EARTH SCIENCES: PRINCIPLES AND LABORATORY - 4

This course aims to provide the basic knowledge on the earth internal structure, on the geological processes acting in the terrestrial crust, in particular to those at the surface, on the geological and physical characteristics of the territory with an emphasis on the areal distribution of the different rock types. This course is tightly linked to the Module 1-2. The theoretical course (MOD 3) is integrated with practical activities (MOD 4), like individual and group exercises in classroom, laboratory and in the field. The offered experiences allow the students to verify and apply the knowledge acquired in the theoretical part of the course.
These knowledges allow the student to acquire the necessary expertise: i) to recognize the different rock types and their spatial distribution; ii) to recognize the orientation (strike and dip) of a rock bed; iii) to make a preliminary reading and interpretation of a geological map.

The attendance and active participation to the course (frontal lectures, laboratory lessons, field excursions and thematic seminars) and the individual study will allow the student to acquire the knowledges about: i) surface and deep geological processes; ii) the different lithologies and their positions in the area; iii) le stratigraphic sequences of the area and their paleogeographic meaning; iv) the main orogenic processes in the alpine area.
This learning acquisition will allow the student to strengthen his expertise on: i) recognizing the surface rocks and their depositional environments; ii) critical reading of a geological map; iii) using these knowledges for a preliminary analysis of the natural resources and territorial vulnerability.

It is recommended to have attended the module 1 (theoretical lessons) and 2 (practical exercises in laboratory/classroom) of Fundamentals of Earth Sciences course.

MOD 3: The inner earth structure. Basics of seismology. Plate tectonics. The paleomagnetism. Divergent and convergent plate boundaries. Intrusive and extrusive igneous landforms. Volcanism. Meteoric degradation. Erosion, transport and sedimentation. Depositional environments. Stratigraphic geology. The chronostratigraphic chart. Folds and faults. Orogenesis and Italian Geology. Paleoclimatology.

MOD4: Reading and interpretation of topographic maps. Basics of digital mapping. Geological compass. The orientation (strike and dip) of a rock bed. Reading and interpretation of geological maps. Field excursion on Dolomites.

Mandatory text book:
Press F., Siever R., Grotzinger J., Jordan T.H., Capire la Terra, seconda edizione italiana a cura di Lupia Palmieri E. e Parotto M., Zanichelli, Bologna, 2006.

Optional text book:
Butler B. C., Bell J.D., Lettura e interpretazione delle carte geologiche, Zanichelli, Bologna, 1991.

The learning will be verified through oral and written examinations.
The admission to the exam is conditioned by having participated in the field excursions and laboratory exercises (70%) and having delivered the topographic maps with geological information.
The exam of the modules 3-4 is integrated with the one of modules 1-2 (only one mark). Overall the exam of Fundamentals of Earth Sciences and Laboratory consists in two written/practical examinations with a description and classification of minerals and rocks (mod. 1-2) and a geological map analysis (mod. 3-4). If the results of the written exams are positive, the student will be admitted to the final oral exam.

The teaching is organized in frontal lessons, practical exercises in laboratory/classroom and in the field. It is compulsory the participation in the field excursions and the attendance at the laboratory exercises for a minimum of 70%.
The frontal lessons and supplementary materials on practical exercises and field excursions will be available in pdf on the university Moodle platform.

written and oral