Dynamics of Basins and Orogens

Course goals

Content

            The course is meant for students who are particularly interested in combining a physics-based understanding with observations in understanding the evolution of sedimentary basins and orogenic systems. 

Place in the curriculum
            The course of Dynamics of Basins and Orogens is open to students of all Master’s programmes in Earth Sciences at Utrecht University, but fits best in the MSc programmes Earth Structure and Dynamics and Earth, Life and Climate. In the MSc Earth Structure and Dynamics, the course is an integral part of the Basins, Orogens and the Crust-Lithosphere system (BOCL) recommended study path that aims to combine observational and field-based geological analysis with quantitative aspects of geophysics in the context of plate tectonics. In the MSc Earth, Life and Climate, the course is an integral part of the Integrated Stratigraphy and Sedimentary Systems recommended study path that seeks to understand the role of sedimentology and stratigraphy in reconstructing System Earth and sedimentary basin fill histories. For students from other universities or HBO, the admittance requirements for these programmes are applicable.

Learning objectives

After following this course, students will be able to:

• Infer processes that play a role in sedimentary basins and orogenic systems formation and evolution, on the basis of their main geological and geophysical features;
• Explain how conceptual models of these processes can be developed further into quantitative models by taking into account the relevant physics;
• Use numerical and analogue models to obtain a more in-depth understanding of processes relevant for basin and orogen formation
• Illustrate how geological observations can be used to test and refine the proposed conceptual models of evolution (concept of testing working hypotheses);
• Analyze basin and orogen formation, evolution mechanisms and (sub)surface processes, which are needed to further understand locations and potential of economic-relevant geo-resources;
• Evaluate crustal- to lithospheric-scale processes, relevant for quantifying the orogenic evolution at continental margins and interiors and their paleogeography in terms of subduction processes combined with accretionary and plateau-type orogenesis.

 
Please note: Some of the theoretical part of this DBO course focusses on the main lithospheric and crustal scale physics and, therefore, shows an overlap in terms of starting physics with some BSc courses and the MSc course GEO4-1409 Tectonophysics. However, this starting physics is used to define concepts and their application in sedimentary basins and orogenic systems that are taught only during the DBO course. 
 
Transferable skills
The course contributes to the following transferrable skills:

• Ability and flexibility to work in a team: the student work out together the assignments either individually or in teams where members share the responsibility of the final product;
• Written communication skills: every assignment and computer labs contain an explanatory description in a fixed length format. The students learn how to transmit efficiently data interpretation;
• Problem-solving skills: the assignments have multiple solutions with successive levels of finding problems not anticipated before and interpretation adjusted;
• Technical skills: students develop technical and visualisation skills by building analogue models and by developing numerical modelling codes that includes spatial geometries and interpretation techniques.
• Flexibility/adaptability: students use industry approaches to solve practical problems that require an advanced degree of flexibility;
• Analytical/quantitative skills: knowledge obtained during classes are extensively applied to real practical situations that require solutions. Computer labs train students in using MATLAB to quantitatively analyse a given problem.