General Geology

Code: GEO12614L

6 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours

Scientific Area: Geology

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, English

Regime de Frequência: Presencial

Presentation

In this training, students develop skills allowing them to understand the mais geological processes actives in our planet as well as the interaction between them. Thus they are able to understand the main Earth cycles developing at different tmporal and spatial scales.

Sustainable Development Goals

Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Água potável e saneamento - Garantir disponibilidade e manejo sustentável da água e saneamento para todos.

Energias renováveis e acessíveis - Garantir acesso à energia barata, confiável, sustentável e renovável para todos.

Reduzir as desigualdades - Reduzir as desigualdades dentro dos países e entre eles.

Produção e consumo sustentáveis - Assegurar padrões de produção e de consumo sustentáveis.

Ação climática - Tomar medidas urgentes para combater a mudança climática e seus impactos (*).

Learning Goals

Recognize Geology as a historical science that operates at its own rhythms and is different from those of we are used to. Know the internal zoning of our planet and its origin. Perceive the Earth as a dynamic entity in the past and present resulting from the action of several cycles on a planetary scale, involving exchanges of matter and energy. Understand the close interrelationship between internal and external geodynamics . Understand and recognize the interactions between the tectonic, rock and hydrological cycles. Understand how our Society depends on geological resources and how their extensive use affects some geological cycles causing strong imbalances affecting the functioning of our life forms.

1. From human to geological time; from calendars to the scale of geological time
2. From the origin of the solar system to the compositional zoning of the Earth; from minerals to rocks
3. From heat propagation to the physical zoning of the Earth; solids, liquids and gases
4. From atmospheric circulation to the hydrological cycle; a dynamic balance
5. From internal dynamics to plate tectonics; plate boundaries and geological processes
6. From plate tectonics to Wilson cycles; a three-dimensional approximation
7. From plate tectonics to the rock cycle; and the Geology of Portugal
8. From plate tectonics to sedimentary, metamorphic and magmatic environments; of the processes to the systematics of the rocks
10. From the hydrological cycle to climate change; societal implications
11. From the consumption of geological resources to the geological footprint; societal implications

Teaching Methods

Theoretical classes addressing the different program contents begin with 15 to 30 minutes of discussion, leading students to reflect on the issues that will be addressed, leading them to a more interactive stance.
In practical laboratory classes, students will gain skills in the description and macroscopic identification of the main minerals and rocks through direct contact with samples. This component is carried out in coordination with theoretical classes so that the systematics of rocks emerges in the context of the geological processes that gave rise to them.

Assessment

Evaluation will preferably be through continuous evaluation with 2 theoretical tests (TT = 50% + 50%) and 2 practical tests (PT = 50% + 50%). Final Grade = (TT+ PT)/2 Alternatively, final exam with theoretical exam (TE) and practical exam (PE). Final Grade = (TE + PE)/2