GEOLOGY (GG)
The Planet Earth: Origin of the Solar System and the Earth; Geosphere and the composition of
the Earth; Shape and size of the Earth; Earth-Moon system; Dating rocks and age of the Earth;
Volcanism and volcanic landforms; Interior of the Earth; Earthquakes; Earth’s magnetism and
gravity, Isostasy; Basic elements of Plate Tectonics; Orogenic cycles.
Geomorphology: Weathering and erosion; Soil formation; Transportation and deposition by
wind, ice, river, sea and resulting landforms.
Structural Geology: Orientation of planes and lines in space – concept of dip, strike, rake and
JAM 2024
plunge. Contour lines; Rule of ‘V’s and outcrop patterns; Interpretation of geological maps and
cross-section construction; Classification and origin of folds, faults, joints, unconformities,
foliations and lineations; Stereographic and equal-area projections of planes and lines; Numerical
problems related to outcrop and bore-hole data.
Paleontology: Major steps in the evolution of life forms; Fossils, their mode of preservation and
utility in age determination and paleoenvironmental interpretations; Morphology, major
evolutionary trends and ages of important groups of animals – Brachiopoda, Mollusca, Trilobita,
Graptolitoidea, Anthozoa, Echinodermata; Gondwana plant fossils; Elementary idea of vertebrate
fossils in India.
Stratigraphy: Principles of stratigraphy; Litho-, Chrono- and biostratigraphic classification;
Stratigraphic correlation techniques; Archaean cratons of Peninsular India (Dharwar, Singhbhum
and Aravalli); Proterozoic mobile belts; Stratigraphy of Cuddapah and Vindhyan basins;
Stratigraphy of Paleozoic – Mesozoic of Spiti and Kashmir, Gondwana Supergroup, Jurassic of
Kutch, Cretaceous of Trichinopoly, Tertiary and Quaternary sequences of Assam, Bengal and
Siwaliks.
Mineralogy: Symmetry and forms in common crystal classes; Physical properties of minerals;
Isomorphism, polymorphism, solid solution and exsolution; Classification of minerals; Structure of
silicates; Mineralogy of common rock-forming minerals; Elements of Optical Mineralogy, Optical
properties of common rock-forming minerals.
Petrology: Definition and classification of rocks; Igneous rocks – forms of igneous bodies;
Processes of evolution and diversification of magma; Classification, association, and genesis of
common igneous rocks. Sedimentary rocks – classification, texture, and structure; Petrology of
sandstone and limestone; Elements of sedimentary environments and facies. Metamorphic rocks
– classification and texture; Types of metamorphism; Controls on metamorphism – pressure,
GEOLOGY
temperature and fluids; Concept of projections – ACF, AKF and AFM diagrams; Phase Rule and
its applications; Concepts of zones and facies, Characteristic mineral assemblages of pelites in
the Barrovian zones and mafic rocks in common facies.
Economic Geology: Physical properties of common economic minerals; General processes of
formation of mineral deposits; Mode of occurrence and distribution of metallic and non-metallic
mineral deposits in India; Fundamentals of reserve calculation; Elements of coal and hydrocarbon
geology, Coal and hydrocarbon occurrences in India.
Applied Geology: Groundwater and hydrological cycle, Types of aquifers, porosity and
permeability; Principles of engineering geology; Geological considerations in construction of dams
and tunnels.
