BASEMENT GEOLOGY WITH SURVEY

The metamorphic geology course has the aim to give the main principles of the metamorphic and magmatic processes at the base of the continental crust formation in the different geological and geodynamic context. To this aim the student at the end of the course will be able to:

a) understand the basic principles of the solid-state rheology as well as the elastic and mechanical properties of the main rock types;

b) describe and classify the different types of deformation structures, reconstructing the setting and the space-time evolution;

c) collect, process, mapping disaggregated structural data, identifying the style and reconstructing the space-time evolution;

d) read and interpret geological maps in the crystalline basement areas;

e) reconstruct the deformation- blastesis relationships occurred during the tectono-metamorphic evolution of metamorphic units;

f) determine, with the integration of opportune geotermobarometric techniques, the changes of pressure and temperature registered by the basement rocks, reconstructing the P-T trajectories;

g) contextualize within the Paleozoic-Oligocene Mediterranean geodynamics the kinematic of the Calabro-Peloritani microplates.

classification of igneous and metamorphic rocks;

principles of optical microscopy for the recognition of fundamental minerals;

stereographic projections;

 central Mediterranean geological-geodynamic structure.

Collection of spatial orientation of structures in the field: location of planar and linear elements. Cartographic representation with coded symbology. Measuring stations and structural data processing. Spatio-temporal reconstruction of deformation events. Distinction of structural symbologies on a temporal basis. Textural and structural characterisation of deformation structures. Mesoscopic detection of paragenetic associations in rock. Penetrativity and pervasiveness of deformation structures. Genetic setting of deformation structures. Identification and interpolation of boundaries between units. Examples of graphical reconstruction of boundaries and checking the validity of interpolation boundaries. Recognition and characterisation of boundaries between plutonic and metamorphic rocks. Introduction to geological cartography and GIS/GPS applications.

ELEMENTS OF TECTONICS

Tectonostratigraphic setting and tectono-metamorphic evolution of basement units in the Calabro-Peloritanio Orogen. Tectonic structures and styles. Typology and scale of plutonic systems. Characterisation and classification of brittle deformation systems. Influence of brittle tectonic systems (faults and thrusts) on the displacement of basement continuity. Relationships between types and ages of plutonic and metamorphic basement units. Reconstruction of structural trends on paper: trends of folding axes, foliation planes and main linear structures diversified by generation.