Unit
- Course
- Environmental engineering
- Study-unit Code
- A006595
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Corrado Cencetti
- Teachers
-
- Corrado Cencetti
- Costanza Cambi (Codocenza)
- Hours
- 32 ore - Corrado Cencetti
- 16 ore (Codocenza) - Costanza Cambi
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2026
- Offered
- 2026/27
- Learning activities
- A scelta dello studente
- Area
- A scelta dello studente
- Sector
- GEOS-03/B
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- Geologic hazards and geologic risk. Types of geological risks (seismic, volcanic, and hydrogeologic). Mining and quarrying. Principles of river dynamics. Riverbed management. Risk from riverbed dynamics. Dams. The Vajont landslide. Risk from interference between slope landslides and river dynamics (landslide dams). Rock slope stability assessment (Markland test). Elements of hydrogeology. Relationships between geological setting and groundwater. Aquifer systems. Hydrogeological balance. Groundwater movement. Darcy's law. Hydrogeological parameters and their determination.
- Reference texts
- Materials made available form the teachers (slides form lectures, scientific papers concerninig the discussed topics, notes written by the teachers about some specific topics).
- Educational objectives
- The course aims to provide Students with theoretical and practical knowledge for the understanding of geological risks (in particular hydrogeological risk). The course also aims to provide the knowledge for the correct management of groundwater and the abìilty to interprete hydrogeological data on the basis of geological setting.
- Prerequisites
- Base knowledge of Geology from the BSc courses.
- Teaching methods
- Lectures and practice.
- Other information
- n.n.
- Learning verification modality
- Oral test of about 30 minutes aimed to verify that the Student properly knows the geological issues involved in civil an environment engineering.
- Extended program
- Applications of Geology and Applied Geology.
Geological modeling. Geological hazard and geological risk. Mining activity. Classification and typology of quarries based on the working environment. Quarries and mines. Regional Extractive Activities Plans (PRAE). Classification and typology of quarries based on the type of material extracted. Canuti et al. classification. Open-pit quarries. Abatement face. Yard and its functions. Types of exploitation. Underground quarries. Identification of areas subject to extraction activity. Site deposit quality and conditioning factors. Elements useful for defining the environmental quality of the site. Preparatory work for mining activity. Excavation methods. Excavation technologies. Principles of fluvial dynamics. The stream corridor. Hydrological-hydraulic and morphological-sedimentary approaches. Morphological-sedimentary characteristics of riverbed-alluvial plain systems. Geomorphological stability and equilibrium. Aggradation and trenching. Time scales. Energy of a stream. Stream power and critical power. Bull's diagram. Lane's equation. Stream classifications: Miall, Schumm, Montgomery and Buffington, Rosgen. The Bankull stage. Flood prone area and trenching ratio. Methodological framework for the analysis of riverbed-plain systems. Riverbed management. Structural and non-structural interventions. Riverbed regulation. Riverbed modification or consolidation. Works to control sediment transport. Non-structural interventions (notes). Riverbed dynamics risk. Planimetric and altimetric mobility of riverbeds. Geological-hydraulic risk factors. Residual risk. Forecasting and prevention. Mapping of flood-prone areas and their intended uses (PAI). Riverbed dynamics risk in Italy. Current evolutionary trends. Causes of erosion processes. Schumm's Channel Evolution Model (CEM). Possible solutions. Dams. Aims of the project. Construction methods. Selection of the location for a retention dam. Impermeability of the reservoir. Causes of leaks. Stability of the banks and slopes above the reservoir and the barrier. Silting of the reservoir. Stability of the dam foundation substrate. Impermeability of the threshold on which the dam is to be located. Procurement of construction aggregates. Studies and investigations conducted for the construction of a dam. Environmental impact assessment (notes). The Vajont landslide. Riverbed occlusions caused by landslides. Study scales. Scenarios resulting from the interaction between riverbed dynamics and slope gravitational phenomena. Risk conditions. Characterization of landslide dams. Hazard and risk assessment. Classifications of landslide dams. Limitations of classifications. Effects resulting from the occurrence and evolution of the phenomenon. Case studies (Valderchia, San Benedetto Val di Sambro). Natural dam failure modes. Similarities and differences with earth dams. Dam overflow and breach shape. Seepage and siphoning. Subsequent landslides. Formation of anomalous flood waves following the evolution of the phenomenon (dam collapse). Mathematical models and input data. Rock slope stability assessment (Markland test). Stereographic projections. Representation of structural data (lines and planes). Failure hypotheses. Kinematic and dynamic assessments. Friction cone. The Bieniawski RMR index and its determination. Determination of the internal friction angle based on the RMR index. The Markland test. Application examples.. Introduction to hydrogeology: aquifers and aquicludes. Aquifer types (unconfined and confined). Relationships among geo-structural framework and groundwater bodies; hydrogeological maps. Hydrogeological basins, constant head and no flow boundaries. Groundwater budget. Springs and alluvial aquifers. The movement of groundwater: Darcy's law. Hydrogeological parameters (hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, storativity) and their physical meaning. Estimation of hydrogeological parameters using pumping tests in a steady and unsteady state. Aquifers characterization from springs hydrographs: recession curves, Maillet equation.