Some of the world’s best detectives are the people who study the earth. They are called geologists.
Geologists help us learn about the earth’s resources and how to care for them. They tell us how to preserve these resources and to use them properly when we must. Some geologists study where to build homes, bridges, and dams safely. These scientists also work to protect people from earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters.
Geologists may be found chipping rocks on a mountainside or drilling on the ocean floor. Sometimes geologists work indoors. They X-ray rock samples, do research and tests on computers, or make maps of places they want to explore.
Geologists may travel all over the world. They search mountains, swamps, deserts, and the bottom of the ocean, so that we can learn more about the earth. They may tramp through rain forests, go underground into mines, or climb around an icy glacier.
Geologists and many other kinds of scientists uncover the secrets of the earth in different ways. Sometimes such scientists are called earth scientists.
Environmental geologists work to solve problems of pollution. They search for the best ways to get rid of hazardous waste – materials that are dangerous to our health.
Meteorologists study the weather and the air that surrounds the earth. They predict weather conditions.
Mining geologists study the earth’s rocks and ways to remove them.
Mineralogists identify and study the 3, 000 or so kinds of minerals found on the earth.
Petroleum geologists search for oil and natural gas on land and beneath the ocean floor.
Seismologists study the motion of the earth. They watch for earthquakes. Most earthquakes occur underwater.
Geochemists study the chemicals in the earth’s crust, its waters, and its atmosphere and why they are there.
Palaeontologists study fossils of animals and plants to learn about the earth’s past.
There are many kinds of earth scientists, but they have one thing in common. They all enjoy studying the earth and want to uncover its secrets.
Picture Credit : Google