AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will be instructed on the general processes involved in the morphodynamics and eco-morphodynamics of tidal environments, gaining useful skills to research and consultancy purposes

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The module aims to provide some knowledge about the morphodynamic evolution of tidal basins and estuaries. Estuaries and lagoons are indeed important nature areas in and around which many human activities take place. These features together with the adjacent coasts form a coherent system in terms of water movement, sediment budget and morphology. The knowledge in this area is thus needed for the sustainable management of coastal systems. This involves ensuring safety against flooding, optimal economic use and preservation of the natural character of the systems.

Attendance and active participation in frontal lessons and individual study will allow the student to

- to know in depth the main morphological structures of tidal environments;

- describe the hydro-morphodynamic effects associated with the presence of biofilms and vegetation

- apply the principles of hydrodynamics and morphodynamics to tidal environments;

- solve hydro-morphodynamic problems by solving the governing equations in simplified cases;

- developing one's critical thinking skills regarding a task. 

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TEACHING METHODS

The module consists of about 50 hours of frontal lectures carried out by the teacher in which the theory will be presented and applied. The students are supposed to acquire the basic concepts of the hydro-morphdynamics of tidal environments and to be able to apply them. 

Students are assigned a series of exercises/problems that require the use of various skills - such as research, processing of concepts presented in class, and writing - to produce the reports to be submitted for the examination.

The students will take advantage of the material made available on the website [e.g. Aulaweb]. 

Working students and students with SLD, disability or other special educational need certificate, are advised to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and examination methods that, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning modalities.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course programme includes the presentation and discussion of the following topics: 

Introduction to tidal environments: estuaries and lagoons

Tides.

Propagation of a tidal wave in an estuary.

Tidal inlets hydrodynamics and stability.

Introduction to estuarine and lagoon morphodynamics.

Eco-hydraulic: Biofilm, vegetation.

Some examples of interaction between vegetation and hydro and morphodynamics processes in tidal environments.

Possible effects related to the sea level rise.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

All teaching material will be available on aul@web. In general, notes taken during lessons and material provided on aul@web allow for the preparation of the exam.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MICHELE BOLLA PITTALUGA (President)

NICOLETTA TAMBRONI (President)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The classes will begin in the second semester, running from February 19th to May 24th, 2024, according to the schedule provided at the following link:

https://corsi.unige.it/10720/p/studenti-orario

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

In order to access the exam, the student is required to produce a report containing some applications presented during the course. The exam includes only an oral test which is aimed at ascertaining the degree of knowledge of the topics covered during the lectures. In particular, questions focus on the formulation of the problems addressed in the course, which allow to derive the application tools used in the tutorials. Usually, the students will be asked two questions on relatively large subjects, leaving the details to the following discussion.

Working students and students with SLD, disability or other special educational need certificate, are advised to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and examination methods that, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning modalities.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral exam will focus primarily on the topics covered during the frontal lessons and will aim to assess not only whether the student has reached an appropriate level of knowledge, but whether he/she has acquired the ability to critically analyze problems that will be asked during the exam. If necessary, the student will be asked to solve simple problems in order to evaluate the his/her skills.

Exam schedule