Getting started with Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry
Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope
Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry method uses overlapping images to create a 3D point cloud of an object or landscape. It can be applied to everything from fault scarps to landslides to topography. This ...

Measuring Plate Motion with GPS: Iceland | Lessons on Plate Tectonics
Roger Groom, Mt. Tabor Middle School; Cate Fox-Lent, UNAVCO; Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium; Nancy West, Quarter Dome Consulting; David Thesenga, Front Range Community College
This lesson teaches middle and high school students to understand the architecture of GPS—from satellites to research quality stations on the ground. This is done with physical models and a presentation. Then students learn to interpret data for the station's position through time ("time series plots"). Students represent time series data as velocity vectors and add the vectors to create a total horizontal velocity vector. They apply their skills to discover that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is rifting Iceland. They cement and expand their understanding of GPS data with an abstraction using cars and maps. Finally, they explore GPS vectors in the context of global plate tectonics.

3D View from a Drone | Make a 3D Model From Your Photos
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium; Randy Russel, UCAR Science Education Center; David Thesanga, Alexander Dawson School
Using cameras mounted to drones, students will design and construct an experiment to take enough photos to make a 3-dimensional image of an outcrop or landform in a process called structure from motion (SfM). This activity has both a hands-on component (collecting data with the drone) and a computer-based component (creating the 3-dimensional model).___________________Drones can take photos that can be analyzed later. By planning ahead to have enough overlap between photos, you take those individual photos and make a 3-dimensional image!In this activity, you guide the students to identify an outcrop or landform to study later or over repeat visits. They go through the process to plan, conduct, and analyze an investigation to help answer their science question.The Challenge: Design and conduct an experiment to take enough photos to make a 3-dimensional image of an outcrop or landform, then analyze the image and interpret the resulting 3-d image.For instance they might wish to study a hillside that has been changed from a previous forest fire. How is the hillside starting to shift after rainstorms or snows? Monitoring an area over many months can lead to discoveries about how the erosional processes happen and also provide homeowners, park rangers, planners, and others valuable information to take action to stabilize areas to prevent landslides.

Remote Mapping and Analytical data integration: Coal Creek quartzite and Ralston shear zone, Colorado
Kevin Mahan, University of Colorado Boulder; Michael G. Frothingham, University of Colorado at Boulder; Ellen Alexander, University of Colorado at Boulder
This is a combination of an online mapping project (igneous and metamorphic terrain) and a subsequent module for group collaboration with associated analytical datasets (e.g., geochronology and microstructure). ...

Magnetometry at home: a hands-on survey with your smartphone
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. ...

Pinpointing Location with GPS Demonstration: How GPS Works (Part 2)
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium; Daniel Zietlow, UNAVCO; David Thesenga, Alexander Dawson School
Using string, bubble gum, and a model of a GPS station, demonstrate how GPS work to pinpoint a location on Earth.Precisely knowing a location on Earth is useful because our Earth's surface is constantly changing from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tectonic plate motion, landslides, and more. Thus, scientists can use positions determined with GPS to study all these Earth processes.

Sandy Hollow Virtual Field Geology Exercise
Andrew Laskowski, Montana State University; Devon A. Orme, Montana State University-Bozeman
This is a Google Earth based virtual field exercise focused on Sandy Hollow, near Block Mountain and McCartney Mountain in southwest Montana. This is a classic field locality in the Montana portion of the Sevier ...

Converging Tectonic Plates Demonstration
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium; Daniel Zietlow, UNAVCO; David Thesenga, Alexander Dawson School
During this demo, participants use springs and a map of the Pacific Northwest with GPS vectors to investigate the stresses and surface expression of subduction zones, specifically the Juan de Fuca plate diving beneath the North American plate.

Sage Hen Flat fieldcamp/capstone activity
Basil Tikoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Randy Williams, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Tim Shipley, Temple University; Cristina Wilson, Temple University; Kathryn Bateman, Temple University; Sven Morgan, University of Michigan - Dearborn; Michel de St. Blanquat, University of Toulouse
This activity attempts to simulate the process of field-based science investigation for the Sage Hen Flat area of the White Mountains, California. The Sage Hen Flat pluton is Jurassic in age and intrudes ...

Reconnaissance stratigraphy and mapping of the Frying Pan Gulch, MT
Sinan Akciz, California State University-Fullerton
Students are required to create a reconnaissance geologic map and report for a small area (approximately 0.5 sq. mile) Frying Pan Gulch just NW of Dillon, Montana. This project is designed to make students familiar ...