What does a geologist do?

Answer 1

He, or she, geoggles.

Answer 2

Geologists work to understand the history of our planet. The better they can understand Earth’s history the better they can foresee how events and processes of the past might influence the future. Here are two examples:


Volcanic Mudflow Hazard Map by USGS
1) The processes acting upon the Earth cause hazards such as landslides, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Geologists are working to understand these processes well enough to avoid building important structures where they will be damaged. If geologists learn a lot about volcanic mudflows of the past then that information can be very useful in predicting the dangerous areas where volcanic mudflows might strike in the future. The map at right shows areas that are thought to be at risk from future mudflows around Mount Rainier. Intelligent people should be cautions when considering activities or property development in these areas. (Click on the map to see greater detail.)

2) Geologists have worked hard to learn that oil and natural gas form from organic materials deposited along the margins of continents and in shallow seas upon the continents. They have also learned to recognize the types of rock that are deposited in these near-shore environments. This knowledge enables them to recoginze potential oil and natural gas source rocks. In the photo below oil field workers are placing a tool into an oil exploration well. This tool will be lowered down the hole and will record tiny amounts of radioactivity released from the rocks below (rocks rich in organic materials frequently contain tiny amounts of radioactive materials). The information obtained from the tool will help them assess the oil and natural gas production potential of the rocks below. If they do these tests at many locations within a region they might be able to map an oil or natural gas field.

Answer 3

In a nutshell, we study the interactions of Earths various processes. Geology is a diverse collection of almost all the physical sciences.

Professionally, geologists do quite a bit. I work in the environmental consulting industry helping to clean up problems that corporations and governments have created.

Other things that they can do is find oil, work in mines, geophysical surveying, engineering, mapping, geochemistry (such as groundwater stuff), mineralogy, erosion control, and seismic analysis. These are only a few of the things that geologists do. If you like being outside and working in a dynamic environment, its a great field to get into.

Answer 4

Geologist study subjects ranging from rocks down near the core of the earth to rocks at the tops of the mountains. They study volcanoes and the processes that make them erupt. They also study when a volcano erupts what is coming out of it to deternine what type of eruption it is. For instance, the stuff coming out of Hawaii volvanoes is basaltic in nature where is the stuff coming out of continental volcanic eruptions is something totally different. THey study earthquakes and why they happen and where they happen and how often they happen and where they might strike next and how bad the next one will be. They study plate tectonics to figure out where they have been and where they are headed now.

They also study hydrological processes. This is how the water traverses in caves and crevasses in the earth.

Geologists study sink holes and try and help developers figure out where the next sink hole will drop out, if that sink hole will affect the house they want to build on top of it.

They study the diverse geological features across the land.
They date soils and rocks to determine approximate ages of the soils, rocks, bones, etc...

They date soils, rocks, and bones and study the elements found in them that would have been present thousands of years ago to determine what life on this planet would have been like many millenia ago.

They study impact craters, try to date when the impact occurred, what the environment might have been like direclty after the impact, and what may have been the direct result of that impact.

These are only a few of the many diverse division in geology. Most people when they think about geology...it is all rocks but it is made up of so much more than just rocks.
Geology can be related to biology - astrobiology.
It can be related to chemistry - geochemistry.
It can be related again to astronomy - you can study the geology on other planets in the solar system. Many geologists are out there studying mars or venus or even the chamical make-up of the moon. New studies are going on about Titan, one of Saturn's moons.

Answer 5

studies whats in the ground like rocks and minerals

Answer 6

they collect the fossils and estimate thier age, collect s the rocks and estimate, age of the rocks