NanTroSEIZE in 3-D

NanTroSEIZE 3-D is a online virtual voyage based on a seismic survey to study the properties of the plate boundary fault system in the upper limit of the seismogenic zone off Japan. The virtual voyage comes in two versions, one for use in lower division general education geoscience courses and the other in upper division geology courses in tectonics, marine geology and geophysics. NanTroSEIZE in 3-D places undergraduate learning in an experiential framework as students participate (virtually) on the expedition and carry out research on the structure of the plate boundary fault. Students learn the scientific background of the program, especially the critical role of international collaboration, and meet the chief scientists before joining the 3-D seismic imaging expedition to identify the active faults that were the likely sources of devastating earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan in 1944 and 1948. The initial results of phase I ODP drilling that began in 2007 are also reviewed. Students document their research on a worksheet that accompanies the expedition, interpret a slice through the 3-D seismic volume, and compose an "AGU-style" abstract summarizing their work, which is submitted to the instructor for review.