Cathy Connor

University Alaska Southeast

Introductory Physical Geology for science majors and non majors

Students practice strike and dip measurements, observation of geomorphic and bedrock features, and put together the local geology while thinking about geologic hazards that can adversely affect home-owners.

This is a capstone exercise and the last lab of the semester.

Nature of natural hazards in uplifting, and rapidly warming northern southeast Alaska.

During a 3 hour lab session students visit 6 sites with varying natural hazards. They collect their own soil, bedrock, and structural data, analyze additional pre-collected data, and produce a consultant's report to the City and Borough of Juneau as hypothetical engineering geologists hired as consultants.

Students polish their writing and organizational skills in combining geologic data with their final recommendations about which sites are best for building and why. They must analyze and reflect on the entire semester's-worth of information to produce a high-quality report.

Students have learned the rudiments of outcrop evaluation, surveying and mapping of geomorphic features, and the hazards of urbanization in Juneau's glacierized and high relief terrain. Their task in this lab is to assess geologic hazards inherent in the landscape by collecting structural data and making observations at 6 sites with interesting features. They use their field notes as a basis for writing an engineering geology report to the city with their recommendations for site selection for home building.

I evaluate the students based on the acuity of their field notes, and the writing in their final report sections (cover memo, purpose, methods, data, analysis, conclusions, references sited)