Ε7208 - MARINE GEOLOGY

Course Content

It is an introductory course in the scientific discipline of Marine Geology. The course deals with the outstanding contribution of Marine Geology to the Earth Sciences during the last and current century as well as with all revolutionary research achievements of this continuously evolving dynamic scientific field, which have been greatly providing a better understanding of the advancing geomorphological, geodynamic and geoenvironmental processes on our planet. In addition, in the context of the course, the fundamental acoustic and visual inspection methods that are widely used for the collection, processing and interpretation of the marine data are described in detail. The relevant data are commonly obtained from the performance of geophysical surveys on the shallow- and deep-water seafloor (which mainly include bathymetric/geomorphological mapping, tomography of the seabed sub-strata using seismic-reflection techniques, production of seabed mosaics with side-scan sonar imagery and magnetometry) as well as from the observations and sampling with autonomous or remotely-operated underwater vehicles together with sampling of seabed sediments using piston or gravity corers and grab samplers.

Characteristic geomorphological structures of the seafloor - Structure of oceanic crust and sedimentary cover - Submarine modern tectonic processes - Active and Passive continental margins - Types of submarine basins; Sedimentation processes in marine environments - Modern distribution of clastic, biogenic and chemical sediments on the seafloor - Variability of lithostratigraphy in the oceans; Milankovich cyclicity - Sea level changes and their impact on marine sedimentation; Extreme oceanographic events and sedimentation; Paleomagnetic stratigraphy in marine sediments; Biostratigraphy and methods of isotope stratigraphy; Methods of geochronology and correlation of marine sedimentary sequences; Ocean circulation; Marine geology of the Aegean Sea: Bottom geomorphology - Tectonic evolution and deformation - Sea level changes - Prehistoric relief; Marine geology of the Red Sea: Brine lakes; Methodology and description of the main instrumentation for submarine geophysical surveys; Methodology and description of the equipment for bottom sediment sampling; Methodology and description of the main instrumentation for the measurement of physical, chemical and biological parameters of the seawater column.

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