The course provides an integrated introduction to the deformation of the Earth's crust, examined through the complementary lenses of structural geology and rock mechanics. Starting from the fundamental physical concepts of stress, strain, and rheology, the course develops a progressive understanding of how rocks respond to applied forces under different conditions of temperature, pressure, and strain rate. The mechanical behaviour of rocks is examined from the grain scale – where frictional, crystal-plastic and diffusion mechanisms operate – to the lithospheric scale, where these mechanisms produce the characteristic structural styles of contractional, extensional and strike-slip tectonic regimes. The main classes of geological structure are treated systematically: fractures, joints, veins, faults, and fault zones in the brittle regime; folds, foliations, lineations, boudinage, and shear zones across the brittle–ductile transition. Each structure is analysed in terms of its geometry, kinematics, and mechanical origin.
- Teacher: AMERIGO CORRADETTI
