Plate Tectonics: GPS Data, Boundary Zones, and Earthquake Hazards part of Project EDDIE:Teaching Materials:Modules
Christopher Berg, Orange Coast College; Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope; Julie Elliott, Michigan State University
Students work with high precision GPS data to explore how motion near a plate boundary is distributed over a larger region than the boundary line on the map. This allows them to investigate how earthquake hazard ...

Unit 2: Monitoring surface and groundwater supply in central and western US part of Eyes on the Hydrosphere: Tracking Water Resources
Jonathan Harvey (Fort Lewis College) and Becca Walker (Mt San Antonio College)
In Unit 2, students learn how the techniques for water budgeting (covered in Unit 1) can be used to monitor both groundwater (High Plains Aquifer) and surface water (western mountain watershed) systems. Students ...

Detecting Cascadia's changing shape with GPS | Lessons on Plate Tectonics part of Geodesy:Activities
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium
Research-grade Global Positioning Systems (GPS) allow students to deduce that Earth's crust is changing shape in measurable ways. From data gathered by EarthScope's Plate Boundary Observatory, students discover that the Pacific Northwest of the United States and coastal British Columbia — the Cascadia region - are geologically active: tectonic plates move and collide; they shift and buckle; continental crust deforms; regions warp; rocks crumple, bend, and will break.

Unit 2: Geophysical Properties of the Subsurface part of Evaluating the Health of an Urban Wetland Using Electrical Resistivity
Compiled by Lee Slater, Rutgers University Newark (lslater@newark.rutgers.edu) Download a ZIP file of this Unit
Archie (1950) defined the term petrophysics to describe the study of the physics of rocks, particularly with respect to the fluids they contain. Although originally focused on geophysical exploration, petrophysics ...

Topographic differencing: Earthquake along the Wasatch fault part of Teaching Activities
Chelsea Scott, Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus
After a big earthquake happens people ask, 'Where did the earthquake occur? How big was it? What type of fault was activated?' We designed an undergraduate laboratory exercise in which students learn how ...

Working with Climate Change Data part of Introductory Courses:Activities
Eileen Herrstrom, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This activity takes place in a laboratory setting and requires ~1.5-2 hours to complete. Students use spreadsheets to create graphs data related to climate change: sunspots, insolation, carbon dioxide, and global ...

Converging Tectonic Plates Demonstration part of Geodesy:Activities
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium
During this demo, participants use springs and a map of the Pacific Northwest with GPS vectors to investigate the stresses and surface expression of subduction zones, specifically the Juan de Fuca plate diving beneath the North American plate.

Unit 2: Earthquakes, GPS, and Plate Movement part of Measuring the Earth with GPS
Karen M. Kortz (Community College of Rhode Island) Jessica J. Smay (San Jose City College)
GPS data can measure bedrock motion in response to deformation of the ground near plate boundaries because of plate tectonics. In this module, students will learn how to read GPS data to interpret how the bedrock ...

Physics: Permafrost part of PENGUIN:PENGUIN Modules
Penny Rowe, NorthWest Research Associates
Students learn what permafrost is, the implications of permafrost thawing due to climate change, and how to calculate heat diffusion through permafrost. Student activities include watching a video about permafrost, ...

Geoethics Case Study: The Keystone Pipeline--Energy, Jobs or Environment? part of GeoEthics:Activities
Dave Mogk, Montana State University-Bozeman
David Mogk and Andrew Thorson, Montana State University-Bozeman Summary The Keystone Pipeline is a complex project that raises important environmental, economic, and international policy issues. Tar sands from ...