GEO 1001 Lab Revision
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Lab 7 – Campus Tour: The Geology of the East Bank’s Bluffs & Buildings Pre-Lab Activity: Your lab instructor will assign each lab group one of five rock groups to present during the campus geology tour. This lab requires a significant amount of pre-lab preparation and coordination among lab group members, so be sure to get one another’s contact information and clearly determine ahead of time who will be responsible for each part of the presentation. Realize that you should take personalities into account. Some people relish attention and would do well taking a leading role in giving the group presentation. Others may be terrified by the idea of speaking before the class, so they could instead contribute more towards the group research or any handout materials developed. You can divide up responsibilities any way that you wish, as long as it is clear to your lab instructor that each group member ultimately made a significant contribution to the group effort. Once you know which rock group you will be presenting, your lab group should visit the localities where those rocks are present and map out how the group will prepare for their presentation. Presentations MUST be brief! Since there will be a number of presentations, you will only have 15 minutes (at most) to present your rock group. As a consequence, your group is highly encouraged to create some type of handout that summarizes your information. The other lab groups will be relying on the information your group presents to complete the post-lab exercise and do well on the lab final, so take some time to decide what information is important and how to present it well. The link below leads to a website which hosts a virtual tour of most of the locations visited on the campus tour, with general information on the tour’s main rock groups. This web site is an important starting point as it displays the rocks you will see on the tour, but your tour presentation should go beyond the posted information as the other lab groups will view the same site. Note that since the web site is based on location, much of the rock information is repeated on different pages. http://www.geo.umn.edu/courses/1001/campus/pages/ Previewing Locations: You are strongly encouraged to visit the tour’s four main stops (Walter, Northrop, Folwell and Pillsbury) before leading the tour, so you are familiar with the buildings and their stones. With the exception of Northrop Auditorium, the buildings have Internet kiosks so, if necessary, you can reference the tour website while on location. Do NOT scratch, damage, or place acid on, any of the building stones! Be sure to read the Post-Lab Activity ahead of time, so that your presentation includes the information others will need to complete the Post-Lab Activity. Lab 7 - 1 Lab Goal: To gain an appreciation of the variety of building stones used in our society and practice interpreting geological history from rocks’ texture and composition. Lab Assessment: • Given background information on outcrops or building stones, you will be asked to present a synthesis of the geological information encoded in the rock, including their origin and subsequent geological history. • Given a described building stone, you will be asked to identify it, and describe how and in which environment the rock most likely formed. You will also be asked to construct a plausible geological history for the rock, from the time of its formation to the point when it was quarried as building stone. Your lab grade for the campus tour will be based on your presentation (12 points) and Post-Lab Assignment (8 points). Lab Activity: Suggestions for Preparing your Presentation: You will only have fifteen (15) minutes to lead your part of the tour, but your lab group should view that limited time frame more as a challenge than a blessing. Trying to decide which information should be presented, where and how to present it can be a remarkably difficult task. If nothing else, your lab group should gain an appreciation of the task your lab instructor faces every week! Your goal should be to try to give the rest of your lab class an understanding of which rocks are present, how they formed, and what geologic information can be interpreted from them. Remember that all of these rocks had to be taken from surface quarries, so if you are dealing with a rock that formed deep within the Earth or at the bottom of the sea, then its presence at the Earth’s surface also tells a story of uplift and erosion, the collision of ancient continents, or changes in sea level. Emphasize the story behind the rocks, not just their geologic names or compositions. Since your classmates will be relying on the information you give them to complete the Post-Lab Activity, be sure your presentation includes any information your classmates need to complete the post-lab and do well on the final lab quiz. While the tour website is a good starting point, your presentation should also include information from other text or Internet sources. Lab 7 - 2 Tour Structure: The five rock groups for the tour are listed below, along with their locations on the tour. Note that the order of stops will vary between groups and your lab instructor may not know it until the day of the tour. If your rock type occurs at more than one stop, you should decide which stop(s) your lab group wishes to present at. You could choose to present different aspects of the rock at different stops or choose one stop for your main presentation and only point out the rock type out at other stops, noting that it will be covered later on or referring back to your presentation. Marble & Limestones: Folwell Hall, Northrop Auditorium, Walter Library. (including stylolites) Granites & Xenoliths: Northrop Plaza, Folwell Hall, Walter Library benches. Serpentine & Greenstone: Walter Library, Folwell Hall, Pillsbury Rock Garden. (including pillow structures) Sandstones: Pillsbury Hall only. (including cross-bedding) Dolostones: Walter Library, Northrop Auditorium, Pillsbury Rock Garden. (including burrows) Note that your presentation should only cover your own rock group - even if other rocks are present at the same location. Lab instructors will deduct points if you present any part of another groups’ information as part of your group’s presentation. In contrast though, you are encouraged to ask questions about other group’s rocks during or after their presentation. Your lab group is responsible for presenting _____________________________________ (Be sure to record which rock group your lab group will present before leaving class.) Even though the bluffs are featured on the tour website, do not visit the river bluffs on your own. The bluffs are natural rock cliffs, with all the hazards such areas involve, such as twisting an ankle on the dirt paths, or being hit by falling rock. In addition, a few assaults have occurred in the lower river flats area, so wait to visit the bluffs until your lab instructor can show the class how to get to the bluffs safely. Check with your lab instructor to find out if the river bluffs will be part of the campus tour (this will depend on the weather forecast). Lab 7 - 3 GEO 1001 - Campus Tour Presentation Sites: To avoid overlap and make the tour run more smoothly please make your lab groups’ main presentation at the locations below. That way they are spread out over the whole tour. You can take a moment to point out your group’s rock types at the other stops, but save the main presentation for your designated spot on the tour. Remember not to ‘poach’ other lab groups’ material when making your presentation. Only present information on your group’s rock types. Presentation Locations: Marble & Limestones: Folwell Hall Granites & Xenoliths: Northrop Plaza Serpentine & Greenstone: Walter Library with greenstone at Pillsbury Rock Garden. Sandstones: Pillsbury Hall Dolostones: Northrop Auditorium with potholes at Pillsbury Rock Garden. Notes on using the campus tour web site: Some of the ‘zoom in’ pages on the web site contain additional information in their text. To find all of the information available for your rock type, be sure to visit all of the pages that cover your rock group (including the ‘zoom in’ pages). • Marbles & Limestones are present at Folwell Hall (interior), Walter Library (interior), and Northrop Auditorium (interior). • Granites & Xenoliths are present at Northrop Auditorium (exterior), Folwell Hall (exterior) and Walter Library (exterior). • Serpentines & Greenstones are present at Walter Library (interior), Folwell Hall (interior) and the rock garden at Pillsbury Hall. • Sandstones are only present at Pillsbury Hall. • Dolostones are present at Northrop Auditorium (interior), Walter Library (interior) and the rock garden at Pillsbury Hall. Since you have to have your presentation ready for next week’s lab, be sure that you get contact information from your other lab group members before leaving today’s lab. ON THE DAY OF THE CAMPUS TOUR, BE SURE TO DRESS APPROPRIATELY FOR THE WEATHER AND WEAR GOOD WALKING SHOES! Lab 7 - 4 Post-Lab Activity: (also to be used as a guide for preparing your presentation) At the conclusion of the class, your lab instructor will provide you with a location and description of two building stones on the East Campus. Each of these will be similar to one of the building stones or rock units you saw on the campus tour. You should find the described building stones, choose ONE of them and try to identify which type of rock it is. From the information you gained on the campus tour, you should then write a 200-to 300-word essay describing the following: • Briefly identify which type of rock is present, and what features of its composition or texture support your identification (such as grain or crystal size, mineral composition, presence of fossils or other features).