Geology I

You will be able to:

• Describe the first order structure and functioning of the Earth. This includes basic knowledge of i) elements, minerals and rocks, ii) of the internal structure of the Earth with particular attention to the lithosphere and the crust, and iii) of plate tectonics.
• Describe the main characteristics of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks and will have an understanding of how these rocks were formed.
• Describe kinematics and basic physics of vertical movements (subsidence creating sedimentary basins and uplift creating relief) and horizontal deformations at lithospheric to thin section scale. They will be able to quantify simple relations between relief and crustal structure. They will be able to extract deformation scenarios from simple geological documents such as geological and seismic sections.
• Describe exogene processes and their impact on the sedimentary record. Processes include climate, terrestrial water flow and oceanography.
• Describe the main sedimentary environments and their evolution through time. Students will also be able to infer such evolutionary schemes from simple geological records such as stratigraphic columns and use them for simple paleogeographic reconstructions
• Define and recognize the most important rock-forming minerals.
• Recognize minerals and the way they are assembled (thin section and sample).
• Interpret geologic maps, geologic sections and other basic documents such as seismic section to infer the 3D architecture of the area/volume of investigation
• Use the techniques mentioned above to constrain larger scale processes and make predictions for spatially and temporally unknown parts of the Earth system (mainly Earth upper crust).