Creation of Knowledge in the Geosciences

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Creation of Knowledge in the Geosciences

• knowledge (nal ij)
• 4. the sum of what is known the body of truth,
  information, and principles acquired by mankind.
• 2. the fact or condition of knowing something
  with familiarity gained through experience or
  association
• 3. Archaic sexual intercourse
• Websters New Collegiate Dictionary

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• Observations
• Curiosity
• Hypothesis
• Technology

• Society/Politics
• History
• Sci. Climate
• Funding

KNOWLEDGE

• Hypothesis
• Sci. Climate
• Observations
• Synthesis

• Interpretation
• Sci. Climate
• Imagination
• Technology

We blend the intuitive, subjective and objective
to uncover truths.
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Example Plate tectonics and sea floor
spreading(ca 1965)

• Society/Politics
• 1940s World War II, submarine warfare
• 1950s Exploration of the oceans
• 1950s- Cold War
• 1957 Sputnik
• 1960s Concern about nuclear testing
• Technology
• 1957 Project Moho (drill through the crust)
• 1960s Mass spectrometers to date rocks
• 1960s Ocean drilling project

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Observations Topographic ridge Ridge height 3
km Ridge width 3000 km Central valley at ridge
axis Ridge offsets along broad fractures No
sediments at ridge axis Progressively thicker
sediments away from ridge
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Observations Entire seafloor composed of lava
rock Below lava rock is basalt dikes
(crack-filling lava) Sediment age increases away
from ridge
Facts are not knowledge. Facts are facts, but
how they form the big picture, are interconnected
and hold meaning, creates knowledge. It is this
connectivity, which leads to breakthroughs
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Observations Most of Earth is aseismic Earthquakes
happen in narrow belts Marine earthquakes occur
on oceanic ridges Detailed studies show ridge
earthquakes restricted to axial valley and ridge
offsets
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Observations Magnetic stripes Stripes are
parallel to the ridge Stripes are symmetric about
ridge axis Ages of seafloor at magnetic stripe
boundaries consistent for all oceans
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In Anderson, Krathwohl and colleagues revision
of Blooms Taxonomy of learning, they put
creativity, the ability to reorganize elements
into a new pattern, structure, or purpose, at the
pinnacle of learning
Hypothesis Seafloor Spreading - Earths outer
layer made of rigid plates. New seafloor created
by lava at ocean ridges, where plates are
spreading apart.
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Observations/Interpretations Topographic ridge
3km high, 3000 km wide Hot thermally-expanded
ridge Central valley at ridge axis Location of
spreading center No sediments at ridge
axis Progressively thicker sediments away from
ridge Seafloor age zero at ridge
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Observations/Interpretations Entire seafloor
composed of lava rock All seafloor created at
ridge axis by lava extrusion Below lava rock are
basalt dikes (crack-filling lava) Dikes form in
the crack created by seafloor spreading Sediment
age increases away from ridge Seafloor age
increases away from ridge
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Observations/Interpretations Most of Earth is
aseismic Earth is divided into solid plates
(plate tectonics) Earthquakes happen in narrow
belts Action happens at plate boundaries Earthqua
kes occur on oceanic ridges Ridges are divergent
plate boundaries Ridge earthquakes restricted to
axial valley and ridge offsets Earthquakes occur
where there is relative motion
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Observations/Interpretations Magnetic
stripes Seafloor magnetized during lava cooling
stripes produced by field reversals Stripes are
parallel and symmetric about ridge axis Stripes
produced at ridge axis and transported by
seafloor spreading
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• Observations
• Curiosity
• Hypothesis
• Technology

• Society/Politics
• History
• Sci. Climate
• Funding

KNOWLEDGE

• Hypothesis
• Sci. Climate
• Observations
• Synthesis

• Interpretation
• Sci. Climate
• Imagination
• Technology

We blend the intuitive, subjective and objective
to uncover truths.
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Creation of Knowledge in the Sciences

• Why do we as humansseek knowledge and or
  truths? First, we as a species are naturally
  curious.
• Seeking knowledge is an effort to understand the
  world that surrounds us.
• Putting these pieces together is much like a
  jigsaw puzzle. Only certain pieces go with
  others. Its like magnetic words on a
  refrigerator door that get put together many
  times until sense is made of the words.
• All of this is what keeps me up at night. Its
  trying to solve a problem you dont quite
  understand. Its trying to understand a language
  you dont fully speak. But the need and desire to
  know more remains. It can become an obsession
  it is the engine that drives the creative
  process.

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Creation of Knowledge in the Sciences

• Why do we as humans seek knowledge and or
  truths? First, we as a species are naturally
  curious.
• Seeking knowledge is an effort to understand the
  world that surrounds us.
• Putting these pieces together is much like a
  jigsaw puzzle. Only certain pieces go with
  others. Its like magnetic words on a
  refrigerator door that get put together many
  times until sense is made of the words.
• All of this is what keeps me up at night. Its
  trying to solve a problem you dont quite
  understand. Its trying to understand a language
  you dont fully speak. But the need and desire to
  know more remains. It can become an obsession
  it is the engine that drives the creative
  process.
• Creation of Knowledge in Modern Dance
• Professor Steve Koester, February 2004

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Creation of Knowledge in the Geosciences
David S. Chapman Department of Geology
Geophysics

• http//thermal.gg.utah.edu/links