Diversity in the science and practice of engineering geology

The 1992 statutes of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG) define engineering geology as follows. ‘Engineering geology is a science devoted to the investigation, study and solution of engineering and environmental problems which may arise as the result of the interaction between geology and the works and activities of man as well as to the prediction of, and the development of, measures for the prevention or remediation of geological hazards.’ (Delgado et al. 2014) The New Penguin Dictionary of Geology describes engineering geology as the ‘application of geological information, techniques and principles to the design, construction and maintenance of engineering works’ (Kearey 1996). Hencher (2012) defines engineering geology as the ‘scientific study of geology as it relates to civil engineering projects such as the design of a bridge, construction of a dam or preventing a landslide’. These are glimpses of the many definitions that can be found in the literature. A commonality in these descriptions is geology and in particular the application of geological sciences to engineering study. Broadening this discussion a little further, geology can be described as ‘the study of the Earth as a whole, its origin, structure, composition, and history…, and the nature of the processes which have given rise to its present state’. (Whitten & Brooks 1972). An important reflection of this definition is realizing the immensity of the science of geology. The variety of topics is far-reaching, from plate tectonics to mineralogy with everything in between. The essence of this argument is that all branches of geology are relevant in the study of engineering geology and with this comes the corollary that the science of engineering geology is a wide frontier. This characteristic of engineering geology is well recognized; Burwell & Roberts (1950) stated ‘Engineering Geology is not a branch …