Unit 3: Getting started with GPS data part of GPS, Strain, and Earthquakes
Vince Cronin, Baylor University (Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu) Phil Resor, Wesleyan University (presor@wesleyan.edu)
This unit provides essential background information on GPS (global positioning system) and reference frames. Students learn how to access GPS location and velocity data from the Network of the Americas (NOTA). They ...

Unit 2: Mashing it up: physical models of deformation and strain part of GPS, Strain, and Earthquakes
Vince Cronin, Baylor University (Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu) Phil Resor, Wesleyan University (presor@wesleyan.edu)
Students gain an intuitive understanding of strain and deformation through a series of physical model activities using everyday materials such as bungee cords, rubber bands, fabric, index cards, silly putty, sand, ...

Unit 1: Earthquake! part of GPS, Strain, and Earthquakes
Vince Cronin, Baylor University (Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu) Phil Resor, Wesleyan University (presor@wesleyan.edu)
In this opening unit, students develop the societal context for understanding earthquake hazards using as a case study the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake. It starts with a short homework "scavenger hunt" ...

Unit 6: Applying GPS strain and earthquake hazard analyses to different regions part of GPS, Strain, and Earthquakes
Vince Cronin, Baylor University (Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu) Phil Resor, Wesleyan University (presor@wesleyan.edu)
Students select their own set of three stations in an area of interest to them, conduct a strain analysis of the area between the stations, and tie the findings to regional tectonics and societal impacts in a 5–7 ...

Unit 4: GPS and infinitesimal strain analysis part of GPS, Strain, and Earthquakes
Vince Cronin, Baylor University (Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu) Phil Resor, Wesleyan University (presor@wesleyan.edu)
Students work with GPS velocity data from three stations in the same region that form an acute triangle. By investigating how the ellipse inscribed within this triangle deforms, students learn about strain, strain ...

Unit 5: 2014 South Napa Earthquake and GPS strain part of GPS, Strain, and Earthquakes
Phil Resor, Wesleyan University
The 2014 South Napa earthquake was the first large earthquake (Mag 6) to occur within the Plate Boundary Observatory GPS network (now Network of the Americas- NOTA) since installation. It provides an excellent ...

Unit 4: The phenomenology of earthquakes from InSAR data part of Imaging Active Tectonics
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University-Bloomington; Gareth Funning, University of California-Riverside
How are different types of earthquakes represented in InSAR data? How can we obtain detailed information on the earthquake source from InSAR data? How well can we resolve those details? In this unit, students ...

Unit 3: How to see an earthquake from space (InSAR) part of Imaging Active Tectonics
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University-Bloomington; Gareth Funning, University of California-Riverside
How can we tell what style of faulting was responsible for a particular earthquake? Especially in cases where there is limited instrumentation in a region, or where geologists have difficulty accessing the affected ...

Structural Geology 'Research' Conference part of Structural Geology and Tectonics:Structure, Geophysics, and Tectonics 2012:Activities
Julie Willis, Brigham Young University-Idaho
In this assignment students read and discuss a peer-reviewed journal article and prepare for and attend our class 'research' conference. In the conference they present on an area of current research as ...

The folded moraine of Tokositna Glacier part of Structural Geology and Tectonics:Activities
Peter Moore, Iowa State University
Using satellite imagery of the Tokositna Glacier (AK, USA), students digitize a folded medial moraine and make simple computations to infer the progressive development of strain in the glacier.