2020/2021

2020/2021

DM270

GEO/04 (PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY)

DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

APPLIED GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES

PERCORSO COMUNE

1°

2nd semester (01/03/2021 - 18/06/2021)

6

57 lesson hours

Italian

ORAL TEST

BORRELLI PASQUALE (titolare) - 6 ECTS

Fair understanding of the English language and a sound background knowledge of Physical Geography and Geomorphology are required.

A basic knowledge of cartography, GIS and remote sensing is recommended.

We live in an age of global environmental changes. To date, it is estimated that less than 10% of Earth's land surface is little or not affected by humans. In times when humankind dominates nature, gaining an understanding of the relationships between landscape and anthropogenic activities that shape it at an unprecedented speed is of paramount importance. This is especially true to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and a land degradation neutral World by 2030.

The aim of the course is to provide students with theoretical foundations and technical/ applied skills in geomorphological and geothematic mapping, mathematical modeling in GIS and R environment as well as solid surveying and mapping skills. Activities focus on analyzing the evolution of the landscape and the assessment of geo-environmental hazards, risks and vulnerabilities.

The course aims to enable students to develop the ability to understand and analyze human-environment interactions, with particular attention to hillslope processes, phenomena of hillslope instability, soil erosion, watershed analysis and risk mitigation.

Brief course outline:

i. Humankind and land
ii. Geothematic mapping
iii. Quantitative modeling of Earth surface processes
iv. Fieldwork activities
v. Integration of the different aspects in order to create a holistic picture

Course content and milestones:

Dynamic Earth and the Anthropocene: Endogenous and exogenous processes. How humankind reshapes Earth's landscapes. The impact of humankind on the environment. Sustainability horizons. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Principles of geomorphology and applied geomorphology. Climatic geomorphology. Definition of hazard risk and vulnerability.

Geothematic mapping: Traditional and digital cartography. Landscape classification and units. Types of geomorphological maps. Geomorphological mapping: methods and applications. Open geodata for landscape analysis and geomorphological mapping (EU Compernicus, ESA, NASA, USGS, Geoportale Nazionale, Regione Lombardia, etc.). Quantitative land surface analysis (geomorphometry). Semi-automated identification and extraction of geomorphological features (topography, watersheds, drainage network, and other landforms). Geomorphological framework, mapping landforms and landscapes of the Oltrepò Pavese. Anthropogenic landforms and geoarchaeology.

Quantitative assessments of Earth surface processes: Hillslope processes and hydrogeological instability. Land degradation due to mass movements, soil erosion, transport and deposition. Soil loss modelling using GIS and remote sensing. Land-soil-water nexus and on-site and off-site impacts of accelerated soil erosion. An introduction to spatial data analysis and visualization in R. Interpolation of spatial data. Assessing and mapping risk susceptibility using basic concepts machine learning.

Pre- and fieldwork activities: Fieldwork planning. Definition of aims, field activities and expected results. Introduction to scientific writing. Fieldwork tools (GPS, Differential GPS, Total station, etc.). Two days of field mapping and data collection. Transferring data from field view into GIS environment. Production of a geotematic map. Short report writing.

The lectures will provide theoretical underpinnings of applied geomorphology and techniques used in lab and field research. During the course, students will carry a project of geothematic mapping supported by modelling applications. The project can be carried individually or in small groups. A two-day excursion is planned in the area of Oltrepò Pavese which will include field observations, data collection, mapping activities and group discussions.

Students will be provided with lecture materials and slides before class. The relevant parts of the books that need to be studied will be communicated during the lectures. The reference books are:

• Allison, R. J. (Ed.). (2002). Applied geomorphology: theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons.

• Anbazhagan, S., Subramanian, S. K., & Yang, X. (Eds.). (2011). Geoinformatics in applied geomorphology. CRC Press.

• Ciccacci, S. (2015). Le forme del rilievo: atlante illustrato di geomorfologia. Mondadori Università.

• D'Orefice, M., & Graciotti, R. (2015). Rilevamento geomorfologico e cartografia: Realizzazione-Lettura-Interpretazione. Dario Flaccovio Editore.

• Panizza, M. (Ed.). (2005). Manuale di geomorfologia applicata (Vol. 33). Francoangeli

All books are available in the University's library.

Student performance will be assessed through a written exam (questions and exercises) and the presentation of the individual/group projects, followed by their discussion with the professor and other students. The project presentation should be graphically supported by a scientific poster. The final grade will be calculated as follow: 70% written exam; 30% project.

Given the applied nature of the course, attending lectures is highly recommended. The lecture material provided in class is in English and will be all available on Kiro. In case you wish to use your private laptop, it is recommended to install the software Quantum GIS (QGIS) 3.16.0 "Hannover" and Google Earth.