What Can (and Cannot) Be Learned from Scientific Drilling Using Examples from Margins Initiatives
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This resource was reviewed as part of the May 2009 MARGINS Mini-Lesson Workshop. Each activity received verbal feedback from two participants who had reviewed the activity and activity sheet using these guidelines. Authors revised the activities and activity sheets in response to these comments during the workshop.
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This page first made public: Apr 6, 2007
Summary
This is a lecture segment that could be used in an introductory geoscience class to help explain and demonstrate what can be found out by scientific drilling. It should follow lectures on rocks, minerals, Earth's layers and simple plate tectonics, and be incorporated into a discussion of how we know what the Earth's interior is like. The lesson uses two examples from Margins Initiatives as problems that can be addressed successfully using scientific drilling: 1) the concept of reference sites for subduction factory inputs, and 2) understanding the mechanical behavior of sediments/rocks involved in seismogenic zone earthquakes. The lesson begins by pointing out that scientific drilling is NOT how we learn about the earth's deep interior, which is a common misconception among beginning students.
Learning Goals
Context for Use
Alternatively, the segment could be used as a review for an upper level class, and to launch more quantitative lessons in petrology, stratigraphy, or geophysics using Margins data.
Description and Teaching Materials
Lecture segment/review (PowerPoint 2.3MB May28 09)
Teaching Notes and Tips
There are some questions for students embedded in information slides 10, 12 and 19. There is also a list of questions for thought at the end. Pausing to answer these questions will add to the time needed for the mini-lesson, but is worthwhile to be sure that the class is following the thread of the lesson. The questions at the end (slide 21) can also be assigned for homework.
The lesson includes links to several online resources that can be used to expand the lesson according to the interest of the instructor. These include the ODP Legacy site, margins data resources and IODP/Natroseize project (see References and Resources for links).
