Environmental geology

Environmental geology, like hydrogeology, is an applied science concerned with the practical application of the principles of geology in the solving of environmental problems created by man. It is a multidisciplinary field that is closely related to engineering geology and, to a lesser extent, to environmental geography. Each of these fields involves the study of the interaction of humans with the geologic environment, including the biosphere, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and to some extent the atmosphere. In other words, environmental geology is the application of geological information to solve conflicts, minimizing possible adverse environmental degradation, or maximizing possible advantageous conditions resulting from the use of natural and modified environment. With an increasing world population and industrialization, the natural environment and resources are under high strain which puts them at the forefront of world issues. Environmental geology is on the rise with these issues as solutions are found by utilizing it. Hydrogeology is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth's crust. Environmental geology is applied in this field as environmental problems are created in groundwater pollution due to mining, agriculture, and other human activities. Pollution is the impairment of groundwater by heat, bacteria, or chemicals. The greatest contributors to groundwater pollution are surface sources such as fertilizers, leaking sewers, polluted streams, and mining/mineral wastes. Environmental geology approaches the groundwater pollution problem by creating objectives when monitoring. These objectives include: determining the nature, extent, and degree of contamination, determining the propagation mechanism and hydrological parameters, so that the appropriate countermeasures can be taken, detecting and warning of movement into critical areas, assessing the effectiveness of the immediate countermeasures undertaken to offset the effects of contamination, recording of data for long term evaluation and compliance with standards, and initiating research monitoring to validate and verify the models and assumptions upon which the immediate countermeasures are based.