Classroom, Lab and Field Exercises in Geophysics

This collection of teaching materials allows for the sharing of ideas and activities within the community of geophysics teachers.

Do you have a favorite teaching activity you'd like to share? Add your teaching materials to the collection, using our submission tool.




Current Search Limits:

Results 1 - 17 of 17 matches

Karst Hydrogeology: A virtual field introduction using Google Earth and GIS part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Rachel Bosch, Northern Kentucky University
Students will have the opportunity to select and virtually explore the hydrogeology and geomorphology of a karst landscape using Google Earth, lidar data-sourced DEM(s) and geologic maps, and GIS software (QGIS) ...

Online Field Experience Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the Teaching with Online Field Experiences Exemplary collection
See the activity page for details.

Measuring the Inclination and Declination of the Earth's magnetic field with a smartphone part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Avradip Ghosh, University of Houston-University Park
The poles of the Earth's magnetic field are not precisely aligned with the geographic north and south poles and, in fact, vary continuously. This activity introduces to students the Earth's magnetic ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Working with Point Clouds in CloudCompare and Classifying with CANUPO part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Sharon Bywater-Reyes, University of Northern Colorado
This exercise will walk you through 1) basic operations and use in CloudCompare, and 2) use of an Open-Source plugin in CloudCompare called CANUPO (http://nicolas.brodu.net/en/recherche/canupo/) that allows for ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Magnetometry at home: a hands-on survey with your smartphone part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Charly Bank, University of Toronto
Using a free app downloaded to their smartphone or tablet device students engage in collecting magnetic field data. Students have to design and document a survey, and are encouraged to do simple quality control. ...

Online Field Experience Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the Teaching with Online Field Experiences Exemplary collection
See the activity page for details.

Landslide Mapping and Analysis part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Alison Duvall, University of Washington-Seattle Campus
The purpose of this module is to familiarize students to empirical methods of mass movement hazard analysis, to provide them training in mapping and analyzing inventories of landslides from lidar datasets, and to ...

Introduction to Terrestrial Laser Scanning part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Sharon Bywater-Reyes, University of Northern Colorado; Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope
In this assignment, students analyze terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) data in a similar manner as done previously with structure from motion (SfM) data, earlier in the course. Students compare and contrast the SfM ...

Structure from Motion for Analysis of River Characteristics part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Sharon Bywater-Reyes, University of Northern Colorado; Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope
In this assignment, students conduct a Structure from Motion (SfM) survey of the Sheep Draw field site along the Poudre River near Greely, CO. The end product is a point cloud used in additional assignments to ...

Post-processing GPS/GNSS Base Station Position part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Sharon Bywater-Reyes, University of Northern Colorado; Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope
This assignment uses static GNSS methods to establish a base station used to establish a control point for a kinematic survey (establishing ground control points used in Structure from Motion for Analysis of River ...

Ground Control Points for Structure from Motion part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Sharon Bywater-Reyes, University of Northern Colorado; Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope
This assignment uses real-time kinematic GNSS methods to establish ground control points used in the Day 3 Part 2: Analysis of River Characteristics structure from motion (SfM) activity. Day 3 Part 1 - This ...

Unit 2.1: Geodetic survey of an outcrop for road cut design part of Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM
Yonathan Admassu (James Madison University) John Paul Ligush (James Madison University) Matthew Gribbin (James Madison University)
This unit offers an alternative application for high-resolution topographic data from an outcrop. Using engineering geology methods and data collection from TLS and/or SfM, students design safe "road ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.
GETSI Developed This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process.
Learn more about this review process.

Unit 3: Geodetic survey of a fault scarp part of Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM
Bruce Douglas (Indiana University) Nicholas Pinter (University of California Davis) Nathan Niemi (University of Michigan) J. Ramon Arrowsmith (Arizona State University) Kate Shervais (UNAVCO) Chris Crosby (EarthScope)
In this unit, students will design a survey (TLS and/or SfM) of a fault scarp. After conducting the survey in the field, students will analyze the data to identify the number and magnitude of possible fault ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.
GETSI Developed This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process.
Learn more about this review process.

Unit 1-TLS: Introduction to TLS part of Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM
Bruce Douglas (Indiana University) Chris Crosby (UNAVCO) David Phillips (UNAVCO) Kate Shervais (UNAVCO)
Field experience using geodetic and geophysical tools provides a unique opportunity for upper-level undergraduates to learn research skills applicable to their future graduate research or career path. This unit ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.
GETSI Developed This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process.
Learn more about this review process.

Unit 4: Geomorphic change detection part of Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM
Kate Shervais (UNAVCO) J. Ramon Arrowsmith (Arizona State University) Nathan Niemi (University of Michigan) Marin Clark (University of Michigan) Chris Crosby (UNAVCO)
Applications of geodetic imaging in geomorphology research often center on monitoring and detecting change within a system over time. Since most geomorphic systems evolve over longer time periods—months, years, ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.
GETSI Developed This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process.
Learn more about this review process.

Unit 2: Geodetic survey of an outcrop for stratigraphic analysis part of Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM
Bruce Douglas (Indiana University) Chris Crosby (UNAVCO) Kate Shervais (UNAVCO)
Geodetic survey techniques, such as TLS and SfM featured here, have many applications in sedimentology research, including lithological identification and analysis, sediment surface topography, and sequence ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.
GETSI Developed This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process.
Learn more about this review process.

Unit 1-SfM: Introduction to SfM part of Analyzing High Resolution Topography with TLS and SfM
Kate Shervais (UNAVCO) Bruce Douglas (Indiana University) Chris Crosby (EarthScope)
This unit introduces students to Structure from Motion (SfM). SfM is a photogrammetric technique that uses overlapping images to construct a 3D model of the scene and has widespread research applications in ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.
GETSI Developed This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process.
Learn more about this review process.

Unit 2: Identifying faulting styles, rates and histories through analysis of geomorphic characteristics (Lidar) part of Imaging Active Tectonics
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University-Bloomington; Gareth Funning, University of California-Riverside
Can active faults be identified remotely, based upon their appearance in the landscape? How can the geomorphic features associated with active faults be used to classify and quantify fault movement? In this unit, ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.
GETSI Developed This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process.
Learn more about this review process.

VEPP: Will it Erupt? - Predicting Volcanic Events at Kilauea - Preparing the next generation of DISASTRONAUTs part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Volcano Exploration Project: Pu`u `O`o:Examples
Brian Hausback, California State University-Sacramento; Jennifer Wenner, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; Wendy Bohrson, Central Washington University
This is an exercise that is in development and will not be fully tested in the classroom until Spring 2011. Please check back regularly for updates and changes. Using data available from the VEPP website, students ...