Overview: The Subduction Factory Mini-lessons

Subduction zone metamorphism
This module introduces students to subduction zone metamorphism through the examination of rock samples, calculating P-T-t paths, and comparing them to thermal model predictions of P-T paths.

Slab temperatures control melting in subduction zones, what controls slab temperature?
Hands-on demonstrations of advection and diffusion of heat in subduction zones, and their controls on slab thermal evolution and relationships to melting, using analog models.

Central American Arc Volcanoes, Petrology, and Geochemistry
This module teaches basic concepts in igneous petrology through relating hand specimen identification of lavas to major element geochemistry, using the Central American volcanic arc as an example.

Plate Tectonics as Expressed in Geological Landforms and Events
This activity seeks to have students analyze global data sets on earthquake and volcano distributions toward identifying major plate boundary types in different regions on the Earth. A secondary objective is to familiarize students with two publicly available resources for viewing and manipulating geologically-relevant geospatial data: Google Earth(TM) and GeoMapApp.

What Goes into Making Volcanic Arc Magmas, and How Do We Know It?
This activity is a directed reading exercise focused on papers that have been key to our understanding of the major source contributors to subduction zone volcanic rocks.

Serpentinite in Subduction Zones: How do we find it, and how common is it?
A mineralogical, petrological, and geophysical exploration of the role of serpentinite in subduction zones, as highlighted in the two NSF-MARGINS Subduction Factory focus sites.

A tour of the Mariana Subduction System
This lesson presents a brief tour of the Mariana subduction system, an active continental margin in the west Pacific.

What Kind of Continental Margin am I? Active or Passive?
Volcanoes, earthquakes, and topography reveal whether a continental margin is active or passive. In this activity, students use the GeoMapApp tool to work with earthquake, volcano, and topographic data to identify ...

Volcanoes of Central America
Volcano distribution and tectonics at a convergent margin: Central American volcanoes