(Micro)palaeontology has proved of use in engineering geology, in the fields of site investigation and seismic hazard assessment (see below).

The living biota has also proved of use in environmental impact assessment (EIA) in civil engineering (see Section 9.1).

APPLICATIONS AND CASE STUDIES IN SITE INVESTIGATION

(Micro)palaeontology has proved of use in site investigation (Hart, in Jenkins, 1993; Jones, 1996; Hart, in Martin, 2000; Wright, 2001; Jones, 2006; author???s unpublished observations; see also Box 5.5 above). Case studies are given in 8.1.1???8.1.4 below. Three of the four case studies (8.1.1???8.1.3) involve Late Cretaceous chalk sections in southern England. As with the case studies in mineral exploitation (6.2.1???6.2.2 above), this reflects the peculiar problems faced in the detailed stratigraphic subdivision and correlation of macroscopically essentially featureless chalky lithotypes, especially the identification of lithological and engineering property changes associated with unconformities, faults and facies changes. Note in this context that calcareous nannofossil chalks have peculiar engineering properties, controlled primarily by their ???nannofabrics???. For example, some are peculiarly dense on account of the close packing of the subcubical calcareous nannofossil Micula.