GEOMORPHOLOGY
cod. 05830

Academic year 2009/10
3° year of course - Second semester
Professor
Academic discipline
Geografia fisica e geomorfologia (GEO/04)
Field
Discipline della scienza della terra
Type of training activity
Characterising
24 hours
of face-to-face activities
3 credits
hub:
course unit
in - - -

Learning objectives

<br /><br />Knowledges of the structural character of the geologic substratum and of the landforms caused by endogenic and exogenic processes responsibles for environmental sculpting and geomorphological evolution in short and long time. Knowledges on relationship from physical environment, climate changes, time and morphologic evolution.

Prerequisites

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Course unit content

<br /> *Part I             3 CFU<br /> <br />Introduction:short account on aims, methods and questions in geomorphology. <br />Weathering and associated landforms. Short account on soil formation. Palaeosols and their significance. <br />Structural landforms and their morphologic evolution. Planation surfaces, exumation processes; Giura, Sub-alpine and Appalachian chains evolution. Morphoneotectonics and related landforms; relationship from hydrography. <br />Slope processes and landforms. Rain wash processes and landforms; mass movements: causes and types.Valley slope modifications related to landslide events.<br />Fluvial geomorphology: short account on hydrodynamics; erosional, transport and sedimentation processes, bed geomorphology and bed landforms evolution; graded fluvial profile. Fluvial terraces: origin and evolution.<br />Glacial and periglacial morphology (alpine and high latitude environments). Plio-quaternary climatic changes and glaciations; basic background on ice formation and glaciers type and glaciers classification; erosional and depositional glacial landforms. Mountain permafrost and small periglacial landforms and processes; nivation processes and landforms. Inlandsis glacial landforms; varves and their significance; disintegration landforms; glacial isostasy. Generali conditions and landforms of the peripolar permafrost. Permafrost degradation:  thermocarst,  gelifluction. <br />Coastal morphology<br />Basic background on marine currents, wind, tides, waves energy ecc.. Causes of the variations insea level and coastal morphology. Longshore and offshore transport of sediment. Erosional and depositional coastal landforms; marine terraces. Morphologic coastal classification.<br /> <br />* Part II         3 CFU<br /> <br />Karst geomorphology <br />Solubles rocks. Solution and precipitation processes.Short account on karst hydrology. Minor and major superficial karst landforms. Underground speleothemes.Climate and karst morphology.<br />Volcanic geomophology<br />Generality on lava characteristics and volcan types. Basic and acid lava macroforms. Character of piroclastic deposits. Erosionaland depositional processes in the geomorphologic evolution of the volcan form. Environmental modification connected to lava flow.<br />Eolian morphology<br />Arid and semi-arid zones: wind activity and processes. Deflation and depositional eolianlandforms: dune types and loess. <br />Hydrographic network and geomorphologic problems<br />Introduction. Network organization and structural bedrock conditions. Channel hierachy. Avulsion and stream piracy.Superimposition and antecedence; Epigenetic valley. Relationship between volcanic, non-volcanic landforms and hydrography. Neotectonics and hydrography.Lakes origin and their evolution. <br />Longtime evolution  of the landscape.<br />Slope forms. Geographic cycle of Davis and landscape evolution; theories and formation of pediplains, pediments, ecthplains, ecc. <br />Extra-terrestrial morphology: impact crater by meteorites. <br />Characters, methods of study and general problems of the geomorphologic researces. <br /> <br />* Field escursions                             1 CFU

Full programme

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Bibliography

<br />Bartolini C. - 'I fattori geologici delle forme del terreno', Pitagora, Bologna, 1992.<br />Bland W. & Rolls D. -¿Weathering- a introduction to the scientific principles¿ Arnold Ed., Londra, 1998.<br />Castiglioni G.B. - 'Geomorfologia',UTET, Torino, 1991.<br /><br />Marchetti M.- ¿Geomorfologia fluviale¿, Pitagora Ed., Bologna, 2000.<br />Ollier C. -'Vulcani -attività, geografia, morfologia', Zanichelli Ed., Bologna, 1990.<br />Panizza M. -'Geomorfologia', Pitagora Ed.,Bologna, 1992.<br /><br />Summerfield M.A - ¿Global geomorphology¿, Longman, Essex, 1991.<br />Turner A.K. and Schuster R.L. (Eds.) ¿ ¿LANDSLIDES: investigation and mitigation¿, TRB special report 247, Nat.Acad.Press, Washington D.C., 1996.<br /><br />

Teaching methods

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Assessment methods and criteria

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Other information

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