GEOCHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE HYDRO-AGRO-ALIMENTARY SYSTEMS
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2015/2016
- Teacher
- NICOLO' COLOMBANI
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- GEO/09
Training objectives
- The course is a multidisciplinary teaching that combines concepts of bio-geochemistry and hydrogeology basics and examines the interaction between fluxes of anthropogenic and geogenic contaminants in different matrixes (soil, porewater, surface waters, groundwater and aquifer/aquitard media) with particular attention to agricultural environments. The course aims to provide concepts for the acquisition of skills for:
increase the environmental sustainability of human activities (agriculture, industry, etc ...);
test materials for the treatment of water resources;
design and manage quality assessments of environmental degradation;
quantify the effectiveness of reclamation and environmental restoration.
The main objective of the course is to provide students with the basic concepts for studying complex geochemical systems and their interconnections with surface water and groundwater. Prerequisites
- The student must have acquired and assimilated knowledge of:
elementary concepts of mathematical analysis;
knowledge of the fundamental concepts of physics;
knowledge of the basic concepts of geology and stratigraphy;
knowledge of the fundamental concepts of hydrogeology. Course programme
- Description of the fundamental principles of geochemistry applied to the environment with particular emphasis to agricultural environments and to abiotic and microbially mediated redox reactions (6 lectures of two hours each).
Description of appropriate methods of sampling and analysis for various environmental media including both saturated or unsaturated media for the preservation of the redox conditions in the present site (6 lectures of two hours each).
Elements of numerical modelling for environmental geochemistry with both theoretical examples (4 lectures of two hours each) and practical exercises using the numerical code PHREEQC (6 lectures of two hours each);
Description of case studies in which the geochemical characterization and numerical modelling applied to environmental systems quantified the processes underlying the propagation and / or confinement of organic and inorganic contaminants (2 lectures of two hours each). Didactic methods
- The course is organized as follows:
lectures on all subjects of the course;
exercises to the pc terminal via spreadsheets and software PHREEQC for the practical application of the concepts learned. Learning assessment procedures
- The aim of the examination is to test the level of achievement of learning objectives previously indicated.
The final exam consists of a written test (the form will be provided) and a possible oral examination. Passing the written test ensures passing the final exam, and provides access to the oral examination if the student wants to improve the outcome of the examination.
To pass the exam a student must obtain a minimum score of 18 out of 30. Reference texts
- Notes provided by the teacher.
Specific topics can be explored on the following texts.
GEOCHEMISTRY, GROUNDWATER POLLUTION AND, SECOND EDITION
C.A.J. Appelo, Dieke Postma
April 2005 by CRC Press
Textbook - 672 Pages
ISBN: 9780415364287
APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY
Iain Thornton
January 1984 by Academic Press
Textbook - 501 Pages
ISBN: 978-0126906400
