Geology Department

Geology, also named Earth Science, is the science of knowing the earth through geological processes. Acquiring geological knowledge leads to the acquisition of valuable information about the origin, history, structure, chemical composition and natural resources of the earth. The discipline of geology or earth sciences includes several subdisciplines, each of which is specially directed and creates different specializations of this field.

The Department of Geology at the Faculty of Sciences, Urmia University, was established in 1996 with the admission of 35 bachelor's students in the General Geology discipline. With the increase in the number of faculty members, the number of students increased. In 2007, the department started admitting the first master's students by establishing the economic geology subdiscipline. The admission of further master's students followed by the establishment of the stratigraphy and palaeontology subdiscipline. In 2010, further subdisciplines, including petrology, environmental geology, hydrogeology, geophysics (seismology and seismology) and tectonics, were established for admitting students in the master's period. Currently, regarding experienced and expertized faculty members (12 active members), the Department offers doctoral programs for admitting students in the two fields of Economic Geology and Environmental Geoscience. In the following, a brief explanation of the active subdisciplines at the Department of Geology is brought.

Environmental Geoscience is the study of the natural processes that control our environment and the associated impacts of human activities. This branch of science considers both natural (geogenic) processes and anthropogenic activities in various environmental compartments (geosphere), including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere (rock, soil, sediment) and biosphere. This major almost encompasses the three main branches of Environmental Geochemistry, Medical Geology and Geological Hazards.

Economic Geology is a major of science that focuses on earth materials that can be used for economic or industrial development purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals, construction-grade stones, petroleum minerals, coal, and water. Often, much of the purpose of the study is to identify new ore deposits for excavation as well as understand how ore deposits are generated and localized within Earth's crust.

Hydrogeology is the branch of geology concerned with water occurring underground or on the surface of the Earth. It pertains to the occurrence, distribution, movement and quality of water on the Earth or other parts of the cosmos, including the water cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability. The terms groundwater hydrology, geohydrology, and hydrogeology are often used interchangeably.

Tectonics is the process that controls the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These processes include those of mountain-building, the growth and behaviour of the strong, old cores of continents known as cratons, and how the relatively rigid plates that constitute the Earth's outer shell interact with each other. Principles of tectonics also provide a framework for understanding the earthquake and volcanic belts that directly affect much of the global population.

Geophysics is the study of the physics of the Earth and its environment in space. One emphasis is the exploration of the Earth's interior using physical properties measured at or above the Earth's surface, together with mathematical models to predict those properties. Subdisciplines include seismology, the study of seismic waves; geomagnetism, the study of the magnetic field; and geodesy, the study of the gravitational field and the shape of the Earth's surface.

Stratigraphy is a branch of geology that deals with the description of rock or the interpretation of geologic time scale. It also renders insight into the geologic history of strata. As a geological subdiscipline, stratigraphy takes into account the spatial location and temporal sequence of rock bodies. With the help of stratigraphy, bodies of rock are dated and interlinked with each other. Stratigraphic studies are mainly conducted to study sedimentary and volcanic layered rocks.

Petrology is the scientific study of rocks and considers the composition, texture, structure, occurrence, distribution, and origin of rocks regarding their physicochemical conditions and geologic processes. It is concerned with all three major types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. Petrology includes the subdisciplines of experimental petrology and petrography. Experimental petrology involves the laboratory synthesis of rocks to ascertain the physical and chemical conditions under which rock formation occurs. Petrography is the study of rocks in thin sections using a petrographic microscope (i.e., an instrument that employs polarized light that vibrates in a single plane). Petrography is primarily concerned with the systematic classification and precise description of rocks.

Department facilities

The Department of Geology has basic research and teaching laboratories and field equipment for the investigation of a variety of Earth materials and processes. These facilities support material preparation and instrumental analysis for primary issues such as geochemistry, petrology, mineralography, hydrogeology, environmental geology, geophysics, tectonics, fossil and stratigraphy and economic geology.