"I will be developing an activity on (....), and would like to work in a group to help me (explore ideas, find data and tools, discuss teaching strategies)..."
1984:6713
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Activity Development
Glenn Richard
Feb, 2010
Would anyone be interested in the development of a collection of materials for teaching about high pressure research tools that COMPRES mineral physicists use to perform their work? If so, let's form a group.
The research tools that form the focus of this collection would include equipment (e.g. diamond anvil cells), detection technology (e.g. xray diffraction), and beamlines (e.g. the National Synchrotron Light Source)
Materials in this collection would include imagery, animations, interactive modules, and other resources that could serve as a basis for developing presentations and educational modules. Educational activities based on this collection could include virtual laboratory tours.
The research tools that form the focus of this collection would include equipment (e.g. diamond anvil cells), detection technology (e.g. xray diffraction), and beamlines (e.g. the National Synchrotron Light Source)
Materials in this collection would include imagery, animations, interactive modules, and other resources that could serve as a basis for developing presentations and educational modules. Educational activities based on this collection could include virtual laboratory tours.
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Wendy Mao
Feb, 2010
Hi Glen! I would be happy to contribute. I have a general lecture on high pressure techniques which would have imagery. This week has been crazy busy, but I should have more time during the weekend.
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Anna Courtier
Feb, 2010
I'd like the further develop the activity I mentioned earlier about mantle discontinuities and temperature vs composition interpretations. I'd like to explore other activities that could be matched before or after this (phase transitions, tomography, etc) to create a series of activities. I'd also like input on how to improve the activity itself and in terms of assessment.
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Eric Christiansen
Feb, 2010
I intend to submit an activity involving the use of seismic anisotropy in the mantle. Perhaps to include a ppt presentation on the technique, a homework assignment, followed by group discussion.
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Brennan Jordan
Feb, 2010
There are two quite different things that I'd like to try to do.
1. Follow-up my presentation with the creation of a structured in-class debate activity on the mantle plume debate.
2. Create a very simple tomography exercise, geared for non-science majors (GEO-101) where they adjust grid blocks to slow, normal, or fast to fit delay time data. This might start as a paper exercise, but I would aspire to make it an interactive applet (though I do not have the programming expertise to do that at this point).
1. Follow-up my presentation with the creation of a structured in-class debate activity on the mantle plume debate.
2. Create a very simple tomography exercise, geared for non-science majors (GEO-101) where they adjust grid blocks to slow, normal, or fast to fit delay time data. This might start as a paper exercise, but I would aspire to make it an interactive applet (though I do not have the programming expertise to do that at this point).
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Barbara Graham
Feb, 2010
I would like to work on a very basic tomography exercise that utilizes the USArray site/data. The goal of this exercise would be to introduce students to the USArray site, how seismology is used to infer the interior of the earth, and dismiss the idea that the interior of the earth is like an "onion".. :)
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John Taber
Feb, 2010
I would also like to work on a basic tomography exercise that uses USArray data. I like Brennan's idea of creating an interactive browser-based application where students do some manual model iterations to match model and data. If a group could come up with what the application should do, I might be able to provide a programmer to do it (though not immediately).
I'd also be interested in working on a higher level exercise that focused more on the limitations and constraints on tomographic models, with the goal of the students being able to interpret tomographic cross sections.
I'd also be interested in working on a higher level exercise that focused more on the limitations and constraints on tomographic models, with the goal of the students being able to interpret tomographic cross sections.
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Catherine Cooper
Feb, 2010
I would like to work on a exercise that starts with generic blobs within the interior of the Earth and then have students develop different observational models that they'd expect for the blobs for different techniques - say tomography, mantle discontinuities, gravity anomalies (and isostatic arguments), etc. That way they can build sort of a portfolio around their blobs that might guide them in how to interpret deep Earth observations. This, of course, should be an ongoing project throughout the semester or quarter in the course. In addition, it could be something quite quantitative (if they define actual shapes, material properties, etc, to it) or qualitative (if they just make it amorphous blobs of higher/lower density or cooler/warmer temps, etc).
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Vicki Hansen
Feb, 2010
I really like Catherine's idea, and I would be interested in then building perhaps (if possible) into that a few places on Earth that the students could apply their knowledge and postulate the effects of what the data shows at depth, or, based on things at the surface, what might they predict for mantle depths.
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Mike Williams
Feb, 2010
I want to work on an exercise (or exercises) in which students can monitor real-time data from Earthscope. At first, I will use the USArray, but I want to add other data sets also. I would like to have students adopt a particular seismic station... or perhaps a group of stations, and watch them on a regular basis. I would also like to build in the past data set for that station. I would think of highlighting particular past event for all of the students to comment on and interact with each other. I have a lot of thinking to do, but I would be happy to have suggestions.
1984:6825
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Glenn Richard
Feb, 2010
This post was edited by Glenn Richard on Feb, 2010
In Reply to Wendy Mao ...
Do you have your general lecture on high pressure techniques in PowerPoint, pdf, or another format that you could make available for me (or us) to look at? This type of material would be very useful either in its entirety or as separate components that could be incorporated into online resources designed to teach about high pressure research tools. For example, we might combine it with the Bragg's Law Applet and design some student activities around it.
In Reply to Wendy Mao ...
Do you have your general lecture on high pressure techniques in PowerPoint, pdf, or another format that you could make available for me (or us) to look at? This type of material would be very useful either in its entirety or as separate components that could be incorporated into online resources designed to teach about high pressure research tools. For example, we might combine it with the Bragg's Law Applet and design some student activities around it.
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Vicki Hansen
Feb, 2010
I am wondering if two recent papers in GEOLOGY (DiCaprio, Muller, Gurnis, 2010, A dynamic process for drowning carbonate reefs on the northeast Australian Margin; and/or Sutherland, Spasojevic, Gurnis, 2010, Mantle upwelling after Gonwana subduction death explains anamalous topography and subsidence histories of eastern New Zealand and West Antarctica) could possibly be developed into a classroom activity/lab/homework for students at intro/sophomore (?) to higher level to illustrate possible effects of deep mantle on the surface. I would need help from geophysicists, to be sure!
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Brennan Jordan
Feb, 2010
Following Barbara Graham's (7) and John Taber's (8) comments about simple tomography exercises: I also support what you are driving at, with the link to USArray. But my first order of business is something simpler and more generic that puts rays through a grid cross-sectional area, indicates delay times at receivers, and then has them iteratively work out a unique velocity structure consistent with the delays. I could see going a step further to having them first determine the delays from simplified seismograms. With respect to technology of implementation (java etc.), this could parallel a more sophisticated and less generic that you seem to be thinking of.
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Dave Mogk
Feb, 2010
I'm interested in examples that demonstrate how processes in the deep earth (aesthenosphere) impact us directly at the surface--e.g. how does this cause broad uplift or downwarp of the crust (formerly called epeiorogy I think). For example, what's happening under the Michigan Basin and Williston Basins to make them hang low? What is holding up the Colorado Plateau? What happened to the Creteaceous Interior Seaway--I don't think we can drain the waters off the continent simply by tying it up in ice caps (perhaps some inflation along spreading centers, but was there also uplift from below under the continent)? I think that any instructional activities that demonstrate direct linkage between deep earth and surface morphology and process would be tremendously beneficial.
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Catherine Cooper
Feb, 2010
Dave - what an interesting idea about the Cretaceous Interior Seaway! I just taught that last semester and you're completely right - there's got to be more to it than just growing ice caps.
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