OVERVIEW

The geomorphological survey and mapping course provides the basic knowledge and practices indispensable to support urban and land planning, design of civil and environmental engineering works, environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment, cultural heritage and landscape enhancement.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course has the educational goal to provide knowledge on geomorphological survey technique and mapping, as a basic tool: i) for the earth surface representation continuously shaped by natural/anthropic processes; ii) for land-use management and planning, with particular reference to geomorphological hazard and related risk assessment.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The attendance and participation in the training activities will allow the student to acquire general knowledge of ‘geomorphological survey and mapping’ as skills of the geologist in order to interact with other practitioners working on land planning and management with particular reference to geomorphological hazards and related risk.

In detail the student will be able to:

• know the basic methods for geomorphological survey;
• read and understand geomorphological maps
• write geomorphological reports

PREREQUISITES

Geomorphology basic knowledge is required to deal effectively with the teaching content.

TEACHING METHODS

Teaching includes frontal lessons, classroom exercises of geomorphological mapping, on-site surveying. The frontal lessons in the classroom are delivered through multimedia presentations. The classroom exercises are aimed at applying the theoretical knowledge achieved during the frontal and on-site surveying. In particular, the following are envisaged: reading and comprehension of geomorphological maps; realization of geomorphological maps from existing studies and available from scientific literature; realization of original geomorphological map obtained from on-site survey; realization of original geomorphological map in an urban environment.

The filed survey will be carried out mainly in the Genoese Metropolitan Area and aimed at the identification of the natural and modified landforms; a part of the teaching is dedicated to the recognition of the landforms of the urban landscape.

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

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

• history and evolution of geomorphological maps
• proposal for a legend for an application-oriented geomorphological map (ed. 1993)
• guidelines of the Geomorphological Map of Italy at the 1:50.000 scale (ed. 1994, 2018)
• reading and comprehension of geomorphological maps
• collection of existing cartographic data, field survey, borehole  databases, photo-interpretation and 'remote sensing' for the geomorphological survey purpose
• compilation of a report accompanying a geomorphological map

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

All slides used during the lessons and other educational materials will be available on MS-Teams and AulaWeb at the end of each cycle of lectures/exercises in the classroom.

Some references can be found on-line, others are available from the MF&N School of Sciences Library or from the responsible lecturer; students may also use other university-level material.

• D’Orefice M.,  Graciotti R. (2021) - Rilevamento geomorfologico e cartografia. Dario Flaccovio editore, 384 pp. (2° edizione)
• Gruppo Nazionale Geografia Fisica  e Geomorfologia (1993) A cura di G.B. Pellegrini, A. Carton, D. Castaldini, A. Cavallin, L. D'Alessandro, F. Dramis, B. Gentili, L. Laureti, A. Prestininzi, G. Rodolfi, U. Sauro, M. Sorriso Valvo & V Spagna - Proposta di legenda geomorfologica ad indirizzo applicativo. Geogr. Fis. Dinam. Quat., 16, 129-152
• ISPRA (2021) - Carta Geomorfologica d'Italia alla scala 1:50.000 - Aggiornamento ed integrazioni delle linee guida della Carta Geomorfologica d'Italia alla scala 1:50.000 e Banca Dati geomorfologica (Fascicolo I, Versione 2.0) Progetto CARG: modifiche e integrazioni al quaderno n. 4/1994, a cura del Servizio Geologico d'Italia ISPRA, Associazione Italiana di  Geografia fisica e Geomorfologia, Consiglio Nazionale dei Geologi,  Roma
• Servizio Geologico Nazionale (1994) - Quaderni serie III, volume 4, Carta Geomorfologica d’italia – 1:50.000 Guida al rilevamento (a cura del gruppo di lavoro Servizio Geologico Nazionale e Gruppo Nazionale di Geografia fisica e Geomorfologia, Istituto poligrafico e zecca dello stato, Roma

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

Class schedule

GEOMORPHOLOGICAL SURVEY AND MAPPING

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination involves the development of an individual project and an oral check. The project consists of surveying, either original on-site or using remote sensing methodologies, and drafting a geomorphological map with an accompanying explanatory report; the choice of the map section and the scale of the survey must be agreed with the lecturer.

The oral test consists of discussion of the project carried out and presented, and checking the learning of the topics covered during the course, as listed in the syllabus.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The presentation of a project allows for the assessment of the degree to which knowledge learned from classroom lectures, geomorphological mapping laboratory activities, and original field surveys is connected.

The elaboration and presentation of the geomorphological mapping project allows to assess the ability to apply geomorphological surveying methodologies, on-site and through remote sensing methods, to analyze and explain landscape and landforms by applying correct terminology, and to identify geomorphological processes with appropriate mapping and writing skills.

The oral examination is intended to assess the level of knowledge achieved, the ability to recall theoretical notions by applying them to real-world contexts, and will also allow to test the quality of exposition, the use of correct scientific terminology, and the ability to critically reason about the project carried out.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Regular attendance at lessons, exercises in the classroom, on site-surveying is recommended.

Students with a certification of physical or learning disability filed with the University can find information on support services at the web page https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/studenti-disturbi-specifici-apprendimento-dsa, provided by the "Services for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and with Learning Disorders." They can also contact Professor Sara Ferrando (sara.ferrando@unige.it), the Distav contact for disabilities.