What is geophysics versus geology?
Geology is the scientific study of the Earth’s structure (physical, chemical and biological) and evolution over time while Geophysics is a branch of Geology that studies the physical properties of the Earth and its environment (lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere) using quantitative physical methods.
Geology and geophysics cover a wide range of discipline such as oceanography, meteorology, seismology, volcanology, geomagnetism, and electromagnetism.
How is it important to us?
Geology and geophysics both play an important role in hydrocarbon exploration.
The most common techniques used by petroleum geologists to detect fossil fuels are: seismic reflection (to map the subsurface), well logging (to provide measurement about the fluid volume and properties), and stratigraphic tests.
Geophysical methods of exploration comprise: gravimetric surveys, magnetic surveys, seismic surveys, remote sensing (to detect hydrocarbon microseepages) and magnetotellurics (to detect resistivity changes in subsurface structure).
