510437 - GEOLOGY OF THE SEDIMENTARY AND LABORATORY

courses

ID:

510437

Duration (hours):

130

CFU:

SSD:

GEOLOGIA STRATIGRAFICA E SEDIMENTOLOGICA

Year:

2025

Date/time interval

Secondo Semestre (02/03/2026 - 12/06/2026)

Course Objectives

The course aims to teach how to describe, classify and interpret sedimentary rocks in term of genetic processes and environments. In addition it aims to teach basic concepts about sediment textures, production, transport and sedimentation, main tract of depositional facies linked to different depositional environments. To know the basic principles of stratigraphy and the stratigraphic units. To learn the concept of unconformities and the topics of dating rocks (relative and absolute) and the correlation principles.

Course Prerequisites

The students should know the basic geologic principles as those taught during the course Introduction to Geology and Mineralogy. In particular: the characteristic of main rock types, the meaning and significance of fossils as chronologic indicators, the processes of formation and deposition of the sedimentary rocks, both terrigenous and carbonaceous.

Teaching Methods

The course is made by lectures, laboratory work and field work. Lectures will be held in classroom through pps presentations, while laboratory work includes: -descriptions of several rock samples (terrigenous, carbonaceous/organogeous and chemical), with the aid of particle size comparator, HCl acid and hand lens; -description of carbonatic rock thin sections under the optical polarized microscope, aiming to describe texture, allochems and fossils and recostruct the depositional environment; -the drawing of a detailed stratigraphic logs, exercises of correlation among different sections and exercises of reconstruct the temporal sequence of geological events. The days in the field will be devoted to analyse stratigraphy and sedimentology/paleoenvironments of sedimentary successions in the late Paleozoic-mesozoic of the Southern Alps and in the Cenozoic of the Apennines

Assessment Methods

The course ends with a practical examination devoted to analyze and classify a thin section under the optical microscope, and an oral examination on the theoretical lessons, starting with the analysis of a rock sample and its interpretation in term of depositional environment. The geologic time scale is another fundamental topic to ascertain during the exam.

Texts

Nichols G. (1999) – Sedimentology and stratigraphy. Blackwell, 355 pp. Tucker M. (2010) - Geologia del sedimentario. Rocce, strutture sedimentarie, ambienti deposizionali. Dario Flaccovio ed. 366 pp Slides used for lectures are available online on KIRO and also (on request) videolessons. On Kiro is also posted the International Stratigraphic Chart updated (2023) (to print an carry during the lessons) -other files on sedimentary petrography and links to main stratigraphic sites.

The whole course is structured as follow (12 CFU). Meso-microscopic analysis and classification of sedimentary rocks. Terrigenous, Carbonatic and chemical ones. Their origins and fomation. Sediment transport and sedimenatry structures. The facies and their analysis. Basic concepts on types of strata the laws of stratigraphy. Unconformities, origin and types. Litho-bio- chrono-magneto-stratigraphy, and basic concepts of other stratigraphic approaches. Stratigraphic unconformities. The concept of Time in stratigraphy. The use of fossils in stratigraphy. Concepts of sedimentary environments. Continental environments: fluvial, eolian, lacurstine, periglacial. Transitional environments. Shallow and deep marine. The course comprises many practical lessons and exercises. - recognition of different types of rocks under the microspocoe. Exercises of logging and drawing stratigraphic columns; - Exercises on correlation. and temporal successsion of events. A field camp of 5 days would led to observe various types of sedimentary rocks, their geometries and environments of deposition. During the camp students will learn how to make simple field-surveys, measure stratigraphic logs and measures of dip and dip-directions.