1. Introduction to the course
2. Main environmental issues and human impact on natural environment: ari, water and soil pollution. Organic and inorganic pollutants, Heavy metals.
3. Main environmental issues and human impact on natural environment: the greenhouse effect and global warming. Carbon (C) cycle changes and their implications in global changes.
4. Soil as the foundation of the landscape. The polyphasic system. General information on its physical, chemical and biological properties. Soil ecological and socio-economical functions. Soil threats: main factors of soil degradation.

Basic elements of general, inorganic and organic chemistry will be provided to facilitate the comprehension of the environmental phenomena presented during the course.

Denniston K. J. , Topping J. J., Caret R. L. - 2012 - Chimica Generale. Chimica Organica. Propedeutica Biochimica. McGraw-Hill
oppure
Bettelheim F.A., Brown W.H., Campbell M.K., Farrel S.O., Torres O.J.- 2014. Chimica e propedeutica Biochimica. EdiSES II.
(per chi non dispone di un testo di riferimento di Chimica)

Baird C., Cann M., Chimica ambientale - Zanichelli 2013.
Capitoli: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.
Disponibile in biblioteca
Per il livello di approfondimento di ciascun capitolo si rimanda agli argomenti trattati in classe (pdf delle lezioni)

AA. VV. Fondamenti di Chimica del Suolo, coordinatori Paolo Sequi, Claudio Ciavatta, Teodoro Miano. Patron Editore 2017.
Disponibile in biblioteca
Capitoli: 1, 2 (2.1, 2.2, 2.4), 3 cenni, 4 (4.2 e 4.6 cenni), 5, 6 (6.1, 6.2. 6.3.1), 7 (7.1), 8 (cenni), 9.

Pdf delle lezioni

The topics covered in the course are collected according to the following thematic groups:
Introduction.
Physical geography and relations with the landscape.

Elements of General Geography. Earth's environmental spheres: Earth systems open, closed, interconnected, in equilibrium. Position detection systems on the terrestrial sphere: definition of longitude and latitude grids (meridians and parallels).
Cartographic representations of the earth's surface. Types of maps, concept of scale of representation, projection systems and properties. Three-dimensional representation of the Landscape: isolines, relief, digital terrain models (DTM). Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Remote sensing: aerial photos, orthophotos, satellite images (visible light, and multispectral and thermal bands). Geographic Information Systems as tools for landscape management.

Geomorphology. Aims, methods and fields of study. Cycles, processes and modeling agents of the terrestrial relief. Internal and External Geomorphic Processes. Biostasia and resistance. Cycles of the troposphere: rocks and minerals, hydrological and biogeochemical.
Ecosystems and Biomes, carbon cycles,
oxygen, nitrogen.

Climate, morphology and biota interaction: Distribution of ecosystems (biomes). b) Meteoric degradation (Mechanical breakdown; chemical alteration and dissolution, action of organisms). Denudation processes. The modeling of the slopes.
Processes and forms of erosion, transport and storage. Accelerated soil erosion and / or slow movements in the regolith (soil creep, soliflow, debris aquifers and cones, landslides).

River morphology. Characteristics of riverbeds in relation to river dynamics. Processes and forms of river erosion; River storage processes and forms; conoids; floodplains. River meanders. River valleys: genesis, evolution and forms. River terraces.

Glaciers and glacial morphology. Feeding and glacial ablation. Movement of glaciers. Glacial erosion and related forms: montonate rocks, cirques, glacial valleys and their distinctive features; fjords. Transport and glacial deposition: mobile moraines and deposited moraines. Frost conditions in the ground; permafrost. Modeling forms related to permafrost. Cryoturbation and geliflux.

Karst and karst morphology. Conditions necessary for the setting and development of karst phenomena. The climate and karst morphogenesis. Epigean karst forms: Karren, sinkholes, uvala, polje, karst valleys. Genesis and evolution of forms in relation to structural conditions.

Aeolian morphology. Wind action; deflation and corruption. Rocky deserts (hamada) and pebble deserts (serir); sebkha. Forms of wind accumulation; dunes and their evolution; loess. Sandy deserts (ergs).

The movements of the sea and the coastal morphology. Other processes and factors of coastal morphogenesis. Marine erosion; ripe and abrasion platforms. High coasts and their evolution. Beaches; coastal transport of materials and beach evolution (beach erosion in Italy). Coastal cordons. Lagoons and coastal lakes. Delta and estuaries. Relative level variations between sea and land: marine terraces.

Volcanic landscapes. Main elementary forms due to volcanic activity. Volcanic buildings. Forms of erosion of volcanic reliefs. Italian volcano systems.
Anthropic forms. The influence of anthropogenic activities in the modeling of the terrestrial relief. Urban and peri-urban landscapes.

Durante il corso diversi materiali, opportunamente selezionati dal docente, saranno presentati e sintetizzati nelle dispense utilizzate durante le lezioni.
Tra i testi di riferimento sono stati selezionati i seguenti:

Hess D.. Tasa D., (2014) McKnight's Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation. Eleventh Edition. Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow Essex CM20 2JE.

Huggett R.J. (2017) Fundamentals of Geomorphology - Fourth Edition. Routledge - Taylor & Francis Group (eds) 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN.

Goudie S.A. and Viles H.A. (2016). Geomorphology in the Anthropocene. Cambridge University Press. University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom.

Shroder J.F.(ed.) - Treatise on Geomorphology. 14 vols.-Academic Press (2013)

Zinck J.A., Metternicht G., Bocco G., Del Valle H.F.(eds.) (2016) Geopedology_ An Integration of Geomorphology and Pedology for Soil and Landscape Studies. Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.

Schaetzl R. and Anderson S. (2005). Soils - Genesis and Geomorphology. Cambridge University Press. University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom.

DRIESSEN P. M., DECKERS J., SPAARGAREN O., 2001. Lecture notes on the major soils of the world. World Soil Resources Reports, FAO, Rome, Vol. 94.

IUSS Working Group WRB, 2015. World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2014, update 2015. International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps. World Soil Resources Reports No. 106. FAO, Rome.