See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Teaching Petrology and Structural Geology in the 21st Century
Abstract:
Following introductory lectures on metamorphic petrology, students are given a partially-completed GIS map with bulk-compositional lithologies and some completed stations with known equilibrium assemblages. They are then asked to determine the mineral assemblage for a set of specimens with known locations and add these to the supplied GIS data set. Using GIS software, students then estimate the locations of metamorphic isograds and infer a plausible pressure-temperature metamorphic field gradient. From these observations they must make further inferences about the nature of the metamorphic event and the sensitivity of various bulk compositions to changing metamorphic grade.
This project, when combined with our traditional curriculum, has several advantages over standard approaches for learning about metamorphic facies and isograds. Students consider a single petrologic problem on a variety of scales simultaneously, linking the individual components lecture and lab and simulating professional demands once they graduate. Additionally, students learn to use, or practice with, a technological tool that is quickly becoming a standard in all geo-careers.
See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Teaching Petrology and Structural Geology in the 21st Century