INDOT - Geotechnical Manual





GEOLOGY AND PEDOLOGY

2.0 INTRODUCTION

The close relationship between geology, pedology, and engineering should be recognized by all dedicated personnel who are concerned with the design, construction, and maintenance of highways. This association is especially valid in the case of highway engineering where highways are built on, through, above, and of earth materials. Unfortunately, most engineers receive little more than a superficial introduction to pedology and geology. Geology is the scientific study of the origin, history and structure of the earth. It provides the basis for differentiating the materials comprising the earth’s crust and interpreting the earth’s history. In highway engineering, the importance of geology is in the interpretation of landforms; their history, the processes that shaped them, and the materials that comprise or underlie their surfaces. While pedology deals primarily with the product of surficial weathering, geology is concerned with the underlying material’s character, distribution, and origin. Engineering geology studies help to outline areas of potential slope instability, buried zones of compressible materials, areas of possible surface subsidence, and areas of undesirable bedrock conditions.


Download
*