Geology - Littleover Community School

Future Prospects:
Geology is the study of the physical structure, history and make-up of the Earth.
What can be more relevant than the very Earth that we live on? When a volcanic eruption or
a Tsunami-generating earthquake hits the news headlines, wouldn’t it be wonderful to be
able to interpret such events on a global scale? Having the understanding that these
phenomena not only destroy life, but also have been essential in creating life on our planet
is a fascinating overview to have.
How intriguing is it to analyse rocks and the fossils that they contain and be able to
reconstruct a 300 million year old environment and work out its past climate? Evidence of
changes in the Earth’s climate is recorded in rocks throughout geological history, allowing
the geologist to trace these changes through time and go on to predict (with help from other
scientific disciplines), potential climatic fluctuations in the future.
The study of Geology also allows us to be able to predict the location and quantities of
natural resources such as oil, gas, coal, ore minerals, diamonds and building materials in
the crust. The subject encompasses many of the other sciences including Biology,
Chemistry and Physics and can lead to a career in:-
Environmental Impact Assessment - understanding the type and level of contamination in
water land and air and how the problems of contamination can be solved.
Geophysics - the interpretation of sub-surface structures and their economic importance.
Engineering Geology - the construction of sub-surface tunnels, pipelines, roads and
buildings based on their geological setting.
Mining Geology - exploration of the sub-surface for ore minerals (iron, lead, copper etc),
gold, diamonds and other precious natural resources.
Oil & Gas Exploration/Production - using geological techniques to find and extract oil,
coal and gas from the subsurface.
Geochemical Exploration - the chemical analysis of soils and waters for trace elements
leading to exploitation of natural resources.
Research