The following topical questions and selected resources are designed to guide you in an introductory exploration of the Cretaceous superplume event. The resources linked from this page include an assortment of web- and non-web resources, published papers, abstracts, graphics, and animations. Direct links to web resources are followed by a "more info" link that gives a short description of the web resource. These resources by no means comprise a comprehensive treatment of the literature on the subject, but should at least give you a place to start in your study of the Cretaceous superplume event.

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As part of the Berkeley Museum of Paleontology site, this page provides general information about earth systems of the Cretaceous Period. The site contains text, supporting diagrams and links to more detailed resources concerned with plate tectonics and past climates. Specific topics covered in this site include the rifting of Pangea, global climate, appearance and diversification of angiosperms, end of Cretaceous extinction and Chicxulub impact.

Students receive a "Dear Colleague" letter requesting the review of a journal article in the same format as would be received from an Assistant Editor of a major scholarly journal. The letter outlines the requirements of the review and the due date. Students also receive the review forms typically provided by a given journal (I've provided forms from the Geological Society of America Bulletin and American Mineralogist for use in an upper division course in Mineralogy, Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology. The GSA Bulletin form is better suited for manuscripts that report on articles that have a significant field or tectonic component; the American Mineralogist form is better suited for articles that focus on more analytical, theoretical, or computational applications in mineralogy and petrology.

In an upper division petrology class, I typically select articles for review that integrate numerous aspects of topics we've recently covered in class; tectonic setting, field relations, petrography, whole-rock geochemistry, geo- and thermochronology, mineral chemistry (for PTt calculations), stable isotope geochemistry, etc. My goal is to help students see how these multiple lines of evidence must be integrated into a coherent geologic interpretation of geologic process or history.

Modify the letter with the request for review and review forms to emphasize the particular course goals, content, and expectations for your own course.

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Students are assigned to research, write, take a position and present it on the complex issue of sustainable food production and consumer habits.

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Students are given a printout of several not very good maps and asked to critique them as a group. The maps are then projected at the front of the room one at a time and each group contributes their ideas.

Often Geology students complete their degrees with little practical field experience beyond what they obtain at Field Camp. This exercise introduces students to field projects early in their studies. This introduction occurs while our Earth System History class takes a three-day field trip to St. Francois Mountains of eastern Missouri. Given a topographic map of the field area, students use their field notes to construct a cross-section and answer written questions regarding relative age, field relationships, and geologic history of the area.

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Students complete a crossword puzzle to review the physical properties of minerals that are helpful in hand specimen identification. Mineral names and characteristics are particularly well-suited for a crossword format. Two versions are provided, one at an introductory level and one for more advanced undergraduates. Instructor files provided are easy to customize.

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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, geologic column, map and cross-sectional characteristics, kinematics, mechanics, and plate tectonic significance. Students present results in a poster session to classmates, teaching assistants, instructor, and guests (e.g., other faculty and students).

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This lab is divided into two exercises that may be completed within a single three-hour session. The first exercise requires the mixture of aqueous solutions that will precipitate large euhedral crystals over the course of 1 to 2 weeks. These experiments are intended to mimic the slow growth of macroscopic minerals in thermal and chemical equilibrium. In the second exercise, students observe rapid growth of dendritic crystals in strongly undercooled solutions in order to visualize the disequilibrium growth processes that occur in the atmosphere, at chilled margins, and in highly supersaturated solutions.

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This exercise is designed to help students understand relationships among external morphology of crystals (their shape and faces), internal structure (unit cell shape, edge measurements, and volume), Hermann-Mauguin notation for the 32 crystal classes, and Miller Indices of forms and faces.

The example and four crystal measurement problems have been drawn using the computer program SHAPE (see both Brock and Velbel, this volume). Both a single drawing and stereo pair are given for each problem. The stereo pair drawings can be used with the normal stereoscope used to read air photographs. The interfacial angles were calculated by the SHAPE program. If you have access to SHAPE you can design other crystal problems or have students generate the crystal drawing on the computer and then make the calculations ask for in this exercise.

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This exercise is based on the recent formulation of a geobarometer based on the crystal structure of clinopyroxene (Nimis, 1995; 1998; 1999). This method relates structural parameters (e.g., the volumes of the unit cell and the M1 polyhedron) to the pressure at which the mineral crystallizes within basic and ultrabasic magmas.

In this exercise, students are guided into the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database to retrieve and download published crystal structure data for viewing in either the CrystalMaker or XtalDraw visualization software packages. The students are instructed on how to examine the structures to determine pressure-sensitive crystallographic parameters and are asked a series of questions related to what they learn.

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This exercise is based on the recent formulation of a geobarometer based on the crystal structure of clinopyroxene (Nimis, 1995; 1998; 1999). This method relates structural parameters (e.g., the volumes of the unit cell and the M1 polyhedron) to the pressure at which the mineral crystallizes within basic and ultrabasic magmas.

students are guided into the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database to retrieve and download published crystal structure data for viewing in either the CrystalMaker or Xtaldraw visualization software packages.
students are instructed on how to examine the structures to determine pressure-sensitive crystallographic parameters
students are then asked a series of questions related to what they learn.

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This lab gives students the opportunity to investigate crystallization processes and textures. Students experiment with a crystalline wax, studying how/where the crystals form, how to get crystal-free material, and how different cooling rates affect crystal size and distribution. Students can even create their own pillow lavas and flow/cooling textures. The experiments also provide an opportunity to clarify the idea of quenching for students. Once students understand quenching, they have an easier time completing the included exercise which involves looking a binary eutectic phase diagram and the modal abundances of glass and crystals in a real sample. The phase diagram and modal information are used to determine a melting/quenching history and composition for a historical sample of metallurgical slag.

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This demonstration uses melted phenyl salicylate to show how crystals nucleate and grow as the temperature of the liquid melt decreases.

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In this exercise, students use major-element compositions of whole-rocks, volcanic glasses, and minerals in lavas and drill cores from the solidified Kilauea Iki lava lake. The data is presented in the form of a "precompiled" spreadsheet which contains selected analyses culled from the GEOROC database and a USGS Open File report. Students make graphs from the data to learn about the petrologic processes related to the eruption and in situ crystallization of basaltic magma

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In this exercise, students use major-element compositions of whole-rocks, volcanic glasses, and minerals in lavas and drill cores from the solidified Kilauea Iki lava lake. The data is presented in the form of a "precompiled" spreadsheet which contains selected analyses culled from the GEOROC database and a USGS Open File report. Students make graphs from the data to learn about the petrologic processes related to the eruption and in situ crystallization of basaltic magma.

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This short exercise introduces students to phase diagrams that have a eutectic and a peritectic. After learning about such phase diagrams, students answer questions about melt composition, temperature, cooling and melting, crystalization, and melt:crystal ratios.

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In this laboratory exercise students explore the crystallization behavior of a rock of known composition at 1 atmosphere pressure using experimental and numerical methods and phase diagrams. They also create and use diagrams to classify their igneous rock and identify its tectonic setting. They compare results of the three methods, and then give a presentation of their results to the class.

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Students dissolve selected salts and other compounds in water, let the water evaporate for about three weeks, and examine the crystals that grow. Students then draw crystal shapes and discuss the experiment. Discussion can include why and how crystals grow from solutions, why some minerals dissolve well and others do not, concepts of symmetry, and crystal systems and point groups.

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This is a short, in-class activity. Students will complete a brief individual carbon-footprint and will then be given a card with information about the carbon footprint of an individual in another part of the world. Students will then be asked to reflect on the 'climate consequences' faced by that person compared to the 'climate consequences' they themselves face. Discussion will lead into consideration of current and future effects of climate change on cultures in our own bioregion - as well as a reflection on the way our own cultural practices may be contributing to the climate catastrophe worldwide.