Università Roma Tre

Course Outline
1. Composition of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
• Components of sediments and sedimentary rocks.
• Textural characteristics of sediments.
• Classification of sedimentary rocks.
• Overview of economically important sedimentary rocks (e.g., organogenic rocks, evaporites).
2. Transport of Siliciclastic Material by Fluids
• Basic concepts of Newtonian mechanics in unidirectional flows.
• Traction currents.
• Hyperconcentrated and massive flows (e.g., granular flows, turbidity currents).
3. Petrology of Clastic Rocks
• Microscopic observation of thin sections from sandstone samples collected from flysch-type successions to identify main lithic components.
4. Sedimentary Structures
• Planar and cross laminations.
• Bedforms from unidirectional currents (asymmetric ripples) and wave action (symmetric ripples).
• Structures and deposits from hyperconcentrated and massive flows (normal and inverse grading, chaotic deposits): landslides, debris flows, grain flows, turbidity currents (Bouma sequence), tempestites.
• Erosional structures (channels, flute casts, grooves, tool marks), deformational structures (mudcracks, slumpings, load casts, diapirs), chemical structures (nodules, concretions), and biogenic structures (tracks, bioturbation, bioerosion, trace fossil assemblages).
5. Introduction to Sedimentary Environments
• Continental environments: fluvial and lacustrine systems.
• Transitional environments: deltaic and coastal systems.
• Marine environments: terrigenous and carbonate platforms, slope–deep-sea systems, pelagic basins.
• Evaporitic environments.
• Practical importance of sediments characteristic of different depositional environments.

BOGGS S., Jr. (2012). Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. Pearson Education, Inc., Pearson Prentice Hall.
TUCKER M.E. (2011). Sedimentary Rocks in the Field: A Practical Guide, 4th Edition. Wiley.
RICCI LUCCHI F. (1980)- Sedimentologia, parte I, II, III. CLUEB, Bologna;