English Reading Material for Geology, Hydrogeology, Engineering geology and Environmental GeologyDepartment of Resources, Environment and Engineering Shijiazhuang University of EconomicsContentUnit One: The Earth通用____________________________________________________1Unit Two: The Atmosphere环________________________________________________4 Unit Three: Oceans通用_____________________________________________________8 Unit Four: Groundwater通用_______________________________________________13 Unit Five: Minerals地_____________________________________________________17 Unit Six: Rocks通用_______________________________________________________21 Unit Seven: Weathering and Erosion通用______________________________________28 Unit Eight: Geological Structures通用________________________________________32 Unit Nine: Earth History通用_______________________________________________37 Unit Ten: Continental drift地_______________________________________________42 Unit Eleven: Plate Tectonics地______________________________________________46 Unit Twelve: Earthquakes and Seismic Waves地_______________________________50 Unit thirteen: Introduction of Igneous Geochemistry地__________________________54Unit Fourteen: Using trace element analysis to determine the tectonic setting of basic volcanic rocks地_________________________________________________________59Unit Fifteen: Geophysical Prospecting地、工___________________________________64 Unit Sixteen: Water水_____________________________________________________68 Unit Seventeen: Character of Groundwater水、环_______________________________71 Unit Eighteen: Parameters of Groundwater Flow水_____________________________76 Unit Nineteen: Hydrogeological Investigations水_______________________________81 Unit Twenty: Soils水、环____________________________________________________84 Unit Twenty-one: Mechanical behavior of rock and soil工________________________88 Unit Twenty-two: Reservoirs水、工___________________________________________92 Unit Twenty-three: Dams工________________________________________________96 Unit Twenty-four: Excavation and Support工_________________________________100 Unit Twenty-five: Slope S tability and Downslope Movement工、环__________________________105Unit One: The Earth通用IntroductionThe Earth is a very large spherical body. The science of geology is concerned with the Earth and the rocks of which it composed, the processes by which they were formed during geological time, and the modeling of the Earth’s surface in the past and at the present day. Earth is not a static body but is constantly subject to changes both at its surface and at deeper levels.Surface changes can be observed by engineers and geologists alike; among them erosion is a dominant process which in time destroys coastal cliffs, reduces the height of continents, and transports the material so removed either to the sea or to inland basins of deposition. Changes that originate below the surface are not so easily observed and their nature can only be postulated. Some are the cause of slow movements of continents across the surface of the globe; others cause the more rapid changes associated with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.The surface of the EarthDimensions and surface reliefThe radius of the Earth at the equator is 6370km and the polar radius is shorter by about 22km; thus the Earth is not quite a perfect sphere. The planet has a surface area of 510´106m2, of which some 29 per cent is land. If to this is added the shallow sea areas of the shelf which surrounds the continents, the total land area is nearly 35 per cent of the whole surface. In other words, nearly two-thirds of the surface is covered by deep ocean.Fig.1 A sketch profile of continental marginSurface relief is very varied (see fig.1); mountains rise to several kilometers above sea level, with a maximum of 8.848km at Everest (珠穆朗玛峰). The average height of land above sea level is 0.875km and the mean depth of the ocean floor is about 3.73km. In places the ocean floor descends to much greater depths in elongated areas or trenches; the Marianas Trench (马里亚纳海沟) in the N.W. Pacific reaches the greatest known depth, 11.034km. The extremes of height and depth are small in comparison with the Earth’s radius, and are found only in limited areas. The oceans, seas, lakes and rivers are collectively referred to as the hydrosphere; and the whole is surrounded by a gaseous envelope, the atmosphere.The interior of the EarthOur knowledge of the Earth’s interior is at present based on those direct investigations that can be made to depths of a few kilometers from the surface, together with extrapolations to lower levels. Studies of heat-flow, geostatic pressure, earthquakes, and estimations of isostatic balance reveal much about the interior of the Earth.It is well known from deep miningoperations that temperature increasesdownwards at an average rate of 30°C perkm. This rate is higher near a source of heatsuch as an active volcanic center, and is alsoaffected by the thermal conductivity of therocks at a particular locality. Assuming forthe moment that the temperature gradientcontinues at the average rate, calculationshows that at a depth of some 30km the temperature would be such that most knownrocks would begin to melt. The high pressure prevailing at that depth and the ability of crustal rocks to conduct heat away to the surface of the Earth result in the rock-material there remaining in a relatively solid condition; but there will be a depth at which it becomes essentially a viscous fluid and this defines the base of the lithosphere(see fig.2).The mean density of the Earth, which is found from its estimated mass and volume, is5.527g/cm 3. This is greater than the density of most rocks found at the surface, which rarely exceeds 3; sedimentary rocks average 2.3, and the abundant igneous rock granite about 2.7. In order to bring the mean density to 5.5 there must therefore be denser material at lower levels within the Earth. Our knowledge of the interior of the Earth has come largely from the study of the elastic waves generated by earthquakes, in particular from research into the way in which earthquake waves are bent (by diffraction at certain boundaries) as they pass through the Earth. This has shown that our planet has a core of heavy material with a density of 8. Two metals, iron and nickel, have densities a little below and above 8 respectively, and the core is believed to be composed mainly of iron. Surrounding this heavy core is the region known as the mantle; and overlying that is the crust, which is itself composite. In continental areas the average thickness of the crust is about 30km; in the oceans it is 10km. The mantle has a range of density intermediate between that of the crust and the core.V ocabularies and Phrases:modeling n 造型postulate vt, vi 假定，推测 erosion n 侵蚀eruption n 喷发，爆发Fig.2 Interior structure of the Earthinland basin 内陆盆地abyssal plain 深海平原continental rise 大陆基lithosphere n 岩石圈continental shelf 大陆架asthenophere n 软流圈relief n 地貌，地形起伏thermal conductivity 热传导率descend vi 下降temperature gradient 温度剃度trench n 海沟prevailing a 占优势的extrapolation n 外推法，推断viscous a 粘性的geostatic pressure 地压力elastic wave 弹性波isostatic balance 地壳均衡diffraction n 衍射Reading materialThe earth and other members of the Solar system are believed to have been formed about 4600 million years ago by condensation from a flattened rotating cloud of gas and dust. This contracted slowly, giving rise to the primitive Sun at its center – a new star – surrounded by a mass of cosmic gases in which local condensations generated the planets. They, and other bodies such as the asteroids and meteorites, all revolve in the same direction in orbits around the Sun. the cold primitive Earth became gradually heated as its interior was compressed by the increasing weight of accumulated matter and by the decay of natural radioactive materials. Heat was produced more quickly than it could escape from the compressed mass, resulting in the melting of some constituents and heavier matter being drawn by gravity towards the Earth’s center. The planet thus gradually acquired a core, surrounded by a mantle of less dense material, and an outer crust.Supplementary ExercisesPart one: Answer following questions in English1.What is the difference between the earth’s crust and its lithosphere?2.The earth’s radius is 6.4´108 cm and its mass is 6.0´1027g. calculate the averagedensity of the earth as a whole and compare it with the average density of crustal rocks,2.7g/cm3. What does this comparison indicate about the composition of the earth’sinterior?Part two: Translations between English and Chinese:1.The Earth consists of a two-part core, a mantle of solid rock, and an outermost thin,rocky crust. The crust and the outer part of the mantle compose the lithosphere, which includes all the rocky material of the Earth’s outer shell, extending from the surface to a depth of about 100 kilometers.2.对于人类来说，地球是我们的大家园，地球给我们提供了生活所必需的丰富的物质资源和优美的生活环境，我们应该注意合理地使用这些矿产资源和保护生活环境。