII — XIX centuries), the cosmogonic hypotheses of P. Laplace and I. Kant and the geological ideas of M. V. Lomonosov and J. Buffon appeared. Stratigraphy (I. Leman, G. Fuksel) and paleontology (J. B. Lamarck, V. Smith) are born, crystallography (R. Zh. Gayui, M.V. Lomonosov), mineralogy (I. Ya. Bertselius, A. Kronstedt, V. M. Severgin, K. F. Moos, etc.), geological mapping begins.
During this period, the first geological societies and national geological services were created.
From the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the most significant events were the geological observations of C. Darwin, the creation of the doctrine of platforms and geosynclines, the origin of paleogeography, the development of instrumental petrography, genetic and theoretical mineralogy, the emergence of concepts about magma and the study of ore deposits. Petroleum geology began to emerge and geophysics (magnetometry, gravimetry, seismometry, and seismology) was gaining momentum. In 1882, the Russian Geological Committee was founded.
The modern period of the development of geology began in the middle of the 20th century, when Earth science adopted computer technology and acquired new laboratory instruments, tools, and technical equipment that made it possible to begin the geological and geophysical study of the oceans and nearby planets.
The most outstanding scientific achievements were D.S. Korzhinsky's theory of metasomatic zoning, the doctrine of metamorphism facies, M. Strakhov's theory of types of lithogenesis, the introduction of geochemical methods for searching ore deposits, etc.
Under the leadership of A. L. Yanshin, N. S. Shatsky and A. A. Bogdanov, overview tectonic maps of the countries of Europe and Asia were created, paleogeographic atlases were compiled.
The concept of a new global tectonics (J.T. Wilson, G. Hess, V.E. Khain, etc.) was developed, geodynamics, engineering geology and hydrogeology stepped forward, a new direction in geology was outlined - ecological, which has become a priority today.
Problems of modern geology
Today, on many fundamental issues, the problems of modern science are still unresolved, and there are at least one and a half hundred such issues. We are talking about the biological foundations of consciousness, the riddles of memory, the nature of time and gravity, the origin of stars, black holes and the nature of other cosmic objects. Geology also had a lot of problems to deal with. This applies mainly to the structure and composition of the Universe, as well as the processes occurring inside the Earth.
Nowadays, the importance of geology is increasing due to the need to control and take into account the growing threat of catastrophic geological consequences associated with irrational economic activities that aggravate environmental problems.
Geological formation in Russia
The formation of modern geological education in Russia is associated with the opening of the building of mining engineers (the future Mining Institute) in St. Petersburg and the creation of Moscow University, and the heyday began when the Institute of Geology (now GIN) was created in Leningrad in 1930 and then transferred to Moscow. AH CCCP).
Today, the Geological Institute occupies a leading position among research institutions in the field of stratigraphy, lithology, tectonics and the history of the sciences of the geological cycle. The main activities are related to the development of complex fundamental problems of the structure and formation of the oceanic and continental crust, the study of the evolution of rock formation of continents and sedimentation in the oceans, geochronology, global correlation of geological processes and phenomena, etc.
By the way, the predecessor of the GIN was the Mineralogical Museum, renamed in 1898 the Museum of Geology, and then in 1912 the Geological and Mineralogical Museum named after Peter the Great.
Since its inception, the principle of geological formation in Russia has been laid down the principle trinity: science - training - practice. In spite of perestroika shocks, educational geology follows this principle today.
In 1999, the decision of the boards of the Ministries of Education and Natural Resources of Russia adopted the concept of geological education, which was tested in educational institutions and production teams, "growing" geological personnel.
Today, higher geological education can be obtained at more than 30 universities in Russia.
And letting go "to reconnaissance in the taiga" or go "to the sultry steppes" in our time - this is not as prestigious as the work once, the geologist chooses it because "he is happy who knows the painful sense of the road" ...