APPLIED MICROPALEONTOLOGY AND BIOMONITORING
MICROPALEONTOLOGIA APPLICATA E BIOMONITORAGGIO
| A.Y. | Credits |
|---|---|
| 2020/2021 | 6 |
| Lecturer | Office hours for students | |
|---|---|---|
| Fabrizio Frontalini | Monday 14-16 |
| Teaching in foreign languages |
|---|
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Course partially taught in a foreign language
English
This course is taught partially in Italian and partially in a foreign language. Study materials can be provided in the foreign language and the final exam can be taken in the foreign language. |
Assigned to the Degree Course
| Date | Time | Classroom / Location |
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| Date | Time | Classroom / Location |
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Learning Objectives
Micropaleontology is a discipline of the Earth Sciences and is devoted to the study of microfossils. Microfossils are particularly important for the relative dating of rocks (biostratigraphy) and for paleoecological, paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic and paleobiogeographic reconstructions and are widely applied in petroleum geology, paleoceanography and biomonitoring. The course is designed to:
1) advance the knowledge on the identification of the major microfossil groups;
2) provide an overview of the potential applications of Micropaleontology to Earth and Environmental Sciences;
3) offer a background for the stratigraphical interpretation of sedimentary sequence and events’ dating;
4) apply the main microfossil groups to the paleoenvironmental reconstructions;
5) offer useful insights for addressing environmental issues and for the development of georesources;
6) present methodologies and protocols for the application of microfossils as bioindicators of the environmental quality in marine and transitional marine waters and to the environmental biomonitoring.
Program
Systematic Micropaleontology: foraminifera, calcareous nannoplankton, ostracodes, pteropods, calpionellids, calcareous algae, bryozoa, radiolaria, diatoms, and silicoflagellates, ebridians, conodonts, dinoflagellates, acritarchs, tasmanitids, chitinozoa, spores and pollen. Microfossils’ guide. Assemblages. Biostratigraphic units. Biostratigraphic scales and correlations. Paleoecological, paleogeographic, paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic interpretations. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Environmental and georesources applications of Micropaleontology. Biomonitoring. Metabarcoding applied to environmental biomonitoring. Field and lab methodological procedures in Micropaleontology. Identification of the main microfossil groups.
Learning Achievements (Dublin Descriptors)
Knowledge and understanding. At the end of the course, the student must have gained the basic knowledge in the field of Micropaleontology, Stratigraphy, Paleoecology, Paleoceanography and Environmental Biomonitoring. The student will also master the ability to recognize the main groups of microfossils and to identify the most appropriate methods of micropaleontological analyses for the different stratigraphic intervals and geological contexts as well as biomonitoring. These skills will be verified through a written test.
Applying knowledge and understanding. The student must correctly use paleontological and micropaleontological terminology. In particular, it must be able to identify the main groups of microfossils, to perform a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and a biostratigraphic analysis and to assess the environmental quality of marine and transitional marine waters. These skills will be assessed through a written test.
Making judgements. The student must critically evaluate and select the most appropriate microfossil for environmental, paleoenvironmental paleoceanographical and paleoclimatic reconstruction, and biostratigraphic analyses. These skills will be verified with the written test and a microscopic session.
Communication skills. The student will be able to describe, synthesize and present a scientific article in English.
Learning skills. The student must be able to build the own path of scientific growth in the paleontological and micropaleontological field in a critical and autonomous way by use the acquired knowledge. These abilities, as far as possible, will be stimulated by the lecturer.
Teaching Material
The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it
Supporting Activities
Field and laboratory exercises.
Teaching, Attendance, Course Books and Assessment
- Teaching
The course will take place through a continuous interaction between lectures, field and laboratory exercises and microscopic sessions.
- Attendance
No obligations.
- Course books
Hag, B.U. and Boersma, A., 1978. Introduction to Marine Micropaleontology, Elsevier.
Lipps, J.H., 1993. Fossil Prokaryotes and Protists. Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Martin, R., 2000. Environmental Micropaleontology: The Application of Microfossils to Environmental Geology. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Armstrong, H.A. and Brasier, M.D., 2006. Microfossils, Blackwell Publishing.
Saraswati, P.K. and Srinivasan, M.S., 2016. Micropaleontology: Principles and Applications.
- Assessment
The assessment consists of a written exam with ten open questions including comments on graphs and figures. This method of examination is chosen as it allows to adequately verify the preparation of the student. The evaluation criteria are: knowledge of micropaleontological concepts, microfossils and their application including biomonitoring, level of accuracy and specificity of the answer, and master of a technical language. Each criterion is evaluated on a 3-level scale. The duration of the exam is 2 hours. The exam involves an evaluation that is expressed as a grade of out of 30.
- Disabilità e DSA
Le studentesse e gli studenti che hanno registrato la certificazione di disabilità o la certificazione di DSA presso l'Ufficio Inclusione e diritto allo studio, possono chiedere di utilizzare le mappe concettuali (per parole chiave) durante la prova di esame.
A tal fine, è necessario inviare le mappe, due settimane prima dell’appello di esame, alla o al docente del corso, che ne verificherà la coerenza con le indicazioni delle linee guida di ateneo e potrà chiederne la modifica.
Additional Information for Non-Attending Students
- Teaching
Non-attending students are inviated to contact the lecturer for information about the program.
- Attendance
No obligations.
- Course books
Hag, B.U. and Boersma, A., 1978. Introduction to Marine Micropaleontology, Elsevier.
Lipps, J.H., 1993. Fossil Prokaryotes and Protists. Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Martin, R., 2000. Environmental Micropaleontology: The Application of Microfossils to Environmental Geology. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Armstrong, H.A. and Brasier, M.D., 2006. Microfossils, Blackwell Publishing.
Saraswati, P.K. and Srinivasan, M.S., 2016. Micropaleontology: Principles and Applications.
- Assessment
The assessment consists of a written exam with ten open questions including comments on graphs and figures. This method of examination is chosen as it allows to adequately verify the preparation of the student. The evaluation criteria are: knowledge of micropaleontological concepts, microfossils and their application including biomonitoring, level of accuracy and specificity of the answer, and master of a technical language. Each criterion is evaluated on a 3-level scale. The duration of the exam is 2 hours. The exam involves an evaluation that is expressed as a grade of out of 30.
- Disabilità e DSA
Le studentesse e gli studenti che hanno registrato la certificazione di disabilità o la certificazione di DSA presso l'Ufficio Inclusione e diritto allo studio, possono chiedere di utilizzare le mappe concettuali (per parole chiave) durante la prova di esame.
A tal fine, è necessario inviare le mappe, due settimane prima dell’appello di esame, alla o al docente del corso, che ne verificherà la coerenza con le indicazioni delle linee guida di ateneo e potrà chiederne la modifica.
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