Geology 101
GEOLOGY 101 Short Paper – Guidelines Final Paper due: (with Final Exam) 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 below. Here are a few topic ideas below. (Remember to phrase your topic as a hypothesis.) Earthquakes, hazards, causes, prediction Seafloor Survey: “Are you prepared for an earthquake ?” Seismic waves Tsunamis Hydrothermal vents Volcanoes Underwater landslides Floods Alternative energy, Solar, etc. World distribution of earthquakes Seamounts Earthquakes which create tsunamis Ophiolites Climate Change Continental shelf Global Warming Planetary geology Mantle Plumes Mars geology Mountains Mars Rovers Earthquakes which create tsunamis Saturn – Casini mission Sediment and Stratigraphy Messenger mission to Mercury Structural Geology Geology of any planet Plate tectonic boundaries Mountains on Mars Subducting plates Volcanoes on Io (Saturn’s moon) Spreading ridges Sun, Solar system Transform plate boundaries Continental Rifting More Topic Ideas: Climate change, Global warming Milky way, planets, moons Earthquake engineering Moon Geology in construction and urban development Meteorites Desserts, Beaches, Waves Asteroids The Earth’s core, magnetic field Comets Mantle convection Meteor impacts Mountain building (specific example – Himalaya, Andes) Strata versus Shield volcanoes Geologic resources (oil, minerals) Gems, Mining, Groundwater flow Drinking water Groundwater contamination (how to avoid / prevent it) How to preserve drinking water How to conserve water in your area 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
