Earth System Science Courses

Half Life Model part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Interactive Lecture Demonstrations:Examples
While working in groups to facilitate peer tutoring, students manipulate a hands-on, physical model to better comprehend the nature of half life. Students use the model to simulate the decay of radionuclides. The ...

Campus Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Campus-Based Learning:Examples
Students conduct a greenhouse gas emission inventory for their college or university. Students analyze findings and present information to the college or university community.

Whose Fault Is It Anyway? part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Games:Examples
This game has students simulate the propagation of P and S waves after an earthquake and to use the lag between these to determine where in the simulation the earthquake occurred.

How Do We Estimate Magma Viscosity? part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Teaching with SSAC:Examples
SSAC Physical Volcanology module. Students build a spreadsheet to examine how magma viscosity varies with temperature, fraction of crystals, and water content using the non-Arrhenian VFT model.

Bubbles in Magmas part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Teaching with SSAC:Examples
SSAC Physical Volcanology module. Students build a spreadsheet and apply the ideal gas law to model the velocity of a bubble rising in a viscous magma.

What is the Volume of the 1992 Eruption of Cerro Negro Volcano, Nicaragua? part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Teaching with SSAC:Examples
SSAC Physical Volcanology module. Students build a spreadsheet to calculate the volume a tephra deposit using an exponential-thinning model.

What is the Relationship between Lava Flow Length and Effusion Rate at Mt Etna? part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Teaching with SSAC:Examples
SSAC Physical Volcanology module. Students use Excel to determine a log-log relationship for flow length vs effusion rate and compare it with a theoretical expression for the maximum flow length.

How Does Surface Deformation at an Active Volcano Relate to Pressure and Volume Change in the Magma Chamber? part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Teaching with SSAC:Examples
SSAC Physical Volcanology module. Students build a spreadsheet to examine and apply the Mogi model for horizontal and vertical surface displacement vs. depth and pressure conditions in the magma chamber.

Metamorphic Rocks Lab part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Indoor Labs:Examples
Students are introduced to the processes involved in metamorphism through hands-on study of rock samples. They examine different metamorphic paths, protoliths, textures, and minerals.

Floodplains part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Field Labs:Field Lab Examples
In this lab, students measure a topographic and geologic cross-section across a floodplain by simple surveying and auguring techniques.