Sedimentary Geology, Tectonics, and Mapping

This course unit brings together three complementary and fundamental disciplines of Earth sciences: sedimentology, tectonics, and mapping. The various types of sedimentary rocks will be taught in detail to enable students to interpret the context of their formation and the associated processes. Topics in ductile and brittle tectonics will also be addressed at various scales to establish their formation context, particularly in terms of stress regimes. Laboratory work on samples will be conducted in parallel to help students develop their observational and drawing skills and make use of the department’s extensive collections. Finally, an introduction to reading and working with geological maps (schematic maps, cross-sections) will be provided, applying the concepts of sedimentology and tectonics previously acquired. This course unit is designed to enable students to outline the general history of a given region’s geology.

Hourly volumes:

• CM: 12
• TD: 3
• TP: 21

• Based on the naturalistic observation of sedimentary rocks, the goal is to identify, with the naked eye, the nature of the rock and the features it contains (grains, fossils, structures), and to reconstruct the environment in which the rock formed and the processes involved in its formation.
• Identify and characterize brittle and ductile tectonic processes at various scales (from µm to km), and describe and identify the associated rocks and tectonic structures in order to characterize a stress state.
• Master the techniques for reading and using geological maps in order to understand the geological history of a study area.

EU HAT102T Geology; HAV213T Earth's Evolution and Geological History

Final exam + 3 graded assignments.

Brief description of the concepts covered in fourth grade:

• 5 CM in sedimentology;
• 1 CM Introduction to mapping techniques and reading geological maps;
• 2 CM Introduction to Tectonics.

Summary description of the tutorial sessions and the number of hours associated with each session

• 1 TD on reading techniques and work on theoretical geological maps (identifying unconformities, folds, and faults; estimating dip angles; working on simple, small cross-sections).  

Brief descriptions of the lab sessions and the number of hours associated with each session

• 4 lab sessions on sedimentary rocks (Lab 1: Detrital and Terrigenous Rocks; Lab 2: Sedimentary Features; Lab 3: Carbonate and Biochemical Rocks; Lab 4: Chemical and Organic Rocks);
• 2 lab exercises using geological maps of a simple fold structure: 1 to learn the structural framework, 1 to learn how to construct a structural cross-section (Dieulefit map);            
• 1 lab session on deformed rocks in the classroom, including macroscopic descriptions of the rocks.

Description of the topics/hands-on activities covered during your field trip(s) and details of the destinations/sites.

Be able to identify a sedimentary rock and describe the environment in which it formed.

Be able to identify a deformed, brittle, and ductile rock, and determine the stress state that caused this deformation.

Knowing how to draw a sample.

Know how to read a geological map in order to determine the region’s geological history.

Know how to create a structural diagram and a tectonic cross-section based on a geological map (calculating dip and thickness, geological drawings, etc.).