GEODYNAMICS AND ACTIVE TECTONICS
Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: CARMELO GIOVANNI MONACOExpected Learning Outcomes
The course aims to provide adequate knowledge and understanding of geodynamic processes active in distinct tectonic contexts through the use of numerous information provided by geological and geomorphological terrain and satellite data, geophysical (seismicity) and geodetic (velocity vectors).
Course Structure
21 hours (3 CFU) of frontal lessons on principles of geodynamic processes and exercises on velocity fields, 21 hours (3 CFU) of frontal lessons on monitoring of active geodynamic processes and field work.
If the teaching is given in a mixed or remote way, necessary changes may be introduced with respect to what was previously stated, in order to respect the program envisaged and reported in the syllabus.
As a guarantee of equal opportunities and in compliance with current laws, interested students can ask for a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures, based on their specific needs and on teaching objectives of the discipline. It is also possible to ask the departmental contacts of CInAP (Center for Active and Participatory Integration - Services for Disabilities and/or DSAs), in the persons of professor Giorgio De Guidi.
Required Prerequisites
Attendance of Lessons
Detailed Course Content
Plate tectonics and plates in velocity space, geodynamic processes, global tectonics, tectonic structures related to volcanic and seismic activity, active collisional, subduction, extensional and strike-slip tectonic domains.
Contribution of teaching to the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:
Target 13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related risks and natural disasters in all countries.
Textbook Information
- P. Kearey, F.J. Vine, Tettonica Globale, Zanichelli Ed.
- A. Cox, R.B. Brian Hart, La tettonica delle placche, meccanismi e modalità, Zanichelli Ed.
- E.A. Keller, N. Pinter, Active Tectonics - Earthquakes, Uplift, and Landskape, Pearson College Ed.
Educational material on the web site http://studium.unict.it/dokeos/2024/
| Author | Title | Publisher | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P. Kearey, F.J. Vine | Tettonica Globale | Zanichelli Ed | ||
| A. Cox, R.B. Hart | La tettonica delle placche, meccanismi e modalità | Zanichelli Ed. | ||
| E.A. Keller, N. Pinter | Active Tectonics - Earthquakes, Uplift, and Landskape | Pearson College Ed. |
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Il contesto della Tettonica delle placche. | - A. Cox, R.B. Brian Hart, La tettonica delle placche, meccanismi e modalità, Zanichelli Ed. |
| 2 | Margini divergenti, convergenti e trasformi | - P. Kearey, F.J. Vine, Tettonica Globale, Zanichelli Ed. |
| 3 | Le placche nello spazio di velocità. | - A. Cox, R.B. Brian Hart, La tettonica delle placche, meccanismi e modalità, Zanichelli Ed. |
| 4 | Implicazioni della tettonica delle placche. | - A. Cox, R.B. Brian Hart, La tettonica delle placche, meccanismi e modalità, Zanichelli Ed. |
| 5 | Principi della geodesia; reti geodetiche di riferimento; tecniche di geodesia, applicazioni, geodesia e movimento delle placche; Rilievi geodetici tramite ricevitori GNSS, Stazione Totale, interferometria SAR, aerofotogrammetria SAPR. | - E.A. Keller, N. Pinter, Active Tectonics - Earthquakes, Uplift, and Landskape, Pearson College Ed., materiale fornito dal docente |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
The exam takes place in oral and practical form on the topics of the program in order to ascertain the full acquisition of knowledge and the ability to apply it in relation to the topics covered by the course.
Criteria for assigning the final grade:
The evaluation of the exam will be linked not only to the acquisition of specific knowledge but also to:
ability to summarize results; acquisition of independent judgment;
ability to explain the theoretical bases, the methodological approach and the results achieved with appropriate use of technical-scientific language.
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
Exercises on velocity planes and triple junctions.
Methods of study of tectonically active areas.
Examples of active tectonic structures in collision, rift and strike-slip areas.
Relationships between geometric parameters of active faults and seismological and geodetic parameters.