Economic Geologists
—find and sometimes supervise the development of mineral and solid fuel resources.
Petroleum Geologists
—specialize in the discovery and recovery of liquid fuels—oil and natural gas. Some petroleum geologists spend much time near drilling sites, while others interpret regional geologic data to provide a broad framework of petroleum-related geologic knowledge.
Engineering Geologists
—apply geological knowledge to engineering problems in the construction of roads, airfields, tunnels, dams, and other large structures. They determine, for example, whether underground rock layers will bear the weight of various structures and buildings, and advise industrial and residential planners.
Petrologist
—classify and determine the origin of rock masses.
Mineralogists
—examine, analyze, and classify minerals and precious stones according to composition and structure.
Geochemists
—study the Chemical Composition and changes in minerals and rocks to better understand the distribution and migration of elements in the earth’s crust.
Groundwater Geologists
—specialize in the sources, movement, quality reserves, and availability of subsurface water for human consumption and for industry and agriculture.
Limnologists
—may be classes as life scientists as well as geological scientists. Their work involves the study of fresh-water rivers and lakes, particularly the detection of pollutants in them.
Sedimentologists
—investigate sedimentary rocks to determine their characteristics and formation processes, such as erosion and deposition.
Geomorphologists
—study land forms on the earth’ s surface and changes in them, including the effects of erosion and glaciation.
Geologists
—specializing in earth history-try to understand and explain the earth’s development by determining the age, position, and nature of its fossils.
Paleontologists
—a classification which includes paleobotanists and paleozoologists, trace the evolution and development of past life by studying fossilized remains of plants and animals in geologic formations.
Geochronologists
—study time in relationship to the earth’s history. They determine the ages of rocks, ore deposits, and various land forms. Scientists who establish the ages of trees by the wing-dating method are known as
dendrochronologists
.
Stratigraphers
—study the distribution and relative arrangement of sedimentary rock layers by analyzing their fossil and mineral content.
Astrogeologists
—are concerned with the geology of extraterrestrial bodies. They apply knowledge of earth’ s geology to studies conditions on other planets and the moon. Scientists concerned with the origin, evolution, and nature of the moon are known as
selenologists
.
Computer geologists
—use computers and statistical analysis to solve geologic problems.
Photogeologists
—study aerial and satellite photographs of ground features and interpret them as to their geological significance.
Marine Geologists
—who study geological formations and structures of the ocean floors, are generally classified as geological oceanographers.