Geological sciences concern the Earth s entire physical makeup and the history of the physical and biological events that occurred within and upon it over the past four and a half billion years. Geological scientists are curious about the whole Earth, from its ancient past to its present and future. Mineralogists study the formation, composition, structure, and properties of minerals. Petrologists determine the mode of origin of rocks by analyzing the relationships of their minerals.
Structural geologists study the deformations of the Earth s crust.
Sedimentologists study the formation of sediments and its transportation, deposition, and conversion into solid rock. Geophysicists chart the changing positions of continents, study the near surface and deep structure of the Earth, and measure its electrical, gravitational, and magnetic fields. Geochronologists determine the age of rocks from precise measurements of the proportions of stable decay products from natural radioactive elements. Geochemists investigate the distribution of natural chemical elements in minerals and rocks. Aqueous geochemists study the distribution of chemical elements in surface and subsurface water.