Pedological characterization of soils; EU objective
Define and characterize a soil. Understand the processes responsible for its formation and evolution. Understand water/soil/atmosphere/organism interactions. Know the anthropogenic risks around soils (fertility, erosion, pollution, development). Acquire the notions of geotechnics. Know how to understand the difficulties of implementing routine means of sampling soil and groundwater using drilling techniques. Know the procedures for measuring the permeability of soils by drilling.
Content of the lessons
The state of the world’s soil (risks, issues)
Basic notions of pedology (description, structure, porosity, grain size)
Formation, evolution and classification of soils.
Soil, vegetation and living organisms.
What is geotechnics, a science applied to the study of the soil-structure interface? The profession and its applications, the equipment of geotechnicians.
Common drilling techniques and soil sampling methods.
The creation of piezometers for water sampling and groundwater monitoring.
Drilling permeability tests.
Case studies, application on environmental issues.
Laboratory soil analysis
