Geologier

Geologier, the plural form of geology in some Scandinavian languages, refer to the science that studies the Earth, its materials, structure, and history, and the processes that shape it. The field covers rocks and minerals, the Earth's interior and surface, and the timing of events across geological time scales—from moments to billions of years.

Subdisciplines include mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, sedimentology, stratigraphy, structural geology, geomorphology, paleontology, and hydrology (hydrogeology). Geologier employ field mapping, sampling, petrographic analysis, radiometric dating, seismic and magnetic surveys, remote sensing, and geographic information systems to interpret Earth's history and present-day processes.

Historically, modern geology emerged from natural philosophy and gained coherence with uniformitarian ideas; the plate tectonics revolution in the mid-20th century unified many observations about the Earth's crust. Applications of geologier include locating and managing natural resources, assessing geological hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and volcanism, guiding groundwater and environmental management, and contributing to climate science through reconstruction of past climates and environments.

Practically, geologists work in universities, research institutes, government agencies, utilities, mining, and consulting firms. Fieldwork, laboratory analysis, and computational modeling are central, with increasing emphasis on data sharing, open repositories, and interdisciplinary collaboration with other Earth-system sciences.