EARTH SCIENCES: PRINCIPLES AND LABORATORY - 3

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) organized with 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.

Frontal lessons (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.

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.

Assessment strategy will be carried out through a written and oral examination.
Participation in the field trips and in practical classes of Modules 2 and 4 (at least 70%) is mandatory for admission to the final exam. Attendance will be taken every class period. In addition, it is also mandatory to deliver the topographic maps with measurements of the strata attitudes taken during the field trip.
Overall the exam of “Earth Sciences: Principles and Laboratory” consists of two written/practical examinations with a description and classification of minerals and rocks (Mod. 1-2) and evaluation of the geological and topographic map understanding and of the field activities (Mod. 3-4). If both written exams will be positively evaluated, the student will be admitted to the final oral exam.
Examinations of Modules 1-2-3-4 will concur to the final mark of the entire course of “Earth Sciences: Principles and Laboratory”.

The teaching is organized in frontal lessons and seminars. The lectures will be available in pdf format on the university Moodle platform.

Italian

written and oral