Ice, Fire, and Plate Techtonics

1
Ice, Fire, and Plate Techtonics

• Steven Stevenoski
• NSTA 2005
• mrsteveonline.com

2
Project Overview
TEA

• Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic

3
TEAA Program Information

• Through the Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and
  the Arctic Program (TEA) teachers journey to
  polar regions to participate in scientific
  research. As TEA associates, other teachers
  bring the experience into their classrooms.

4
TEAA Program Information

• TEA is a partnership among teachers, researchers,
  and school districts. Through this partnership,
  TEA works to inform science investigations in
  schools so that they model the real process of
  science.

FOR MORE INFO...
Visit http//tea.rice.edu to learn more about
the TEAA Program
5
Project Partners

• The TEAA Program is sponsored by the National
  Science Foundations
• Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal
  Education in the
• Directorate of Education and Human Resources and
  the
• Office of Polar Programs
• TEAA is facilitated by the American Museum of
  Natural History, the Cold Regions Research and
  Engineering Laboratory, and Rice University, and
  the University of Rhode Island,.

6
NBP0401 Cruise
7
NBP0401 Education Outreach

• Cruise Reports
• Public Information about research and teacher
• Teacher researcher outreach
• Web support

8
Outreach 2

• Curriculum/student materials
• Coauthoring of articles
• Access to university resources
• Contact person

9
Outreach 3

• Linking local and national teacher pools
• Donation of data appropriate for student
  classroom use inquiry based, what is it, what
  does it mean.
• Reprint abstract ok post a PDF of the
  article for student use.

10
Principle Investigators
Dr. Larry Lawver (left) University of Texas
Institute for Geophysics Marine Geophysics Dr
Sam Mukasa - Michigan State
11
Principle Investigators
Dr. Terry Wilson Ohio State University Geophysics
12
(No Transcript)
13
Goals for Students

• To connect students and teachers in real time
  with teachers and researchers in the Arctic and
  Antarctic
• Give students an opportunity to experience the
  excitement of research
• Create a new type of classroom interface/experienc
  e for students and teachers

14
Why Look For Vents in Antarctica?
Plates Project - UTIG
15
What are Vents?

• Located near regions of seafloor spreading.
• Locations where porous rock is in contact with
  the mantle.
• Areas where superheated water in contact with the
  mantle is released through the crust.
• A plume of dissolved minerals that precipitate
  rapidly in the water column.

16

• When hot (350-400 deg C) chemically enriched
  fluids first emerge from a hydrothermal vent they
  are buoyant because they are hotter than the
  typical deep-ocean (about 2 deg C).

17

• They are also saturated with all kinds of
  minerals which start to precipitate as soon as
  the fluid is cooled forming thick rising plumes
  of blue-black sulfide mineral smoke - hence
  their common name of 'black smokers'.

18
Where do you look for vents in Antarctica?
Ross Sea
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
(No Transcript)
22
Public Data
23
Why this data?

• Much of the attention on the cruise was paid to
  identifying volcanic features like marine
  seamounts and vents and structural features of
  tectonic origin like faults.

24

• What became clear during the cruise was that the
  sea floor in this area had been dramatically
  affected in some of the areas by past glaciers.

25
Possible model for the formation of the Pepperoni
Features

• If these structures are drumlins, the leading
  edge of the receding ice sheet would have come
  from a northeast extension of the Ross Ice sheet
  at its glacial maximum. Data from Zwart
  (Constraints) the glacial maximum occurred
  between 10 and 20,000 years ago.

26
Suggestions that these features are sub glacial
volcanic features are less likely. There is
evidence from Blankenship aerial magnetic data
that indicates large magnetic anomalies in this
region of the Ross Sea associated with marine and
terrestrial volcanic features.
27

• Proximal to the drumlin like features are
  seamounts that demonstrate similar magnetic and
  gravitational variation. The drumlin like
  features demonstrated little variation in either
  the magnetic or gravity data.

28
A Tuya is formed by the release of lava under a
glacier
29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31
Development of Student Activities

• The data is being provided in the form that the
  scientists would use, topographic maps of the
  seafloor showing position, distances and
  elevations.

32
Given this information and some research on
glaciers and glacial land features can the
following questions be answered?
33
Questions

• What evidence is there to suggest that these
  features are drumlins?
• What evidence is there to suggest that these
  features are formed by some other method than by
  glaciers?
• Normal drumlins on land are teardrop shaped, why
  are these features circular?
• In what direction was the receding glacier moving
  and where is the remains of that glacier today on
  Antarctica?

34
Current Student Research

• 2004 - 05 10 Students in grade 10 at Lincoln
  High School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI are analyzing
  the topographic maps of the data from NBP0401
• They are doing a graphical analysis of the maps
  to produce 2D graphs that represent longitudinal
  cross sections through the features

35
Students Cont.

• Students are researching journals and reference
  texts to become class experts and are creating
  bibliographies of reviewed materials.
• Three dimensional models of the features will be
  built
• Students will present their findings and analysis
  to the community at the High School Science night
  in the Spring 2005

36
Benefits to the Classroom

• Addresses State and National Standards
• Meaningful use of Classroom Technology
• Connects students to actual data
• Connects students to Scientists
• Engages students in authentic data analysis

37
Future Plans

• To publish a student tested activity utilizing
  the NBP0401 Data to coincide with the IPY.
• To encourage similar teacher/student/researcher
  collaborations
• To have students compare the NBP0401 data to
  local glacial features

38
Funding

• The NBP0401 Cruise was funded through the NSF
  office of Polar Programs
• Participation of Steven Stevenoski was possible
  through a supplemental RET grant through OPP
• Support through UTIG