Episodic tremor and slip: The Case of the Mystery Earthquakes | Lessons on Plate Tectonics part of Geodesy:Activities
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium
Earthquakes in western Washington and Oregon are to be expected—the region lies in the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Offshore, the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate subducts under the North American plate, from northern California to British Columbia. The region, however, also experiences exotic seismicity— Episodic Tremor and Slip (ETS).In this lesson, your students study seismic and GPS data from the region to recognize a pattern in which unusual tremors--with no surface earthquakes--coincide with jumps of GPS stations. This is ETS. Students model ductile and brittle behavior of the crust with lasagna noodles to understand how properties of materials depend on physical conditions. Finally, they assemble their knowledge of the data and models into an understanding of ETS in subduction zones and its relevance to the millions of residents in Cascadia.

Tsunami Early Warning Demonstration part of Geodesy:Activities
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium
This hands-on demonstration illustrates how instruments can be used to warn people of a tsunami. The same principles can be applied to earthquake early warning. With an older audience, this is a demonstration that can be used to start a conversation. With a younger audience, this activity is a game.

Melting ice cubes part of Oceanography:Activities
Mirjam Glessmer, University of Bergen
Explore how melting of ice cubes floating in water is influenced by the salinity of the water. Important oceanographic concepts like density and density driven currents are visualized and can be discussed on the ...

Learning About Marine Sediments Using Real Data part of Introductory Courses:Activities
Kristen St. John, James Madison University
This exercise set explores marine sediments using real core photos and composition data from the scientific ocean drilling programs DSDP, ODP, and IODP in an inquiry-based approach.

Getting a Grip on Hydrogen Bonds part of Oceanography:Activities
Elizabeth Nagy, Pasadena City College
The purpose of this brief (~15 minutes) activity is for students to directly observe some of the unique properties of water that are the result of hydrogen bonds, such as capillary action, adhesion, cohesion, and ...

Introduction to Ocean Acoustics: Guided Problem Solving part of Oceanography:Activities
Joceline Boucher, Maine Maritime Academy
Students learn about sound propagation in the ocean through instructor-guided problem solving. The activity promotes a conceptual understanding of the physical and chemical factors that influence ocean acoustics, ...

Seasonal variation in light, mixing depth and primary productivity in temperate northern hemisphere waters part of Oceanography:Activities
Lauren Sahl, Maine Maritime Academy
In this exercise students work with light, temperature, and phytoplankton biomass proxy (chlorophyll a concentration) data to; Become more skilled in reading and interpreting semi log graphs, temperature profiles, ...

Thermohaline Circulation Demonstration part of Oceanography:Activities
Cynthia Venn, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
This activity helps the students to visualize the effects of temperature and salinity on water density, and the resulting thermohaline circulation. Important processes visualized in this demonstration are ...

Sonar Demonstration -- Human Sound Wave part of Oceanography:Activities
Kent Syverson, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Sonar technology allowed scientists to produce high-resolution maps of the sea floor for the first time. This sonar demonstration uses a Human Sound Wave to image the "sea floor" in a lecture hall. In ...

Observing Salinity Patterns part of Oceanography:Activities
Stephanie Jaeger, Green River Community College
Part 1: Students measure the salinity of samples using a refractometer, and consider the units and density of these values. Part 2: Students apply concepts and reinforce what they've learned about salinity and ...