| Topic |
Sub-topic |
| Topic 0. Presentation of the subject |
0.1. Aims of the course;
0.2. List of lectures and topics addressed by the course;
0.3. List of Laboratory seminars and practical;
0.4. Fieldwork;
0.5. Tests;
0.6. Tutorials;
0.7. Assessment;
0.8. Etiquette. |
| Topic 1. Basic concepts |
1.1. Sediments and sedimentary rocks and their relevance to other disciplines;
1.2. The geological cycling of sediments and rocks;
1.3. Sediment source, routing, and sink;
1.4. Sediment residence time;
1.5. Interplay between tectonics, climate, biology, geochemistry, and the formation and deposition of sediments.
|
| Topic 2. Methods |
2.1. Overview of the methods used to collect sediment samples and investigate the formation, erosion, transport, deposition, and diagenesis of sediments in the marine realm and their lithification into sedimentary rocks;
2.2. Sampling campaigns: strategy and planning;
2.3. Characterization of sediments based on: (i) physical; (ii) chemical; and (iii) other properties;
2.4. Examples and case studies. |
| Topic 3. Rock weathering and the transport of solid and solute load into the ocean |
3.1. Water-rock interaction: chemical and physical breakdown of rocks at the Earth's surface;
3.2. Mechanisms, rates, and extent of weathering and its interactions with climate and tectonics;
3.3. Weathering products and the transport of solid and solute load into the ocean;
3.4. Impacts of weathering on ocean chemistry. |
| Topic 4. Siliciclastic sediments I: general fluid flow characteristics |
4.1. Transport environments;
4.2. Physical properties of fluids;
4.3. Relevant concepts of fluid dynamics, such as the laminar and turbulent flows, the boundary layer, and the bottom effects;
4.4. Types of flow: (i) unidirectional; (ii) oscillatory; (iii) gravitational; and (iv) liquefied. |
| Topic 5. Siliciclastic sediments II: sediment transport and bedforms |
5.1. Forces acting on a sediment particle: the Bernoulli effect;
5.2. Sedimentologically significant types of flows: the Reynolds Number;
5.3. Entrainment and transport: shear stress; boundary layer; and viscous sublayer;
5.4. Deposition: the Stokes’ law. Transport modes: the Hjülstrom's and Shields' curves;
5.5. Bedforms under unidirectional flows: (i) terminology; (ii) sequence of formation; and (iii) stability;
5.6. Cross-stratification: (i) types; (ii) bedforms under oscillatory flows; (iii) stability; and (iv) relationships with the flow regime;
5.7. Other bedforms. |
| Topic 6. Siliciclastic sediments III: description and classification |
6.1. Description: texture and structure;
6.2. Classification according to the grain size;
6.3. Shape;
6.4. Origin and composition;
6.5. Classification according to the sediment composition;
6.6. Concepts of textural and compositional maturity;
6.7. Diagenesis of siliciclastic sediments and lithification into siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. |
| Topic 7. Siliciclastic sediments IV: grain-size distribution and fabric of siliciclastic sediments |
7.1. Grain-size analysis and statistics: theory and practical examples;
7.2. Fabric and texture;
7.3. Porosity and permeability;
7.4. Structures nonrelated to flows: biological; postsedmentaries; diagenetic;
7.5. Bedform interpretation: temporal and spatial scales of the siliciclastic sedimentary processes. |
| Topic 8. Chemical and biochemical sediments I: ocean chemistry and (bio)chemical sedimentation |
8.1. Processes that control ocean chemistry and its evolution through time;
8.2. Relationship between (bio)chemical sediments, climate, and weathering;
8.3. Ocean carbonate chemistry: carbonate species and carbonate precipitation in seawater;
8.4. Carbonate minerals;
8.5. Carbonate saturation, lysocline, and carbonate compensation depth and their evolution through time in connection with weathering and sea-level changes.
|
| Topic 9. Chemical and biochemical sediments II: description and classification of carbonate sediments |
9.1. Allochemical carbonate constituents;
9.2. Orthochemical carbonate constituents;
9.3. Classification of carbonate sediments and rocks and their sedimentary environments;
9.4. Diagenesis of carbonate sediments and lithification into carbonate rocks. |
| Topic 10. Chemical and biochemical sediments III: carbonate sedimentary environments |
10.1. Carbonate production and factory;
10.2. Depositional systems: from shallow water settings to the deep ocean;
10.3. Physical processes that control carbonate production and facies distribution in the ocean;
10.4. Chemical processes that control carbonate production and facies distribution in the ocean;
10.5. Case studies from modern environments.
|
| Topic 11. Chemical and biochemical sediments IV: siliceous, evaporitic, and other (bio)chemical sediments |
11.1. Siliceous sediments;
11.2. Evaporitic sediments;
11.3. Other (bio)chemical sediments.
|
| Topic 12. Sediment accumulation through space and time |
12.1. The contribution of siliciclastic, carbonate, and other sediments to the sedimentary record and their relationship with the various oceanic, climatic, and tectonic settings;
12.2. How sediments fill a basin: basic concepts of sequence stratigraphy;
12.3. How sediment bodies are defined: basic concepts of sedimentary facies and facies types. |
| Seminars |
Seminar 1: Grain-size determination and statistics;
Seminar 2: Sediment transport processes in a sedimentation channel;
Seminar 3: Quantitative analysis of carbonate sedimentation in the ocean.
|
| Laboratory practical |
Optical sedimentary petrology. |
| Fieldwork |
Fieldtrip 1. Southern Margin of the Ría of Vigo;
Fieldtrip 2. Galician beaches of Montalvo and Pociñas.
|
