Geology is the study of the Earth?s structure and composition. Geologists use the knowledge of various disciplines of geosciences to locate groundwater, oil, minerals, and other natural resources. Geologist plays the vital role in study, preservation and cleaning up of the environment along with conservation of resources. The study of geology incorporates many areas such as mineralogy ( its composition, location and origin); palaeontology (study of fossils); structural geology (study of forces working on the earth?s crust) and geomorphology (the study of the formation of the earth?s crust with its various land forms). It includes geochemistry, geophysics, sedimentation, economic geology, and engineering geology as well as historical geology which relates to the study of relationship of layered rocks while palaeontology is the study of fossils. Nature of Work: The work of Geologist is to supervise exploration work at a variety of sites- deserts, land forms, ocean floors, riverbeds, mountains etc. They identify rocks, minerals, and fossils, conduct geological surveys, construct maps and use instruments such as the gravimeter and magnetometer to measure the earth?s gravity and magnetic field. A very important application of geological research is the location of oil, natural gas and minerals. Geologists in the government departments also monitor waste disposal sites and water supplies. Specialization: Geologists and geophysicists are specialists in any of these following areas: ? Marine geologists: They study the ocean floor through remote sensing devices aboard ships or sometimes from underwater research vessels. ? Petroleum geologists: Petroleum geologists conduct exploratory tests for locating natural gas and oil deposits both onshore and offshore. They have to estimate the oil reserves and work with petroleum exploration engineers for identifying the appropriate technology for production. ? Mineralogists: Mineralogists analyze and classify minerals and precious stones in rocks and mineral deposits through chemical and physical analysis. ? Geohydrologist: They locate, assess and analyze the sources of water, identify threats to water pollution, provide advice for the siting and construction of reservoirs. ? Paleontologists: Paleontologists study fossils found in geological formations to trace the evolution of plant and animal life and estimate their age. ? Seismologists: Seismologists interpret data from seismographs and other instruments which measure small movements of the earth to locate earthquakes and earthquake faults. ? Geochronologists: Geochronologists are geoscientists who use radioactive dating and other techniques to estimate the age of rock. Employment Avenues Research geologists work as research associates with institutions like the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research( CSIR) and the department of Science and Technology.