Important Note for Candidates

In each of the following sections, the topics have been divided into two categories – Core Topics and Special Topics. The corresponding sections of the question paper will contain 90% of the questions on Core Topics and the remaining 10% on Special Topics.

Part-A: Common Section

Core Topics:

• Earth and planetary system – terrestrial planets and moons of the solar system; size, shape, internal structure and composition of the earth; concept of isostasy; elements of seismology – body and surface waves, propagation of body waves in the earth’s interior; Heat flow within the earth; Gravitational field of the Earth; geomagnetism and paleomagnetism; continental drift; plate tectonics – relationship with earthquakes, volcanism and mountain building; continental and oceanic crust – composition, structure and thickness.
• Weathering and soil formation; landforms created by river, wind, glacier, ocean and volcanoes.
• Basic structural geology - stress, strain and material response; brittle and ductile deformation; nomenclature and classification of folds and faults.
• Crystallography – basic crystal symmetry and concept of point groups. Mineralogy – silicate crystal structure and determinative mineralogy of common rock forming minerals.
• Petrology of common igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.
• Geological time scale; Geochronology and absolute time. Stratigraphic principles; major stratigraphic divisions of India.
• Mineral, coal and petroleum resources of India.
• Introduction to remote sensing.
• Engineering properties of rocks and soils.
• Elements of hydrogeology.
• Principles and applications of gravity, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, seismic and radiometric methods of prospecting for oil, mineral and ground water; introductory well logging.

Part-B (B1): Geology

Core Topics:

• Geomorphology: Geomorphic processes and agents; development and evolution of landforms in continental and oceanic settings; tectonic geomorphology.
• Structural Geology:Forces and mechanism of rock deformation; primary and secondary structures; geometry and genesis of planar and linear structures (bedding, cleavage, schistosity, lineation); folds, faults, joints and unconformities; Stereographic projection; shear zones, thrusts and superposed folding; basement-cover relationship. Interpretation of geological maps.
• Crystallography and Mineralogy: Elements of crystal symmetry, form and twinning; crystallographic projection; crystal chemistry; classification of minerals, physical and optical properties of rock- forming minerals.
• Geochemistry: Cosmic abundance of elements; meteorites; geochemical evolution of the earth; geochemical cycles; distribution of major, minor and trace elements in crust and mantle; elements of high temperature and low temperature geochemical thermodynamics; isotopic evolution of the crust and the mantle, mantle reservoirs; geochemistry of water and water-rock interaction.
• Igneous Petrology: Classification, forms, textures and genesis of common igneous rocks; magmatic differentiation; binary and ternary phase diagrams; major and trace elements as monitors of partial melting and magma evolutionary processes. Mantle plumes, hotspots and large igneous provinces.
• Sedimentology: Texture, structure and sedimentary processes; petrology of common sedimentary rocks; Sedimentary facies and environments, cyclicities in sedimentary succession; provencance and basin analysis. Important sedimentary basins of India.
• Metamorphic Petrology: Structures and textures of metamorphic rocks. Physico-chemical conditions of metamorphism and concept of metamorphic facies, grade and baric types; chemographic projections; metamorphism of pelitic, mafic and impure carbonate rocks; role of bulk composition including fluids in metamorphism; thermobarometry and metamorphic P-T-t paths, and their tectonic significance.
• Paleobiology: Diversity of life through time, mass extinctions- causes and effects; taphonomy - processes of fossilization. Taxonomy. Morphology and functional morphology of invertebrates (bivalves, brachiopods, gastropods, echinoids, ammonites); microfossils (foraminifera, ostracoda, conodonts, bryozoa); Vertebrate paleonology (Equus, Probicidea, Human); Paleobotany (plant, spores, pollens). Basic concepts of ecology/paleoecology; classification - ecological and taxonomic schemes (diversity and richness). Fossils and paleoenvironments.
• Resource Geology:: Diversity of life through time, mass extinctions- causes and effects; taphonomy - processes of fossilization. Taxonomy. Morphology and functional morphology of invertebrates (bivalves, brachiopods, gastropods, echinoids, ammonites); microfossils (foraminifera, ostracoda, conodonts, bryozoa); Vertebrate paleonology (Equus, Probicidea, Human); Paleobotany (plant, spores, pollens). Basic concepts of ecology/paleoecology; classification - ecological and taxonomic schemes (diversity and richness). Fossils and paleoenvironments.
• Global Tectonics: Plate motions, driving mechanisms, plate boundaries, supercontinent cycles.
• Applied Geology: Physico-mechanical properties of rocks and soils; rock index tests; Rock failure criteria (Mohr-Coulomb, Griffith and Hoek-Brown criteria); shear strength of rock discontinuities; rock mass classifications (RMR and Q Systems); in-situ stresses; rocks as construction materials; geological factors in the construction of engineering structures including dams, tunnels, and excavation sites. Analysis of slope stability. Natural hazards (landslide, volcanic, seismogenic, coastal) and mitigation. Principles of climate change.
• Hydrogeology: Groundwater flow and exploration, well hydraulics and water quality.
• Basic Principles of Remote Sensing: energy sources and radiation principles, atmospheric absorption, interaction of energy with earth’s surface, aerial-photo interpretation, multispectral remote sensing in visible, infrared, thermal IR and microwave regions, digital processing of satellite images. GIS – basic concepts, raster and vector mode operations.

Special Topics:

• Fossils and paleoenvironments.

Part-B (B2): Geophysics

Core Topics:

• Solid-Earth Geophysics: The earth as a planet; different motions of the earth; gravity field of the earth, Clairaut’s theorem, size and shape of earth; geomagnetic field, paleomagnetism; Geothermics and heat flow; seismology and interior of the earth; variation of density, velocity, pressure, temperature, electrical and magnetic properties of the earth.
• Geodesy: Gravitational Field of the Earth; Geoid; Ellipsoid; Geodetic Reference Systems; Datum; Everest (1830) and WGS 84 (1984) systems; GPS and DGPS; Levelling and Surveying.
• Earthquake Seismology: Elements of elasticity theory- stress and strain tensors, Generalized Hooke’s Law; Body and Surface Waves; Rotational, dilatational, irrotational and equivolumnal waves. Reflection and refraction of elastic waves.
• Potential and Time Varying Fields: Scalar and vector potential fields; Laplace, Maxwell and Helmholtz equations for solution of different types of boundary value problems in Cartesian, cylindrical and spherical polar coordinates.
• Gravity Methods: Absolute and relative gravity measurements; Gravimeters; Land, airborne, shipborne and bore-hole gravity surveys; Tensorial Gravity sensors and surveys.
• Magnetic Methods: Elements of Earth’s magnetic field, units of measurement, magnetic susceptibility of rocks and measurements, magnetometers and magnetic gradiometers.
• Electrical Methods: Conduction of electricity through rocks, electrical conductivities of metals, non-metals, rock forming minerals and different rocks.
• Electromagnetic Methods: Geo-electromagnetic spectrum; Biot Savart’s Law; Maxwell’s Equation, Helmotz Equation, Basic concept of EM induction in the earth.
• Seismic Methods: Elastic properties of earth materials; Reflection, refraction and CDP surveys; land and marine seismic sources, generation and propagation of elastic waves, velocity – depth models, geophones, hydrophones, digital recording systems.

Special Topics:

• Geophysical Well Logging: Principles and techniques of geophysical well-logging, SP, resistivity, induction, gamma ray, neutron, density, sonic, temperature, dip meter, caliper, nuclear magnetic resonance- longitudinal and transverse relaxation, CPMG sequence, porosity characterization.