Geography

The course will provide a vision of the geological, biological, historical and pre-historic processes to understand the geography, natural and human history of the Atacama Desert. The course addresses the evolution of the landscape from a geological and climatic point of view, man's adaptation to his changing environment, natural resources, and their historical management and exploitation. The discussion of these topics is expected to address and generate an interdisciplinary view towards the construction of a sustainable relationship for the 21st century between society and the use of the natural resources available in the Atacama Desert.

This course introduces population geography to undergraduate students and focuses on the causes and consequences of population change. It enables students to understand demographic dynamics brought about by birth, death, and mobility. The course examines the tension between how demographic knowledge (and in particular, demographic categories) has been constructed and how such categories are used. The course pays special attention to the spatial mobility of human beings as the increase in human mobility receives increasing attention from both academia and policy-making. 

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course focuses on two main topics: summary of fundamentals (deformation, stress and strain, porosity and permeability, brittle and ductile regimes, kinematic and dynamic approach to deformation), and faults and fault-related structures (fault core vs. damage zone; permeability changes along and across fault zones; basic elements of discrete fracture modelling.)

This course provides an overview of the role deformation plays in both the genesis and spatial distribution of ore deposits. This is done by combining traditional class lectures and lab style exercises with seminar-style classes based on reading and student presentations and a few days directly at the outcrop. This combined approach allows students to develop theoretical and practical skills related to asking and assessing scientific questions as well as summarizing and presenting the results of scientific studies dealing with the role exerted by rock deformation and fluid/rock interaction in deformed contexts. The course reviews the concepts, theoretical knowledge and techniques of Structural Geology that are relevant to understanding ore genesis and exploration of ore deposits. It also provides hands-on field work to help strengthen the theoretical knowledge and provide the students with a solid understanding of the involved mechanisms and processes. Students thereby learn the simple principles of “Structural Control” and how to elaborate the best practices for structural data collection and analysis in mineral exploration and mining.

In Spring 2025, there is a 5-day field trip to the Island of Elba and southern Tuscany, which exposes students to outstanding examples of hydrothermal deposits. Fieldwork is used to unravel and constrain the genetic relationships between brittle deformation, fluid ingress, and flow and ore genesis.