Each student will load a database file into ArcGIS software during the class period. Following the written instructions, each student will work through various steps necessary to analyze the earthquake hazards. Uses online and/or real-time data Addresses student fear of quantitative aspect and/or inadequate quantitative skills

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Students learn far more from doing than from viewing. By seeing relationships that they have developed themselves, by diagraming those relationships themselves, students learn far more than merely reading over what someone else has done. It is argued that especially for the dynamic problems encountered in environmental and resource economics, Excel has a comparative advantage as a learning aid. We develop a simple, flexible Excel assignment to illustrate the Brander and Taylor (1998) model of the Easter Island economy. Brander and Taylor argue that on Easter Island a crucial natural resource, the island's palm forest, was an open-access (res nullius) resource, leading to over harvesting and eventual societal collapse. Brander and Taylor's simple model showing the interaction of human population with a renewable resource, a forest, mimics what is known about the human population and forest from archaeological evidence.

The open access institutional protection of renewable resources is illustrated by a simple diagram of population and resource stock over centuries, a model much like ordinary predator-prey models in biology. Variations on the basic Brander and Taylor model, such as changes in propoerty rights institutions and/or changes in technology, based on published work in the literature, can be explored and compared to the original Brander and Taylor results of boom and eventual collapse.

Brander, J.A. and M.S. Taylor (1998). The simple economics of Easter Island: A Ricardo -- Malthus model of renewable resource use. American Economic Review

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In this introductory-level lab activity, students first view a 20-minute portion of an informative video to learn about the operation of an array of moored buoys that is used to detect changes in the El Ni��o Southern Oscillation (El Ni��o, "normal", and La Ni��a conditions)in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Students then directly access, display, and work with recent and present data collected from the buoy system using the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project website. Finally, students examine data from a coral geochemical record to infer past ENSO events.

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This activity requires students to explore a range of datasets that help substantiate Plate Tectonic Theory. Students investigate plate tectonic environments (convergent, divergent, transform boundaries), topography/bathymetry of continents and ocean basins, the distribution and pattern of earthquakes, the distribution of volcanoes, as well as ages of the sea-floor, and more.

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Average inquiry level: Structured
This groundwater lab is designed for online, asynchronous instruction and uses Google slides (or Powerpoint) so student can use the draw features. Within this lab, students will:

Evaluate and conclude the seasonal and annual trends of the water table from data monitored groundwater wells;
Predict and assess the permeability and porosity of different substrates and rocks;��
Create a contour map and cross-section of the water table given data from multiple wells and draw the flow direction of water;
Predict and communicate the changes of the water table that could occur in response to different water-related scenarios;
Determine solutions for an area experiencing groundwater problems.

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This exercise uses empirical data and Google Earth to explore the surficial distribution of marine sediments in the modern ocean. Over 2500 sites are plotted with access to original data. We recommend first completing the Primer on Google Earth to become familiar with tools in Google Earth that are used in this exercise. The Exploring Marine Sediments in Google Earth exercise has four parts:

- Stories from the Sea Floor: A Lesson on How Science Works
- A First Look at Marine Sediments
- Exploring the Distribution of Marine Sediment Types on the Sea Floor
- Refining Your Hypotheses on Biogenic Marine Sediment Distributions

Students are asked to keep a food diary for 24 hours and then asked to analyze the products they consumed in terms of the ocean resources needed to make and deliver that product. This assignment was designed to help develop ocean literacy for students learning oceanography in a landlock classroom.

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Students apply the main research methods in sociology to explore their personal footprints (i.e., the global consequences of their individual actions).

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This 4-H project book includes a series of eight activities, focused on polar science, that youth can complete with an parent or mentor. Each activity includes a hands-on component and options for communication. The activities featured are appropriate for use outside of 4-H, for instance in science classrooms, with after school programs, or during enrichment camps. Each activity includes links to supplemental materials to extend learning.

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An activity in which students use dice to explore radioactive decay and dating and make simple calculations.

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The students will come into this activity with no or very little knowledge of snow. They will divide into groups, each group receiving the first list of questions (on Rite-in-Rain paper). The questions help guide them through their inquiry and are divided into groups: A) initial observations, B) measurement and detailed observations, and C) inferences and hypotheses. They dig a snow pit to the ground (typically < 2ft).

Part A, they study the layered structure, the texture of different layers, the color (presence of sediment?), initially using basic sketching. Then they decide what aspects are worth measuring in further detail (such as thickness of layers, hardness of layer, density of layers, size of crystals) and come up with a plan.

Part B, they are allowed to begin making their measurements and they are given guiding questions, such as what are the errors in these measurements? How many measurements is sufficient to describe the characteristic you are describing?

Part C is primarily brainstorming ideas and hypotheses among their group, and they can return inside if they choose. They are asked consider the role that snow plays on the landscape. How does the snow affect the ground underneath it? Would that role be different at the coldest part of winter than during the spring melt? Does snow affect the air above it? How might snow play a role in the large climate system?

Oral Synthesis: after completing Part C, each group is given a different overarching question, they must use what they have learned and their ideas to give a 4-5 minute oral synthesis to the class.

This activity is meant to give them new insights into a common geologic material and to recognize the linkages between the atmosphere above the ground and the geology and ecosystem below.

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How do soils develop over time? Perhaps the best place to learn is a across a chrosequence of deposits that span a wide range in age (and appearance). If we can identify parent material and measure its chemical composition, it can be used as a benchmark for comparison with the chemical composition of soils that were formed from it. This enables us to quantify the degree of chemical depletion. In general we expect older soils to be more depleted, all else equal. But older soils might also be subject to greater physical erosion, in addition to chemical weathering. This complicates the assessment of soil development because the eroded material is no longer present.

Students are presented with two alternate hypotheses about the soils/deposits they visit:
a) the material has been weathering w/ little physical erosion since it was deposited
b) the material has been weathering and eroding since it was deposited
These hypotheses are developed in lectures before the activity and are based on principles of conservation of mass.

During their site visit, students coarsely characterize topography (@2 -- 5 m scale) for several "representative" cross sections. If time is limited this step could be done remotely (e.g., with topo maps and Google earth).

Students assess and discuss evidence for erosional (and depositional) processes since the deposits were created. They look for broad topographic signatures and measure (for example) the spatial density and material volume of tree throw and animal burrowing mounds, if present.

Students also assess and discuss evidence for in-situ weathering (e.g., development of rinds, soil texture, and mineral alteration). The idea is to train their eyes to observe and key in on any site-to-site differences.

Students dig (and discover!) at select sites. They sample soils at regular intervals from pits (with discussion of merits of different sampling approaches e.g., random vs. stratified random). Students discuss relationships in excavated pits.

A jigsaw approach would be an effective way to tackle the large number of field tasks outlined here.

Back in the lab, using literature values, students estimate weathering rates for each deposit. They compare their estimates with back-of-the-envelop estimates for physical erosion rates (based on tree throw/animal burrowing density) and literature values of diffusivity (which can be coupled with curvature measurements).

The instructor promotes discussion of the implications of differences in residence time on weathering rate estimates.

Students analyze samples by XRF; depending on the course's time constraints students are provided with geochemical data from previous year's field effort or other existing data (in this case Taylor and Blum, 1995).

Students are asked to prepare a final report focusing on the following questions: Are soils products of erosion and weathering, or are they being formed in place by weathering alone? Under what circumstances can we expect erosion to dominate over weathering and visa versa? Students first prepare figures and then use them to develop an an outline (reviewed by the instructor) for their report. Students prepare a draft and engage in peer review (one review each). Students revise their reports, based on the peer review comments, and submit their final report.
Designed for a geomorphology course

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Think about the many sets of data you may encounter in your daily activities. You may track your finances, follow statistics for your favorite sport, watch stock market trends, or pay attention to weather records such as temperature and precipitation. News reports often include graphs that you must understand in order to follow an argument. And of course, scientists use graphs to summarize and convey information and to support hypotheses. Before the days of computers, people had to record data and perform calculations by hand. In fact, the original use of the word "computer" was to describe a person whose job was doing arithmetic. At that time, a spreadsheet was a piece of paper with ruled lines forming rows and columns where data could be written in. Today, most people use computer spreadsheets in the form of software such as Microsoft Excel -- , but the basic idea remains the same.
Student materials for this exercise include a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with marked cells and several charts and the instruction sheet (MS Word). The exercise is divided into three parts.
Part I introduces the capability of a spreadsheet to handle a large dataset containing worldwide earthquake epicenters from October 2011 and plots a scatter chart of these data, which is equivalent to a map.
In Part II, students work with several different types of charts (column, bar, pie, and triangle charts) and use tables and charts to answer questions about Earth's interior.
Part III involves entering a formula using cell names, learning to fill down, and discovering how relative and absolute cell names work. This work is done in the context of Earth's interior layers.

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An introduction to processes associated with continental rifting, and resulting fault geometries and distributions, and lithospheric responses, using seismic data examples from the Gulf of California.

Using a map showing the horizontal velocities of GPS stations in the Plate Boundary Observatory and other GPS networks in Alaska and Western United States, students are able to describe the motions in different regions by interpreting the vectors resulting from long-term high-precision Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
Show more information on NGSS alignment
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NGSS ALIGNMENT
Disciplinary Core Ideas
History of Earth: HS-ESS1-5
Earth' Systems: MS-ESS2-2
Earth and Human Activity: MS-ESS3-2, HS-ESS3-1
Science and Engineering Practices
4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data
5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
6. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts
4. Systems and System Models
7. Stability and Change

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The goal of this laboratory is to help students understand that burning fossil fuels, which results in an increase in the acidity of ocean waters, has a detrimental impact on marine life (specifically coral but also other organisms that have calcium carbonate based shells).

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Google Earth enhances traditional geologic maps by allowing the viewer to explore three-dimensional map patterns and the interaction between structure and topography in dictating those map patterns. This activity overlays 4, 7.5' USGS quadrangles on Google Earth terrain and imagery data and encourages students to investigate common features of fold-and-thrust belts.

Keywords: Google Earth, fold-and-thrust belt, visualization

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This laboratory exercise explores the topographic signature of fluvial and glacial landscapes in different tectonic environments. Students develop a list of mountain ranges around the world to explore, then extract topographic data from 90-meter SRTM DEMs, and develop a series of hypsometric curves for each range. Each student works on a single range, but as a class we build up a database of 10-15 ranges around the world. The hypsometric curves are compared with each other and with published curves to look for signals of fluvial incision vs. glacial erosion in the landscapes.

1. Day 1: End of class Mini lecture (15 minutes) on:
a. what greenstone belts are (where in the world, rock assemblages, structures)
b. vertical vs. horizontal tectonic models (old arguments and current details).
c. Superior Province (one example) introduction

2. Homework and Jigsaw Activity: Looking at "typical" structures within greenstone belts.
This assignment asks students to compare papers with folding models vs. thrusting models. One set of papers that provides a good contrast focuses on the Beardmore-Geraldton greenstone belt in the Superior Province, Canada. Students will also use a paper with Lithoprobe seismic data across the Superior Province.

a. Folding model: Kehlenbeck, M. M. 1986. Folds and folding in the Beardmore-Geraldton fold belt. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (CJES) 23, 158-171.
b. Thrusting model: Devaney, J. R. & Williams, H. R. 1989. Evolution of an Archean subprovince boundary: a sedimentological and structural study of part of the Wabigoon-Quetico boundary in northern Ontario. CJES 26 1013-1026.
c. Percival, J. A. et al. 2006. Tectonic evolution of the western Superior Province from NATMAP and Lithoprobe studies. CJES 43(7): 1085-1117.

Divide the class into 3 "expert" groups and assign one paper to each group. Students need to create an outline of the major structures (faults, folds, both) described and the evidence provided for the structural interpretation. Students should bring two copies of their outline to class.

3. Day 2
Turn in one copy of outline (to be assessed for grade) and meet with the group to create a composite, master outline (30 minutes). Students break up into small groups (one from each "expert" group), discover very different structural style interpretations, and try to determine WHY there are the discrepancies (lack of data, preconceived notions influencing interpretations, etc). The goal of the new group is to prepare each student to write a short paper. Each student is assigned to write a 1-page paper exploring reasons why there are discrepancies between the models. Students are also encouraged to speculate on what other evidence or future research might help resolve the apparent conflict. Students begin paper in class and finish outside of class.

4. Day 3
Students hand in paper (to be graded). Mini lecture/ discussion on key related questions.
a. Does either model (folding or faulting) support or negate either vertical or horizontal tectonic models?
b. Are there any modern analogues to greenstone belts? If so, what are the differences or limitations to the comparisons (lithological and structural)?

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In this exercise, students use both polyhedral model kits designed by the University of Wisconsin at Madison Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) Institute for Chemical Education and computer visualization in Jmol to explore the structures of a variety of phyllosilicate minerals, and relate those structures to physical properties. Students work in small groups to build either a sequence of dioctahedral or trioctahedral minerals and answer a series of questions about structure, arrangement, coordination and bonding. The small dioctahedral and trioctahedral groups combine to compare structures and discuss additional questions about these and other minerals.

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