A branch of civil engineering called geotechnical engineering studies how earth materials behave under engineering conditions. Three phases of soil and rock—the solid phase of the soil or rock, the phase of water, and the phase of air—are the focus of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering. To characterize the subsurface environment's physical and mechanical qualities and evaluate, design, and build earthworks and substructures, geotechnical engineering investigates the subsurface environment using the concepts of soil and rock mechanics. Geoenvironmental engineering deals with interactions between earth components (soil and rocks) and a fourth phase, such as chemicals. It overlaps geotechnical and environmental engineering subjects—geoenvironmental engineering worries about this new phase's fate, transport, and treatment. To characterize the subsurface environment's physical, mechanical, chemical, and biological properties and to analyze, design, and build substructures like landfills and contaminant-containment facilities as well as soil and groundwater remediation, geoenvironmental engineering investigates the subsurface environment using similar principles.

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