Sedimentary successions and their natural resources for the energy transition

A.A. 2024/2025
8
Crediti massimi
64
Ore totali
SSD
GEO/02
Lingua
Inglese
Obiettivi formativi
Deepening the concepts of sedimentary basins, types of sediments and sedimentary rocks, where they form, and which are the factors controlling their origin and evolution.
Introducing concepts of stratigraphy and chronostratigraphy to correlate sedimentary successions.
Providing the knowledge about the variations of Earth climate in the geological record and the understanding of the sedimentary and geochemical proxies recording environmental, oceanographic and climate changes of the past.
Introducing the tools to investigate the sedimentary rock geometries and physical properties in sub-surface exploration.
Presenting the different types of fluid resources exploitable from (or storable in) sedimentary successions. Discussing their origin, occurrence, environmental impacts and possible remediations.
Risultati apprendimento attesi
At the end of the course the students will have acquired the background knowledge on sedimentary rock successions (sedimentology, stratigraphy, chronostratigraphy) needed to assess: 1) depositional environments and climates of the past; 2) physical properties of sedimentary rocks via direct and indirect methods; 3) their economically valuable resources and their storage potential to mitigate global warming.
Corso singolo

Questo insegnamento può essere seguito come corso singolo.

Programma e organizzazione didattica

Edizione unica

Responsabile
Periodo
Secondo semestre

Programma
A) Introduction to plate tectonics, rock types, rock deformation. Processes that lead to the origin of sediments and sedimentary rocks. Description and classification of sedimentary rocks. Main types of sedimentary basins in different settings.

B) Depositional environments (continental, transitional, marine) and corresponding sediments/rocks. Basic rules that control the nature and architecture of sedimentary successions. Introduction to stratigraphy and chronostratigraphy. How to construct age models of deposition by integrating biostratigraphy, radiometric dating and magnetostratigraphy.

C) Climate of the past: paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental proxies recorded in sedimentary rocks, analyses of the processes controlling climate changes in Earth history; how Earth climate varied in the geological record at short, medium and long term time scales.

D) Physical properties of sediments and sedimentary rocks: concepts of porosity and permeability, and identification of the major governing factors. Indirect methods of sub-surface geology investigation.
Resources exploration and exploitation in sedimentary successions: processes that control the distribution of socially and economically valuable fluids in sediments and sedimentary rocks. Water systems in the shallow subsurface. Hydrocarbon systems in the deep sub-surface. Shallow and deep and geothermal reservoirs.
Sustainability of resources exploitation in sedimentary basins and energy transition: CO2 and methane storage; H2 and Li resources.
Prerequisiti
Vedi manifesto 2024-2025
Metodi didattici
Lezioni frontali (8 CFU)
Materiale di riferimento
· Understanding Earth. Grotzinger J.P. and Jordan, H.J.. 7th Edition.
· Teaching material provided during the course (lecture slides, book chapters, scientific articles)
Modalità di verifica dell’apprendimento e criteri di valutazione
L'esame finale consisterà in una prova scritta (2 ore)
GEO/02 - GEOLOGIA STRATIGRAFICA E SEDIMENTOLOGICA - CFU: 8
Lezioni: 64 ore
Docente/i
Ricevimento:
per appuntamento previa email