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.

Earthquake Early Warning Demonstration part of Geodesy:Activities
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium
This hands-on demonstration illustrates how GPS instruments can be used in earthquake early warning systems to alert people of impending shaking. The same principles can be applied to other types of early warning systems (such as tsunami) or to early warning systems using a different type of geophysical sensor (such as a seismometer instead of a GPS).This demo is essentially a game that works best with a large audience (ideally over 30 people) in an auditorium. A few people are selected to be either surgeons, GPS stations, or a warning siren, with everyone else forming an earthquake "wave."

Taking the Pulse of Yellowstone's "Breathing" Volcano part of Structural Geology and Tectonics:Structure, Geophysics, and Tectonics 2012:Activities
Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope Consortium; Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium
In this activity, students learn about volcanism in Yellowstone National Park, focusing on its history of eruptions, recent seismicity, hydrothermal events, and ground deformation. They learn how scientists monitor ...

Crust-Busting Faults part of Structural Geology and Tectonics:Structure, Geophysics, and Tectonics 2012:Activities
George Davis, The University of Arizona
Each student independently researches a major ancient or active regional fault, which she/he has selected from a list provided by the instructor. Each student prepares text and figures that present location, ...

Earthquake Investigation Workshop: Shake, Rattle, & Rock part of Geodesy:Activities
Daniel Murray, University of Rhode Island
This workshop is part of an NSF-funded effort to provide professional development to STEM teachers in Rhode Island. In this activity, students will make "earthquakes" using a simple model, the earthquake ...

Downloading Earthquake Data from the USGS Earthquake Hazards Site for Anywhere in the World and Studying it Using ArcGIS part of Introductory Courses:Activities
Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College
Students download earthquake data from the USGS Earthquake Hazards website and plot and anlyze the earthquakes using ArcMap and ArcScene.

Concept puzzles about geophysical methods part of Geophysics:Workshop 07:Geophysics Activities
Sarah Titus, Carleton College
These exercises can be used in class to insure students have a firm grasp on the concepts behind a variety of geophysical techniques and can take anywhere between 10-45 minutes.

Finding the Moho under Milwaukee part of Deep Earth:Activities
Vince Cronin, Baylor University
A seismogram was recorded at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee by Keith Sverdrup during the explosive demolition of a section of the nearby Hoan Bridge on December 28, 2000. The explosive demolition and ...

Exercise on the Mesozoic/Cenozoic Development of the North American Cordillera part of Structural Geology and Tectonics:Structure, Geophysics, and Tectonics 2012:Activities
Steven Wojtal, Oberlin College
This assignment is intended to have students use the map reading skills they have learned in previous labs and their understanding of the lower crust and upper mantle derived from classroom lectures and ...

Determining Earthquake Recurrence Intervals from Trench Logs part of Rates and Time:GSA Activity Posters
Patricia Cashman, University of Nevada-Reno
Trench logs of the San Andreas Fault at Pallett Creek, CA are the data base for a lab or homework assignment that teaches about relative dating, radiometric dating, fault recurrence intervals and the reasons for uncertainty in predicting geologic phenomena. Students are given a trench log that includes several fault strands and dated stratigraphic horizons. They estimate the times of faulting based on bracketing ages of faulted and unfaulted strata. They compile a table with the faulting events from the trench log and additional events recognized in nearby trenches, then calculate maximum, minimum and average earthquake recurrence intervals for the San Andreas Fault in this area. They conclude by making their own prediction for the timing of the next earthquake.