| CODE | GSC2100 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Geology 2 – Structural Geology, Sedimentology and Stratigraphy | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Geosciences | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Sedimentology is the study of the processes of formation, transport and deposition of material that accumulates as sediment in continental and marine environments and eventually forms sedimentary rocks. Stratigraphy is the study of rocks to determine the order and timing of events in Earth history: it provides the time frame that allows us to interpret sedimentary rocks in terms of dynamic evolving environments. Given that more than 70% of the exposed rocks on the Earth's surface are sedimentary, the ability to interpret them plays a key role in the abilities of a geologist. Understanding sedimentology and stratigraphy is important because: (i) sedimentary rocks host most of the world’s petroleum, natural gas, and groundwater resources; (ii) sedimentary rocks illuminate many of the details of Earth's history: effects of sea level change, global climate, tectonic processes, and geochemical cycles are all recorded in the sedimentary strata of the earth. Structural geology is the study of the three dimensional distribution of large bodies of rock, their surfaces, and composition to try and learn about their tectonic history, past geological environments and events that could have changed or deformed them. Structural geology plays a fundamental role in the exploration of hydrocarbons and natural ore bodies, engineering geology, geotechnical risk, groundwater dynamics, and understanding the global and local signatures of plate tectonics. This study-unit will cover the key concepts of sedimentology, stratigraphy and structural geology, as well as provide training in modern fieldwork and laboratory techniques used to extract and interpret sedimentological, stratigraphic and structural information. The study-unit will cover the following topics: Structural geology • Stress and strain in rocks • Fracture and brittle deformation • Rheology • Folds • Faults • Extensional, contractional and strike-slip regimes • Salt tectonics Sedimentology and stratigraphy • Terrigeneous clastic sediments • Biogenic, chemical and volcanogenic sediments • Carbonates • Processes of transport and sedimentary structures • Continental sedimentary environments (rivers, glacial, aeolian, lakes) • Marine sedimentary environments (deltas, coasts, estuaries, shallow seas, carbonate & evaporites, deep sea) • Post-depositional structures • Concepts of stratigraphy • Sequence stratigraphy and sea-level changes • Biostratigraphy and palaeontology Through fieldwork and laboratory exercises, the second part of the study-unit will focus on the following techniques: • Field skills: geological mapping, sediment sampling, process rate measurement, UAVs; • Laboratory skills: digital mapping, core logging (visual and multi-sensor), sediment size analysis, optical microscopy, material properties. Study-unit Aims: • To provide a solid grounding in the core principles and concepts of structural geology, sedimentology and stratigraphy; • To equip students with the necessary skills to acquire, process, analyse and interpret structural, sedimentological and stratigraphic data in the field and the laboratory. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • demonstrate an understanding of the significant geometric features of folds and faults; • describe how field scale structural elements combine in large scale compressional, extensional, and strike slip tectonic settings; • demonstrate an introductory knowledge of stress, strain and rock deformation processes; • list the controls governing the nature, origin and distribution of sedimentary rocks; • demonstrate an awareness of sediment provenance based on composition and texture; • demonstrate an understanding of fluid dynamics and apply this knowledge to the formation of bedforms and sedimentary structures; • describe the diagenetic changes that take place in sedimentary basins; • use basic palaeontological vocabulary for the description, identification, classification and interpretation of common fossils; • describe how the fossil record defines the subdivision of geological time; • compare and contrast the distribution of fossil taxa in space and time; • demonstrate and ability to interpret the fundamental controls on stratal geometry, facies and facies stacking patterns in terms of changing tectonic, climatic and biological processes. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • describe the major primary and secondary sedimentary structures in the rock record; • demonstrate proficiency in operating a wide range of field and laboratory instruments to describe and analyse sedimentary structures; • demonstrate an ability to compile a concise account of the structural history of an area using field and map-based information; • use correct terminology and techniques to identify and describe the fundamental attributes of sediments and classify sedimentary rocks according to a variety of published classification schemes. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Leeder, M.R. (2011) Sedimentology and Sedimentary Basins. - Boggs, S. (2011) Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. Fifth Edition. Pearson New International Edition. - Nichols, G. (2009) Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. - Fossen, H (2010) Structural Geology. Second Edition. University of Bergen. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite qualifications: Background in environmental sciences, geography, physics, or engineering Pre-Requisite Study-units: GSC1100, GSC1400 |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Practical and Fieldwork | ||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Emanuele Colica Sebastiano D'Amico Ray Zammit |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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