TETTONICA E SEDIMENTAZIONE

• Knowledge and comprehension of: past geological processes and their location in space and time; rock deformation; mechanisms of sedimentary basin formation;
• Abilities: to outline the geometry of geological bodies; to analyze sedimentary basins in their plate tectonic environment; to collect and analyze reliable surface and subsurface geological data; to interpret collected data.

The course will consist of lectures, active and cooperative lectures, practical work and exercises, work in small groups, field excursions, individual or small group research on defined topics, seminars, essays on selected topics. This will enhance knowledge and comprehension of course contents and acquisition of abilities.

Plate tectonics. Makeup of the Earth: compositional division, rheological division. Basins in their plate tectonic environment. Classification schemes of sedimentary basins. The mechanics of sedimentary basin formation. Basins due to lithospheric stretching: pure shear, simple shear. Basins due to flexure. Isostasy. The dynamics of orogenic wedges. Foreland basins. Basins associated with strike-slip deformation. Tectonic control on sedimentation. Basin stratigraphy. Relative sea level change and accommodation. Driving mechanisms for stratigraphic patterns. Sequence stratigraphy and seismic stratigraphy. Seismic interpretation concepts. Basin analysis. Subsidence and thermal history. Application to petroleum play concepts.

Laboratory

The use of bathymetric maps and Google Earth to understand and classify sedimentary basins. Exercises on isostasy principle. Seismic stratigraphy: construction of chronostratigraphic charts. Exercises on geohistory and backstripping of sedimentary basins. Introduction to the interpretation of seismic profiles.

1. Allen, P.A. & Allen J.R., 2005 2edition. Basin analysis, Principles and Applications. Publ., Blackwell Scientific Publications.

2. Bally, A.W., Catalano R., Oldow J., 1985. Elementi di tettonica regionale. Evoluzione dei Bacini sedimentari e delle Catene montuose. Pitagora Editrice