GEOLOGY APPLIED TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND TERRITORY

The curriculum ‘Geology Applied to the Environment and Territory’ addresses the application of Earth Sciences to engineering and territorial planning issues, the interactions between man and the environment in which he lives, the understanding of geological phenomena and the identification of geological-technical and engineering solutions to problems related to geological risk.

This curriculum aims at providing students with the fundamentals for territorial planning, the study and evaluation of environmental impacts (S.I.A., V.I.A., V.A.S.), the analysis of slope stability, the study of water resources and the protection from natural and hydrogeological risks. The main objective is to train professional figures with skills applicable to public and private works related to building foundations, landfills, the remediation of contaminated sites, the evaluation of water resources, dams, tunnels, general constructions, railways, roads, bridges, airports, parks, the extraction of materials from mines and pits, the restoration of extraction areas, the excavation of mining tunnels, the restoration, protection and/or maintenance of protected natural areas, the restoration and renovation of buildings and historical centres, beach nourishments, coastal protection and the stability of coastal cliffs.

Ample space is devoted to the analysis of subsurface geological exploration through direct and indirect techniques, the analysis of the local seismic response and the creation of seismic microzonation maps. Moreover, this curriculum addresses the creation of geological maps through the use of aerial photographs, GIS systems, databases and various types of geothematic maps. As a matter of fact, the discipline of Applied Geology studies, applies and interacts with the following other disciplines and subjects: Geoinformatics, Applied Geophysics, Geotechnics, Geostatistics, Geomorphology, Applied Hydrogeology, Applied Petrography, Topography, Geotechnical Survey, Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing.

Finally, the present curriculum includes subjects useful for the professional practice, such as the analysis of applicable regulations concerning the environment, public works and territorial planning.