Geoscience
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Where Did That Quartzite Clast Come From?: A Problem-Based Provenance Study part of Cutting Edge:Sedimentary Geology:Activities
Students conducted microprobe geochemical provenance studies on quartzite clasts contained within a Tertiary conglomerate in southern Nevada, as well as quartzites that occur in the pre-Cambrian-Mesozoic stratirgraphy in the region. This project was carried out by an undergraduate Sed/Strat class. Incorporating this research into our undergraduate class resulted in two significant things that had been missing in previous classes: true excitement amongst the students related to research, and multiple opportunities for assessing and improving students writing skills.
Where Did That Quartzite Clast Come From?: A Problem-Based Provenance Study part of Cutting Edge:Sedimentary Geology:Activities
Students conducting geochemical provenance studies are forced to deal with obvious things such as manipulating/interpreting geochemical data, but also must deal less obvious factors such as considering earlier tectonic configurations. This project was developed as a semester-long research project that employed microprobe trace element geochemistry and cathodoluminescence in an undergraduate Sed/Strat class. Incorporating this research into our undergraduate class resulted in two significant things that had been missing in previous classes: true excitement amongst the students related to research, and multiple opportunities for assessing and improving students' writing skills.
