Sedimentology is a building block of Marine Geology. Studying this subject is essential to: (i) achieve a comprehensive understanding of how the marine (sedimentary) basins operate and evolve through time; and (ii) unravel the complex interactions between the sediments and the climatic and/or tectonic processes that contribute to shape the Earth's surface. Sedimentology pertains to the study of the marine sediments and of the processes that govern their formation, such as erosion, transport, deposition, and diagenesis.
The course contributes essential insights into the methods and analytical technics that are most commonly used in the study and recognition of the different types of sediments and sedimentary rocks. These are key for the analysis of the sedimentary facies and sequences, for their paleoenvironmental interpretation (e.g., palaeoclimatology, palaeoceanography), and for deciphering the sedimentary record and help the prospection and exploration of natural resources (e.g., petroleum, ore deposits).
The course also sheds light on the importance of the marine sediments and on their relationship with the physical, chemical, biological, and hydrodynamic processes that shape the Earth's surface and control the dynamics of the ocean basins on a range of timescales. It is therefore essential to identify those processes that arise from anthropogenic activity versus those that exclusively reflect natural processes.
Through the knowledge of the sedimentary record, the sedimentology course contributes critical knowledge of the past processes, ongoing evolution, and expected future trends of the marine environment due to changes in the natural and/or anthropogenic forcing. This is central to the understanding and management of the environment that surrounds us, such as the marine and coastal environments that are targeted by the courses of the following semester, as well as the Geological Oceanography I and II of the following year. This basic knowledge will be then expanded and applied in the optative course 'Basin Analysis' that students can choose in the following year.
English Friendly subject: International students may request from the teachers:
a) resources and bibliographic references in English, b) tutoring sessions in English, c)
exams and assessments in English.
