Isostatic Topography Calculation
This material was originally created for
On the Cutting Edge: Professional Development for Geoscience Faculty and is replicated here as part of the SERC Pedagogic Service.
Colin Shaw, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
Course: Structural Geology
12-18 students
Course: Structural Geology
12-18 students
Students remember what they have seen and done much better than they remember what you have told them.
The Activity
I do an in-class demonstration and activity on calculating isostasic topography across a hypothetical mountain range. It provides:
- a review of fundamental concept that students need to understand in the course
- easy practice to get students' 'math muscles' in shape, and
- an introduction to the concepts of force (gravity), stress (pressure), and strain (thickened lithosphere) that I use to segue into the topics of the first week.
