geology

A short 2 page project will be due on the last day with your final exam. You can choose ANY topic you like related to geology.

• Your project title must be stated as a hypothesis.

• I encourage non­traditional methods. You can choose to use alternative media such as a video,

  develop a new geology related app for cell phones, I­pads, video game, volunteer at a local earthquake relief, planning, or outreach center, re­write lyrics to a popular song, theatrical skit, poem, filmed student movie, survey, short experiment, etc.
  (All dialogue in your activity can be used as the text in your paper.)

• You may work in pairs or groups. For all projects you must write your final results or information (e.g. lyrics, poem, dialogue) into a 2 pages paper. If working in groups, you must write 2 pages per student. Please do your OWN work when contributing too group projects.

• References must include 2 books or articles in the format examples given (class text book will not count). (Note: Web URL's are NOT ACCEPTABLE as a reference)

• Paper length must be 2 pages (per person), double spaced with 12 point font.

• Extra credit for brief presentation (2­3 minutes) of your work in class.

Look for topics in your text book, in library books, or the journals Here are a few topic ideas below.
(Remember to phrase your topic as a hypothesis.)

Earthquakes, hazards, causes, prediction Survey: “Are you prepared for an earthquake ?” Tsunamis
Volcanoes
Floods
World distribution of earthquakes

Earthquakes which create tsunamis Climate Change
Global Warming
Mantle Plumes

Mountains
Earthquakes which create tsunamis Sediment and Stratigraphy Structural Geology
Plate tectonic boundaries Subducting plates
Spreading ridges
Transform plate boundaries

below.

Seafloor
Seismic waves
Hydrothermal vents
Underwater landslides Alternative energy, Solar, etc. Seamounts
Ophiolites
Continental shelf
Planetary geology
Mars geology
Mars Rovers
Saturn – Casini mission Messenger mission to Mercury Geology of any planet Mountains on Mars
Volcanoes on Io (Saturn's moon) Sun, Solar system
Continental Rifting

More Topic Ideas:

Climate change, Global warming
Earthquake engineering
Geology in construction and urban development Desserts, Beaches, Waves
The Earth's core, magnetic field
Mantle convection
Mountain building (specific example – Himalaya, Andes) Geologic resources (oil, minerals)
Groundwater flow
Groundwater contamination (how to avoid / prevent it) How to conserve water in your area

Milky way, planets, moons Moon
Meteorites
Asteroids

Comets
Meteor impacts
Strata versus Shield volcanoes Gems, Mining,
Drinking water
How to preserve drinking water How to conserve energy

Use This Reference example: (References must be provided in THIS STYLE and INCLUDE the authors names, title of article, publisher, dates, page number, and year.)

Note: Web URL's are NOT ACCEPTABLE as a reference.

1. Weeraratne, D. S., D. W. Forsyth, and K. M. Fischer, Evidence for an upper mantle plume beneath the Tanzanian craton from Rayleigh wave tomography, J. Geophys. Res. 2427, doi:10.1029/2002JB002273, 2003.

2. Jenkinson, D.S., Adams, D.E., A. Wild, Model estimates of CO2 emissions from soil in response to global warming, Nature, 351, page 304-306, doi:10.1038/351304a0, 1991.

How to find Peer reviewed References:

• Google Scholar (type it into Google and search!)

• GeoRef (CSUN Library – Data Base - GeoRef

  Suggested references from the library:

  * All Geology books can be found on the 3rd floor: QE3.0 to QE862.0 * Hot new recent journals (last 6 months) are on the 4th floor (east wing).

  Journals:

  Geotimes, www.geotimes.org, Library: QE1.G45
  American Scientist, http://www.americanscientist.org/, Library: Q1.A549 Discover, www.discovermagazine.com, Library: Q1.D4
  Issues in Science and Technology, www.issues.org, Library: Q1.I87
  Science News, www.sciencenews.org, Library Q1.S76
  Sky and Telescope, www.skytonight.com, Library QB1.S536
  Los Angeles Times Newspaper, www.latimes.com, also in Library on 4th floor

Websites to try and start your investigation:

www.scec.org
http://www.pnsn.org/HELENS/welcome.html
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/home.html
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/
http://www.iris.edu/seismon/
http://www.noaa.gov/ National Ocean and Atmospheric Admin (tsunamis, weather, oceans) http://www.nasa.gov/ NASA website