Georessources 1st and 2nd year

Apply novel mineralogy and geochemistry analysis tools to geomaterials in the environment. Coupled chemical, structural, morphological and isotopic modern analytical methods for characterization of mineral phases. Introduction to hyperspectral imaging by combining spectroscopies and scanning microscopies.

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This course offers a guided tour of the Earth's interior, from the crust to the core. The main observables and tools for investigating the Earth's interior (seismology, mineralogy, heat transfer, geochemistry, gravity, geomagnetism) are presented and used to describe and explain key processes (crust formation, plate tectonics and mantle convection, magnetic field generation). A historical approach is often privileged: the emphasis is put on the construction and evolution of our understanding of the internal structure of the Earth and its behaviour, by presenting the discoveries and conceptual advances that have led to our current vision of the Earth. The course includes two sessions of group presentations of historical or recent papers.

Teaching language: English

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This module provides an introduction to the course. It helps place the issues covered by the Earth and Environmental Sciences in context, and guide the students with their training and professional projects. This module consists of:

(1) a 3-day field workshop for the entire class, which will serve to illustrate the major themes and issues of EES with the help of the exceptional sites found around Grenoble;

(2) an interview, and the drafting of an educational and professional project by each student;

(3) seminars for the entire class on the major current issues of EES (mineral and energy resources, telluric risks, climate change, water resources).

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This course deals with the fundamental processes that control the behavior of metallic pollutants (e.g. Zn, Pb, As, Ag, Cr, U, Fe, Mn...) and nutrients (Nitrate, phosphate...) in soils, groundwater, mine waters, lakes, and wastewaters. In the first part, the fundamental processes conditioning the mobility/reactivity of these pollutants, and their solubility and toxicity are discussed, i.e. bacterial respiration and the redox chain, the parameters conditioning their retention (specific surface, density/nature/structure/strength of the reactive sites, pH) and their modes of interaction with solids (complexation/ionic exchange/hydrophobicity) are treated, and exemplified.

The second part of the module is dedicated to the illustration of the taught subject, i.e. dedicated to the visit of two respectively sulphide and carbanate-based mining sites and the associated societal, environmental and technical management problems and outcomes. This visit is followed by three days of practical work in the laboratory with the study in small groups of the metal content of the sampled soils, the composition and the BOD of wastewater and the complexing reactivity of reactive soil organic matter. A reading and oral presentation of related scientific publications is included.

Language: Course in English, overheads in French, the 'mines' sites visit ans sampling is in French. A 50-page course summary written in English and French is distributed at the beginning of the course.

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This 5-day course (3 ECTS) takes place in the Ivrea zone, in northern Italy. The objective is to study a Permian igneous system, exceptionally preserved, and its metamorphic surrounding. The observations made on the field can be extrapolated to understand the structure of the continental crust.
This course is based on an integrative approach. Students study different outcrops during the day. In the evening, they synthesize their field observations together with thin section descriptions and geochemical and thermodynamic data. This approach allows understanding, progressively during the fieldtrip, the igneous processes that operated within the magma chamber and the consequences of magmatism on the thermal structure of the lower continental crust. The work is evaluated from reports throughout the course.
For practical reasons, this fieldtrip is limited to 16 students. It is asked to follow the Petrology course to participate to the fieldtrip.

Additional information
Location(s) : Departure and return from Grenoble. Training course taking place in the Ivrea area, in Italy
Language(s) : French (English)

Targeted skills:
- Processes in igneous system and interaction with the surrounding rocks.
- Associated mineral deposits.
- Macroscopic and microscopic recognition of magmatic and metamorphic rocks
- Autonomy in the field, team work, field notebook, note taking, observations.
- Drawing and mapping of outcrops.
- Interpretation of mineral textures and paragenesis in metamorphic and magmatic rocks.
- Synthesis of data obtained on the field and data that can be acquired later in the lab (geochemistry, thin sections) in order to establish a plausible geodynamic scenario of the studied area, at the outcrop scale and at the regional scale.

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The geomechanics course applies the principles of continuum mechanics to concrete problems of the Solid Earth.

The module is articulated by a back-and-forth between:

- a complete course presenting the basics of geomechanics, which allows a refresher for students who have never studied continuum mechanics,

- numerous application examples from real studies, both geotechnical and geodynamic. The large exercise base allows students who already have the basics of mechanics to practice reading data and applying the geomechanical approach in a more applied way than in their previous course.

Thus, at the end of the module, students should have a solid foundation in

- mechanics of continuous media

- the use and measurement of elastic properties of materials

- the use of failure criteria to gauge the mechanical stability of a structure: friction and fracturing phenomena.

Evaluation:

A mid-term CC counting for 50% of the grade

A final exam accounting for 50% of the grade

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This course is an introduction to the use of basic geophysical prospecting methods (seismic refraction, electrical sounding, EM mapping). An effort is made towards the processing and acquisition of data in the field and especially their interpretation in geological and hydrological terms in simple environments.

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This optional module is intended for students wishing to deepen their knowledge of the behavior of metals in natural soils and waters and in mining environments. It is based on the PHREEQC geochemical modeling software which is a reference in the scientific world and is freely available. The first sessions are dedicated to the step-by-step learning of the software in the classroom and in tutored sessions, the following sessions are dedicated to the modeling of equilibrium speciation processes in soils and groundwater (hydrolysis, Eh-pH diagrams, complexation and toxicity, 1D reactive transfer of pollutions in soils, redox processes) and mining processes (acid mine drainage, genesis of a mining reservoir, solubility f(T, p)). The last two sessions are dedicated to projects elaborated by the students in pairs.
Language: English, bilingual notices.

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The objective of this course is to examine the behavior of the lithosphere and of the crust, at spatial scales ranging from the global Earth to the mountain range. An important part of the course is meant to place plate tectonics in the broad context of mantle convection. Similarly, the evolution of mountain ranges is understood within the general geodynamic framework. Surface deformation is explained by the cumulative effects of crustal and lithospheric tectonics, mantle convection, and surface processes. The development of the course is largely based on the analysis of Cenozoic tectonics, using multiple regional examples. A multidisciplinary approach is developed, in order to use analytical tools and geodynamic modeling to interpret observations from geophysical datasets or from the geological record.

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The goal of this module is to introduce students to the energy and environmental issues raised by the modern quest for economic growth and to map out the potential of the ecological transition. This series of courses is structured along three main axes: an introduction to environmental discourses on growth and limits; a zoom on the climate-energy-raw material nexus; a “map” of the possibilities for low-carbon economies. 

Students will learn about the physical foundations of economic growth. We will look at both the importance of economic growth (and energy use) for human welfare and the huge environmental footprint of growth. Students will explore different − sometimes radically different − perspectives on issues ranging from what makes growth possible and whether economic growth is sustainable in a physically finite world to what is to be done about environmental destruction and climate change. Specifically, they will learn about 3 schools of thought relevant to the academic conversation about the limits to growth: (1) the degrowth perspective, (2) the green growth perspective, and (3) cornucopianism.

Students are introduced to climate change studies and to the major social and environmental challenges of the Anthropocene. Living most fossil fuels in the ground to meet the conditions of the Paris Agreement and transitioning to low-carbon economies implies an increasing demand on mineral resources. This course deals with the demand for raw materials in a low-carbon world and the challenges that come along (energy transition scenarios and energy mixes, extraction and processing of raw materials, environmental (in)justice…) .

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Description and quantification of the processes that manage magmatic and metamorphic petrology Fractional crystallization - example of large bedded intrusions; Partial melting - trapps and oceanic plateaus; Assimilation, mixing of magmas - magmatic deposits; Basalts from oceanic ridges and oceanic islands; Volcanic rocks of subduction zones; Composition and structure of continental crust; Transformation processes of metamorphic rocks; Metamorphic rocks and their geodynamic context; Metamorphic facies and reconstruction of pressure-temperature conditions; Dating of metamorphic rocks; Alpine metamorphism.

This course is given in English.

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The goal of the course ‘Basin analysis’ is to understand the formation and evolution of sedimentary basins. It includes:
- Lectures on the various types of basins in their lithospheric setting (divergent, convergent, transform plate boundaries, intraplate basins).
- Lectures on their sedimentary systems, clastic and carbonate, source to sink processes, diagenesis and thermal evolution, and their implications for energy resources.
- Practical work on the interpretation of sedimentary cores and seismic lines.
Required level: Bachelor level in sedimentology, tectonics and lithospheric dynamics.
Teaching language: Half of the course is given in English, half in French or in English in case at least one student does not understand French.

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This course is an initiation to economic geology given by academic researchers and people from mining industry. The main core concepts that will be developed are:

(1) the global resources and reserves of ores today and in the future and the geological, societal, political, economical and environmental factors that constrain the exploitation of an ore deposit;

(2) the exploration techniques;

(3) the classification of ore deposits;

(4) the geological processes involved in the formation of magmatic, sedimentary and hydrothermal ore deposits;

(5) The ore resources in Europe and the exploration and exploitation of ore deposits in Europe

These concepts will be developed during lectures and practicals

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This module is intended to supplement the subsurface geophysics teaching with a detailed mathematical description of geophysics imaging techniques adapted to petroleum, mining and crustal objectives.

Particular focus is given to the main following methods: 

- seismic reflection signals; principles of acquisition and data processing (theory and practical exercices on academic and industrial softwares) with application to several datasets acquired in marine environment and on the ground at various scales of the Earth's crust. 

- interpretation of controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) data and gravimetry,

- electromagnetic prospection in diffuse regime

The seismic part of this lecture aims at proving a solid background fo further interpretation, which is taught in the "bassin analysis" class. 

Evaluation is based on the reports from the practical works and on a final exam.   

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In this module, taught in the form of a short course with essentially practical assignments, students will learn to use subsurface modelling software ("Move"). This way of modelling  the subsurface has become the industry standard, fully supplanting 2D geological maps, and it is essential for Master students in Earth Sciences to know how to use these tools. In addition, the software developers make them available to universities at a very low cost. The practical assignments will benefit from the new digital mapping facilities  installed at Phitem with support from the OSUG@2020 excellence laboratory. This course is taught in English by an external contributor, who is an active consultant in structural geology with an excellent knowledge of the work field. 

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10-day field course between Grenoble and the Briançon area. This multidisciplinary course is organized around the implementation of previously acquired techniques of multi-tool geological analysis (pre-requisites in mapping, structural and sedimentological analysis) and consists of an exploration and synthesis situation in the field. This workshop, inspired by training courses requested by the petroleum industry, addresses multi-scale and three-dimensional observation, integration with geodynamic models and the link with the geophysical approach in current analogues. It also allows students to become familiar with the new mapping and measurement tools (tablets).

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During this course you will familiarise yourself with the evolution of a sedimentary basin through field observations. We will study, at various scales (hand sample, outcrop, landscape), the distribution of sedimentary facies in the basin through space and time, paying particular attention to the effects of changing accommodation space, as a result of for example sea-level variations. We will study the basin along a transect from the basin margin to the deeper water areas.

Language: French, English

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Objectifs d’enseignement :

- Prendre conscience des représentations véhiculées par le langage et comprendre les phénomènes langagiers décrits en écolinguistique afin de faciliter la communication, la cohésion, l’intégration et la compréhension entre les différents acteurs de la transition écologique

- Être capable d'utiliser le terme adéquat, les métaphores et la saillance discursive pour développer des stratégies argumentatives auprès d'acteurs publics et privés

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The field course offers a practical teaching in which they implement geophysical and geological methods classically used in Marine Geosciences. In particular, during the internship, students will participate in a seismic reflection acquisition campaign aboard the Thetys II, a coastal vessel of the French Oceanic Fleet, chartered by INSU and managed by IFREMER.
The object studied is the northern Ligurian continental margin, off Nice, which is a remarkable example of passive margin. The internship program includes (under the supervision of a teacher, and with the help of a technician) the implementation by the students of the main data acquisition techniques used in Earth Sciences
- principles of navigation and positioning (GPS, keeping a logbook);
- bathymetry (canyons, sedimentary surveys, continental slope, plateaus,...);
- the implementation of seismic-reflection multitracing, along large profiles cutting the entire Ligurian margin.
These profiles are completed by cross-sectional profiles at the top or bottom of the slope, in order to initiate the students to the study and the reconstruction in three dimensions of sedimentary bodies. Back in the classroom, the students process and interpret the data acquired at sea, in the context of regional geology and global tectonics.
The internship is organized differently for students in the Geophysics track and those in the GeoResources/Geodynamics track, with a different weight for the 3 parts of the internship:
(1) acquisition campaign at sea
(2) processing of seismic profiles with Seismic Unix
(3) interpretation of seismic reflection profiles
For geophysics students, the focus is on acquisition and processing. For example, an offshore session is planned to evaluate the importance of acquisition parameters on the resolution and penetration of the profiles obtained.
For the other students, the interpretation of the profiles is more developed and completed by a course on the tectonic-sedimentary history of the margin. Students will be able to recognize on the profiles the Messinian erosion surface, the unconformity of the acoustic basement and post-rift sediments, the transgression of the upper evaporites, the mode of deposition of the Quaternary turbidic series (canyons and deep Var cone), the tectonic deformation of the foot of the margin (sometimes salt diapirs, active faults of the foot of the margin and of the basin), the subsident zone of the foot of the margin, and finally sometimes, the syn-rift series and the Oligocene tilted blocks (ante-rift series).
The number of students is limited to 16, divided into 2 groups according to their course within the STPE master.
The evaluation is done on the basis of :
a summary sheet to be handed in right after the course. These sheets are corrected by the teachers and can be used as revision sheets afterwards
an oral exam on the 3 themes covered during the course:
Acquisition
Processing
Interpretation
Recommended prerequisites

The student is expected to have a good knowledge of seismic wave propagation and notions of sedimentology.
The processing of seismic profiles is done with the software suite " Seismic Unix ", already presented in the module PAX8GPAB " Exploration Geophysics ".
All students participating in the internship will be required to attend two sessions of module PAX8GRAC "Basin Analysis".
Targeted skills

At the end of the internship, students will have seen the complete work chain carried out during a marine geoscience campaign, from geophysical measurements in the field to the geological interpretation of profiles. In particular, they will know how to:
- Identify the key parameters needed to acquire a seismic profile, identifying the appropriate equipment and choosing the relevant parameters to obtain data with the resolution and penetration needed to characterize the target being studied.
- Process raw data to obtain a quality, debruised and migrated seismic profile.
- Identify artifacts and avoid gross errors when interpreting a seismic profile
- Recognize sedimentary structures in a series of seismic profiles on a 3D volume and place them in the tectonic-sedimentary history of the region studied.

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This course offers a broad and practical introduction to Earth Observation from space and to Geographic Information System (GIS). The course works on a basis of 3h lecture associated to 3h of practical work using the free software QGIS. Course are usually given in French. In addition, a project using QGIS has to be by small groups of students, including 9h (3x3h) with teacher support in computer room.

The structure of the courses is:

first part is common to all the student (from January to February winter break)

+ Introduction to GIS: 3h course + 3h practical
+ Basics of Remote Sensing (1): 3h course + 3h practical
+ Basics of Remote Sensing (2): 3h course + 3h practical
+ Classification methods: 3h course + 3h practical

The second part of the course depends of the program followed by the students : 

for Geophysics, Geodynamics, Georesources and Georisks programs: 
+ Remote-Sensing and GIS applied to geology:  3h course 
+ Remote-Sensing and GIS applied to geophysics:  3h course 
+ Remote-Sensing and GIS applied to continental surfaces:  3h course
+ Remote-Sensing and GIS applied to planetology:  3h course + 3h practical

for Hydro-resources and Atmosphere-Climate-Continental Landmass programs: 
+ Remote-Sensing and GIS applied to continental surfaces:  3h course 
+ Remote-Sensing and GIS applied to Digital Elevation Surface:  3h course + 3h practical
+ Remote-Sensing and GIS applied to atmosphere:  3h course
+ Remote-Sensing and GIS applied to Ocean:  3h course
 
Evaluation will be based on a written exam at mid-term, a written report about the project, and a final written exam covering all the lectures and practicals.

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This teaching unit will introduce the students to the new opportunities for mining exploration in Europe. In the current environment of high-metal demand and exhaustion of historically important metal resources, different sources of metals and technologies to extract metal will have to be found: mining deeper primary mineral resources, using new type of ore, or returning to recover extractable minerals from abandoned mines. The idea of this unit is to train students to identify such sustainable opportunities using complex sets of geological, historical, geographical, and economical data. Innovation in data visualisualization and integration will be of prior importance. We develop a new pedagogic approach based on an educational crowd-sourcing contest. The students will work co-operatively on an unstructured problem, without a pre-ordained “right” answer, where they will hone both their university-acquired or self-taught skillsets into application that the minerals exploration industry requires. We aim at strengthening MSc students creativity, entrepreneurship and skills for the sustainable development of mineral resources in Europe. We train the next generation of mineral resource managers (not only geologists) to develop new active environmental and societal strategy for sustainably harnessing mineral resources in Europe

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The Montagne Noire constitutes a remarkable metallogenic province with about 100 km long and 25-70 km wide, located in the southwest part of Massif Central, France.

This region hosts a unique diversity of ore deposits:

- Pb, Zn, Cu, Ba in sedimentary and metamorphic units,

- Sb in magmatic context,

- W in metamorphic units,

- Au, Ag, As, Te in epithermal context,

- Al in bauxites,

- U in sedimentary context,

All these ore deposits are of major interest regarding mining exploration and exploitation. Mining activity has taken place in several areas since pre-Roman period mainly for for Au and Ag exploitation. Some very important ore deposits have been exploited in this province during the past century (The Salsigne gold mine used to be the biggest in Europe). The geology of Montagne Noire has a remarkable chronostratigraphic set that provides a vast lithologic diversity.

The general idea of the field trip is to introduce the students to ore targeting and exploration, but also to the environmental history of mining: exploitation, closure and recreation.

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"La connaissance du sous-sol est nécessaire pour appréhender ses risques, évaluer ses ressources, et les exploiter dans un cadre qui fait consensus, notamment vis-à-vis des dernières contraintes environnementales.

L'identification et la caractérisation géochimique et géophysique des réservoirs géologiques trouvent de très nombreuses applications pour la production et le stockage de ressources. Qu'il s'agisse d'analogues de surface ou de réservoirs souterrains, la compréhension de la mise en place des réservoirs et de leur fonctionnement dynamique en tant que milieux poreux, fracturés et perméables bénéficie à l'hydrologie, à la géothermie (y compris ses aléas sismiques), aux stockages souterrains de gaz (CO₂, CH₄, H₂, He, air comprimé, ...), voire à la volcanologie.

Les étudiants apprendront dans ce module à utiliser les outils géochimiques nécessaire à la caractérisation des réservoirs pétroliers (maturité, dépôts environnementaux, du pétrole / gaz). Ils manipuleront des logiciels permettant de traiter, de visualiser et d'interpréter des volumes de données sismiques dans le cadre de l’imagerie sismique 2D et 3D. Ils seront également initiés aux solutions envisagées pour réduire la concentration de CO₂ atmosphérique (stockage géologique).

Les connaissances acquises dans ce module pourront être valorisées aussi bien en milieu industriel que dans des organismes de recherche publique de type EPIC (ANDRA, BRGM, CEA, IFP Energies nouvelles, INERIS, IRSN, …)."

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This module trains students in site geophysics. It contains solid theoretical training, complemented by many practical applications. The aim is to make students more autonomous with respect to the choice of exploration methods and the establishment of an acquisition campaign.

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Students will learn to recognise and interpret markers of ductile deformation in different structural and metamorphic contexts. 

Field workshop offered every other year, alternating with the Field Workshop Petrology.. This module is available in even-numbered years (2018, 2020, etc.)

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The objective of this course is to examine the behavior of the lithosphere and of the crust, at spatial scales ranging from the global Earth to the mountain range. An important part of the course is meant to place plate tectonics in the broad context of mantle convection. Similarly, the evolution of mountain ranges is understood within the general geodynamic framework. Surface deformation is explained by the cumulative effects of crustal and lithospheric tectonics, mantle convection, and surface processes. The development of the course is largely based on the analysis of Cenozoic tectonics, using multiple regional examples. A multidisciplinary approach is developed, in order to use analytical tools and geodynamic modeling to interpret observations from geophysical datasets or from the geological record.

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Near Surface Geophysics is open to Georisks, Geophysics and MEEES paths. The course starts with a  brief reminder of the basics in Geophysical imaging (Seismic refraction, electrical soundings) and evolves towards more advanced methods: i) inversion-based methods such as tomography techniques (electric, seismic) and surface wave investigations, and ii) methods based on more advanced signal processing such as Ground Penetrating Radar and advanced Seismic reflection techniques. A specific GPS course is also included. 

The course is a bit data oriented with training using different geophysical softwares (electrical and seismic tomography, Surface wave inversion, Seismic Unix). 

A fieldwork is included (generally on a landslide) and data acquired in the field are then post-processed and analyzed to produce a report.

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The Environmental Problem Solving training unit helps develop the knowledge, methods and competencies needed to advance sustainability and the ecological transition as unprecedented change is happening at the global, regional and local levels. Students are trained to use qualitative, quantitative and scenario methods in a systems-theory approach. “What can change?” “How can change happen?” “Who can change?” are the pivotal questions of the course. Two of the six key sectors of the ecological transition (Transport and Industry) are explored from a theoretical and practical perspective, including investigation of a set of case studies and a roll-play at the end of each sequence. Specific attention is given to biophysical and subsurface resources. This course works hand in hand with the project-based course “Initiatives” and the various interventions of our colleagues from the geology department. 

Course objectives and competencies developed:

- Understand the complexity and interconnectedness of major environmental issues: systems competence

- Demonstrate understanding of selected environmental problems from a transdisciplinary perspective: transdisciplinary competence

- Learn to use the methods and processes of environmental problem solving: critical, strategic and normative competence

Learn to use qualitative and quantitative data-collection methods: integrative data collection and analysis

- Develop strong oral and written communication skills and abilities: interpersonal and communication competence

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Active faults are those producing earthquakes. Their knowledge is thus a prerequisite to any seismic hazard analysis. The objective of the ‘active faults’ class is to make the students familiar with these structures, and establish the links and common properties between long‐term geological faults and instantaneous earthquake ruptures. We start reminding a few basics in rock and fracture mechanics that allow understanding why the Earth crust and lithosphere break through faulting and earthquakes. We then see on which criteria most active faults can be identified in the surface morphology. The modern tools allowing such identification are described. We show that faults are organized features that form hierarchical, larger‐scale systems, whose geometry brings information on long‐term fault evolution, kinematics and mechanics. The long‐term kinematics and evolution can then be more precisely quantified using data such as geomorphology and geochronology. We discuss these methods of quantification, the assumptions on which they rely, their implications in terms of long‐term fault slip rates, earthquake sizes and recurrence times, etc... Then, we go back to earthquake ruptures, which we analyze with a ‘geological eye’ (analysis of static parameters). Doing so, we point out the differences and similarities between earthquake ruptures and long‐term faults, and discuss the properties of faults which most control the earthquake behavior. We also characterize how faults behave during a single, then multiple seismic cycles, and introduce the recently discovered complexities of both the seismic cycle and its repetitions. Combining the present knowledge on long‐term faults and earthquakes, we then try to understand how faults may grow in time, i.e., accumulate slip and propagate laterally through the repetition of large earthquakes. We eventually suggest how that understanding may help anticipating the occurrence and size of the future earthquakes.

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This internship must be carried out for at least 6 weeks. It aims to discover the professional environment, business or research laboratory, whose themes are linked to the objectives of each course. 

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This internship has a minimum duration of 4 months and constitutes the finalization of each student's master's project. It can serve as a gateway to the professional world or preparatory to a doctorate. It must be closely linked to the chosen master's course.

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