In this lab, students investigate a hotly debated topic relevant in the political, economic, and scientific arenas. They will examine the processes involved in unconventional oil and gas resource production, including hydraulic fracturing. In particular, they will examine nearby seismic activity and will be asked to determine if correlations can be established between fluid injection, related to hydrofracking or wastewater disposal, and earthquake activity. As an option, students can also investigate geothermal activity at the Geysers in California, to illustrate the difficulty in assessing natural versus induced seismicity in such a geologically complex region.

In this preparatory activity, students' initial ideas about the concepts to be covered in the module are collected and shared with the class. No attempt is made to correct any misconceptions at this point. The process of collecting initial ideas from students is meant to lay the groundwork for metacognitive prompts throughout the module where students self-assess their learning and how their knowledge changes from beginning to end.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

While the ionic composition of surface seawater is basically the same anywhere in the world's oceans, the chemistry of inland waters can vary by orders of magnitude over short distances. In this activity we explore a data set on surface water chemistry in almost 5000 lakes across the Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland). Water chemistry of lakes in this mostly sparsely populated region does not carry a strong signal from local human activity. This allows us to explore large-scale gradients related to distance to the ocean, soil and landscape characteristics, post-glacial history, and effects of long-distance pollutant transport processes.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This lab exercise involves small teams of 3-4 students working to collect a profile of gravity measurements over a topographic feature. There is a slope break on our campus where this exercise is done, but any fairly prominent topographic feature will suffice. The students make several measurements with the gravimeter, and collect their own topographic data using meter-tapes and hand-levels although a GPS unit could also be used. The students then convert the meter readings into relative gravity measurements, and make graphs using several different assumed densities. This exercise gives the students practice in collecting field data, analyzing numerically and graphically, and understanding theoretical concepts.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This project is a way to assemble information about geology, hydrogeology, and soils into a coherent whole in a way that may otherwise not happen in any one class. The "critical zone" concept ties the pieces together. This project is not tied to a course but I have used it as a component of a senior assessment for geology students.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

At Fort Lewis College, the Igneous & Metamorphic Petrology class, formerly a separate three-credit course required for the major, is now an elective course taught only when demand warrants, typically once every several years. This course was recast into an inquiry-driven research course with a field-intensive focus. This course was designed to complement and reinforce existing curriculum while sustaining student engagement with rocks and petrologic processes, as well as bolster meaningful student-faculty research opportunities.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The goal of this project is to insert sustainability concepts and issues into the general chemistry curriculum. Specifically, I focus on carbon as the example to be considered throughout the quarter.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students in our online, introductory geoscience courses are given the opportunity to participate in an environmental service learning project, led by the Center for Earth and Environmental Science (cees.iupui.edu), and reflect on the local and global impact of their service in a short writing assignment. The goals of the optional service learning participation are to (1) provide hands-on field experiences to students in online classes, (2) allow opportunities to connect course concepts to real-life environmental issues, and (3) increase students' environmental awareness, and (4) apply an understanding of sustainability to participation in environmental restoration projects. As part of a larger study with CEES, students complete a pre- and post-environmental awareness survey.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The primary activity described here is measurement of sub-surface water properties in a local pond (e.g., temperature and dissolved oxygen). This activity combines concepts and skills from Geology, Biology and Chemistry.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students are assigned unique roles and work independently to solve a complex problem from the perspective of their role (i.e. sociologist, educator, historian, etc.) Students then work collaboratively to present their findings and action plan to the "tribal council".

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The purpose of this exercise is to give students the experience of utilizing the two component solid solution phase diagram of albite-anorthite and applying this diagram to the interpretation and petrogenesis of chemically zoned plagioclase.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students in groups of two are giving access to the Smith and Sandwell topography/bathymetry data and USGS data on earthquakes/volcanoes locations through Google Earth. They are then asked to create a cross-section of topography/bathymetry and earthquake focal depths perpendicular to the plate boundary using OneNote. They then interpret the type of plate boundary. This activity gives students practice in interpreting data, analyzing uncertainty and error in data, and peer teaching. Uses online and/or real-time data, has minimal/no quantitative component.

This activity is a variation on an original activity, Discovering Plate Boundaries developed by Dale Sawyer at Rice University.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This set of investigations focuses on the use of sedimentary facies (lithologies interpreted to record particular depositional environments) to interpret paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic changes in Neogene sediment cores from the Antarctic margin. Particular attention is given to characteristics of settings close to the ice (ice-proximal) and far from the ice (ice-distal) in high-latitude settings. In Part 1, students build their knowledge of polar sediment lithologies and the corresponding facies through conceptual diagrams, geological reasoning, and use of core images and core logs (a graphical summary of the sediments). In Part 2, the core log for the entire 1285m ANDRILL 1-B core is presented. Students characterize each of the key lithostratigraphic subdivisions and use their knowledge of depositional facies to write a brief history of the Neogene climatic and environmental conditions in the Ross Sea region. In Part 3, students use their core log reading skills and facies knowledge to evaluate patterns in the Pliocene sediments from ANDRILL 1-B. They quantitatively correlate patterns in their dataset with cycles in insolation (incoming solar radiation), influenced by changes in the Earth's orbit during the Pliocene.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students are provided several fossiliferous samples to analyze in detail. I provide more than they need to snalyze so everyone in the class can be working. I give a range of specimens of different geologic ages, diversities, abundances, taxonomic compositions, depositional environments and taphonomic grades. The goal is for the students to identify all of the different fossil types to the lowest taxonomic level. I provide some that are well preserved and some that are highly fragmented making identification difficult. Next, students are tasked with assigning an age range of the sample by combining the age ranges of individual taxa, and make taphonomic descriptions and paleoecological analyses.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This short problem set works well as a group activity that can be completed in class.

The purpose of the exercise is for students to begin to think about T-X phase diagrams and how they are interpreted.

Along the way, students learn that text book authors sometimes make mistakes. The figure in the handout is from Winter's Petrology. But, Winter goofed and left some reactions off of the phase diagram.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Using web-accessed climate data, students will examine the latitudinal distribution of CO2 and explain how (and why) that has changed over (recent) time. They will then work in groups of two or three to download, graph, and interpret carbon dioxide concentration data from one individual location (different groups will be assigned a different site). Each student will complete a series of questions to ensure their understanding of the concepts outlined above.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The is a two part lesson designed to given in-service teacher an experience in field geology. The lesson is designed by Canyon de Chelly, AZ but can be used anywhere there are outcrops of two or more rock types.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students interpret a GIS map of surficial deposits in Glacier National Park to unravel a bit of the glacial history of the park. In particular, they work to answer the following question: "What clues have the glaciers left behind as they melted, and what are those clues telling us?"

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In this assignment the students need to calculate the interseismic slip-rate across the San Andreas Fault using three methods: nearest stations, average, and locked-fault model. The solution for the first method is straightforwards. The solution using the second method requires basic knowledge in statistics. The solution using the third and more realistic method requires basic programming and plotting skills. Comparison between calculated models and observations yields model improvement and better estimates of the intersesimic rates. Based on the slip-rate calculations and additional seismic observations, the student sould estimate the surface rupture, rupture length, and moment magnitude of the next large earthquake in central California.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Local changes in climate, flora, fauna, and the human population can be anecdotally explored through interviews with long time locals.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)