OVERVIEW

Paleoecology is the science that studies the interaction between organisms and their environment based on fossils. The detailed study of the paleoenvironment is often involves understanding of climate parameters, which presented different characteristics from now. This subject is now fundamental for exploring complex concepts such as current climate change linked to increases in CO2 in the atmosphere and increased acidity in the oceans; being able to work on a historical record of around 500 million years is a fundamental step in contributing to the scientific debate with huge quantities of data available.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching activities are aimed at providing practical and theoretical tools to reconstruct the depositional environment starting from the paleontological aspects (body and trace fossils) preserved within sedimentary successions. The course follows a paleoecological transect from continental environments to abyssal plains, through deserts and coral reefs. For each depositional environment, the characterizing paleoecological properties are discussed, illustrating how to recognize, describe and interpret them.

The paleoclimatic aspect will fundamentally concern the integrated methodologies that are used for the reconstruction of the Earth's climate by taking into consideration paleooceanographic aspects and paleobiogeographical observations. The objective of teaching in this field will allow students to learn the main technical and theoretical notions for the correct interpretation of paleoenvironments with all their paleoecological and paleoclimatic characterizations.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The student will be able to:

• reconstruct the depositional environment based on the paleontological aspects (body fossils, trace fossils) of a sedimentary succession;
• define the ecological characteristics of a fossil association and their paleoenvironmental implications, with the integration of paleoclimatic data;
• recognize, classify and interpret the paleoecological and paleoenvironmental signal,  as well as the paleoecological significance of the main ichnofossils present in marine, transitional and continental sedimentary successions;
• integrate paleontological, geochemical and sedimentological information;
• interpret the depositional environment of a sedimentary succession, both from outcrop and core data;
• draft summary documents such as technical-scientific reports and graphic representations of paleoenvironments

PREREQUISITES

Palaeontology (cod. 64866)

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures

Laboratory activities.

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Professor Sara Ferrando (sara.ferrando@unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

1. PALEOENVIRONMENTAL TOOLS: the paleoecological investigation; taphonomy applied to environmental reconstruction; ichnofacies; ichnofabric; facies analysis; technical-scientific reports;
2. CONTINENTAL ENVIRONMENTS: paleoecology and paleoenvironments of desert, lake, river, alluvial plain, glacial and volcanoclastic settings;
3. SHALLOW MARINE ENVIRONMENTS: paleoecology and palaeoenvironments of beach, tidal plain, lagoon, strandplain, chenier plain, rocky coast, shelf, and carbonatic settings;
4. TRANSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS: paleoecology and paleoenvironments of estuarine and deltaic settings;
5. DEEP MARINE ENVIRONMENTS: paleoecology and paleoenvironments of slope and abyssal plain settings;
6. Paleoclimatology investigation methods (isotope stratigraphy, biomineralization processes, sediment geochemistry)
7. Climates and environments of the past: focus on the extreme events of the Phanerozoic and their impact on the biosphere
8. The climate of the future: challenges, data and study methodologies

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Brenchley PJ, Harper D. (1998). Palaeoecology: Ecosystems, Environments and Evolution. CRC Press
• Buatois, L.A., Mángano, M.G. (2011). Ichnology: Organism-Substrate Interactions in Space and Time. Cambridge University Press
• Einsele, G. (2013). Sedimentary Basins: Evolution, Facies, and Sediment Budget. Springer Science & Business Media
• Knaust, D., Bromley R.G. (2012.) Trace Fossils as Indicators of Sedimentary Environments, Elsevier
• Nichols G. (2009). Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. John Wiley & Sons
• Reineck H.E., Singh I.B. (1980). Depositional Sedimentary Environments. Springer-Verlag
• Selley, R.C. (2013). Ancient Sedimentary Environments: And Their Sub-surface Diagnosis. Routledge

The Power Point/PDF presentations used in class are available (downloadable from Aula WEB).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ANTONINO BRIGUGLIO (President)

ANDREA BAUCON (President Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of an oral test, divided into a practical test and a series of questions. The practical test consists in the environmental reconstruction of a sedimentary succession on the basis of its paleontological and geochemical characteristics. The questions concern the theoretical and practical topics discussed during the teaching. The exam aims to evaluate knowledge of the theoretical aspects of the subject and competence in the use of practical-applicative tools.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Oral