Duration
15h Th, 15h Pr, 1d FW
Number of credits
| Master in geology, research focus (Even years, organized in 2024-2025) | 4 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Clays are minerals present in association in materials of various origins (soils, sediments, sedimentary rocks). Their small sizes and crystalline layered structures give particular physicochemical properties to clay materials. These materials are used in many applications in basic and applied sciences.
The course will consist of 3 parts:
I. Mineralogy of clays (crystal structure, classification, methods of analysis, properties);
II. Sediment cycle (modes of formation, inputs & sedimentary environments, diagenesis);
III. Paleoenvironmental, industrial & environmental applications.
The preparation of samples for an analysis by X-ray diffraction as well as the interpretation of the spectra will be carried out during the practical work sessions.
A graphic summary is available on the Ecampus platform.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
llustration of the applications in fundamental and applied research of the analysis of natural clay minerals. At the end of this learning unit, the student will have acquired knowledge on the diversity of clay minerals in terms of their crystalline structure and chemical composition, their specific properties and modes of formation and evolution during the sedimentary cycle. In terms of know-how, the student will be able to identify the minerals present in a clay sample and estimate their relative and quantitative abundance using specific software.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Basic mineralogical knowledge. The main critalline structures of clay minerals will be quickly revised.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Course
The lectures will be given in live in classroom or online.
The lectures will be divided in subsections of approximatively 30 slides.
Each lectures will be recorded and available at any time after the course for the students.
Practise
1. Preparation, under supervision (technician or assistant) of a natural complex clayey sample.
2. Analyse by X-ray diffraction.
3. Qualitative, semi-quantitative and quantitative interpretation of the mineral composition of the sample using specific softwares (EVA, TOPAZ).
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Course
First semester= 7 x 2 x 50 min in face-to-face.
Practises
A mandatory introductory session to practical work (face-to-face). The other sessions are to be planned by the student during the first semester. A schedule will be established to reserve access to the workstation.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
For each course, the slides will be available on the MyULiege platform
A syllabus is available on campus at "Point de vue". This syllabus only covers part of the material covered in class.
For the figures, the bibliographical references are indicated next to the illustrations.
The additional resources indicated on the slides are avalable upon request.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( open-ended questions )
Written work / report
Further information:
The examination will be divided in three parts.
(1) A 15 minutes oral examination: after a delay for preparation, comments on figures and/or tables from the lectures (60% of the final quotation).
(2) Personal work. Concise written report (max. 5 pages + bibliography) of one clay sample analysis focusing on (1) the identification of one sample analysed during the practise and (2) its potential applications (30% of the final quotation).
(3) Collaborative work. Redaction of a tutorial for the identification and interpretation for X-ray spectra (10% of the final quotation).
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
The course will be given during the first semester in face to face (B18).
Your comments on the course are welcome.
Contacts
Nathalie Fagel
Professor
Department of Geology.
Laboratory AGEs - Argiles, géochimie et environnements sédimentaires. Quartier Agora, Sart-Tilman B18, 14 Allée du 6 Août, B-4000 Liège.
Tél: 04/366.22.09
Fax: 04/366.20.29
E-mail: Nathalie.Fagel@uliege.be
www.ages.ulg.ac.be