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The Teacher-Friendly GuideTM to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US Edited by Mark D. Lucas, Robert M. Ross, & Andrielle N. Swaby The Teacher-Friendly GuideTM to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US Edited by Mark D. Lucas, Robert M. Ross, & Andrielle N. Swaby Paleontological Research Institution 2014 ISBN 978-0-87710-507-7 Library of Congress no. 2014953666 PRI Special Publication no. 46 © 2014 Paleontological Research Institution 1259 Trumansburg Road Ithaca, New York 14850 USA priweb.org First printing October 2014 Second printing, revised January 2015 This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant DRL-0733303. Any opinions, fi ndings, and conclusions or recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily refl ect the views of the National Science Foundation. The publication also draws from work funded by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and The Atlantic Philanthropies. The interactive online version of this Teacher-Friendly Guide™ (including downloadable pdfs) can be found at http://teacherfriendlyguide.org. Web version by Brian Gollands. Any part of this work may be copied for personal or classroom use (not for resale). Content of this Teacher- Friendly Guide™ and its interactive online version are available for classroom use without prior permission. The Teacher-Friendly Guide™ series was originally conceived by Robert M. Ross and Warren D. Allmon. Original illustrations in this volume are mostly by Jim Houghton (The Graphic Touch, Ithaca), Wade Greenberg- Brand, and Christi A. Sobel. Layout and design by Paula M. Mikkelsen, Elizabeth Stricker, Wade Greenberg-Brand, and Katherine Peck. The Teacher-Friendly Guide™ is a trademark of the Paleontological Research Institution. Cite this book as: Lucas, M. D., R. M. Ross, & A. N. Swaby (eds.), 2014, The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US. Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, New York, 316 pp. Cite one chapter as (example): Wall, A. F., and W. D. Allmon, 2014, Fossils of the Midwestern US. Pages 57–83, in: M. D. Lucas, R. M. Ross, & A. N. Swaby (eds.). The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US. Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, New York. On the back cover: Blended geologic and digital elevation map of the Midwest. Each color represents the age of the bedrock at the surface. Adapted from Barton, K.E., Howell, D.G., Vigil, J.F., The North America Tapestry of Time and Terrain, US Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series I-2781, http://pubs.usgs. gov/imap/i2781. Preface Earth science is an inherently local subject. No two places share exactly the same sequence of events that led to the way they are today. In this sense, Earth science is a subject to be explored in one’s own neighborhood, examining the detailed sequence of rocks for the history that has gone on under our feet. What is not possible from only one location is making sense of why this particular sequence of events took place when and where it did, particularly relative to sequences in other places around it. The distribution of rocks and landforms can be explained by processes that shape areas covering thousands of kilometers, such as the volcanism, mountain building, and sedimentary basins that accompany converging plates. These processes link widely separated sequences in a common history. Earth science educators at the Paleontological Research Institution, in working with teachers, have noted that no single source for educators exists that attempts to make sense of the disparate local features of the Midwestern United States in terms of a basic sequence of historical events and processes. Nationally distributed textbooks make few references specifi cally to the Midwest region. While a number of reasonably good resources exist for individual states, these do not take enough geographic scope into account to show how, say, the coals of Illinois are related to the Late Ordovician marine sedimentary rocks of southwestern Ohio, or why fossil fuels are found in some states and iron mining occurs in other nearby states. Further, these resources are not necessarily “teacher-friendly,” or written with an eye toward the kind of information and graphics that a secondary school teacher might need in their classroom. This Teacher-Friendly GuideTM is intended to fi ll this need for teachers. Explaining why (for example, certain kinds of rocks and their mineral resources are found where they are) is the most effective way of providing students with a tool to remember and predict the nature of local Earth science. The Midwest (though, like states, an artifi cial political area), is of the right scale to discuss the evolution of signifi cant portions of sedimentary basins, but also includes ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks. This means most Earth processes are illustrated by rocks present within a day’s drive, and that Earth phenomena can be illustrated with examples in areas students and teachers are likely to have been to or at least heard of. Since the rocks and landforms are relatively accessible, regional Earth science is an excellent subject for hands-on, inquiry- based teaching using, for example, real rocks and landforms. A transect across the Midwest in several places will reveal most major rock types that students should know and will come into contact with over the course of their lifetimes. The chapters chosen are by no means an exhaustive list, but refl ect especially the historical side of “solid Earth” geosciences. Each chapter starts with a brief review, then (in most chapters) describes the Earth science of three natural regions with the Midwest. There is a resource list at the end of each chapter. There is a chapter on fi eld work, not only on suggestions for how to do it, but how to integrate the fi eld into your curriculum through “virtual fi eldwork experiences.” There are chapters on Big Ideas in Earth system science—a few major conceptual ideas that run throughout the subject—and on using real- world regional Earth science in the context of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). 3 This volume is part of a national series of seven Teacher-Friendly GuidesTM to regional Earth science, covering all 50 states. We also have two Teacher- Friendly GuidesTM to evolution, and other Guides in development. We would hope for our students that, years from now, they will be able to make sense of the place they live and the places they visit, through a comprehension of a few Big Ideas and a basic grasp of the “big picture” story of geological history of their area. It is our hope that this book might help teachers, and their students, grasp such a coherent understanding of their regional and local Earth system science. Robert M. Ross, Associate Director for Outreach Don Duggan-Haas, Director of Teacher Programs Paleontological Research Institution September 2014 4 Table of Contents Preface . 3 Contributors . 7 How to Use This Guide . 8 Earth System Science: The Big Ideas . 11 by Don Duggan-Haas and Richard A. Kissel 1. Geologic History of the Midwestern US . 19 by Richard A. Kissel and Alex F. Wall Geologic Time The Canadian Shield: Foundation of a Continent Mountain Building 1: The Proterozoic Record Mountain Building 2: The Paleozoic The Ice Age: Mountains of Ice Resources 2. Rocks of the Midwestern US . 35 by Richard A. Kissel and Alex F. Wall Rocks of the Superior Upland: Region 1 Rocks of the Central Lowland: Region 2 Rocks of the Inland Basin: Region 3 State Rocks, Minerals, and Gems Resources 3. Fossils of the Midwestern US . 57 by Alex F. Wall and Warren D. Allmon Fossils of the Superior Upland: Region 1 Fossils of the Central Lowland: Region 2 Fossils of the Inland Basin: Region 3 State Fossils Resources 4. Topography of the Midwestern US . 85 by Alex F. Wall Topography of the Superior Upland: Region 1 Topography of the Central Lowland: Region 2 Topography of the Inland Basin: Region 3 Highest and Lowest Elevations (by State) Resources 5. Mineral Resources of the Midwestern US . 95 by Alex F. Wall Mineral Resources of the Superior Upland: Region 1 Mineral Resources of the Central Lowland: Region 2 Mineral Resources of the Inland Basin: Region 3 Resources 5 6. Glaciers of the Midwestern US . 107 by Alex F. Wall Glacial Landscapes Ice Ages Over Time From the Pleistocene to the Present Resources 7. Energy of the Midwestern US . 125 by Carlyn S. Buckler Energy in the Midwestern Regions Energy in the Superior Upland: Region 1 Energy in the Central Lowland: Region 2 Energy in the Inland Basin: Region 3 Energy Facts by State Energy and Climate Change: the Future of Energy in the US Resources 8. Soils of the Midwestern US . 147 by William F. Kean and Carlyn S. Buckler Soils of the Superior Upland: Region 1 Soils of the Central Lowland: Region 2 Soils of the Inland Basin: Region 3 State Soils Resources 9. Climate of the Midwestern US . 165 by Alex F. Wall and Judith T. Parish Past Climate of the Midwest Present Climate of the Midwest Future Climate of the Midwest Resources 10. Earth Hazards of the Midwestern US . 181 by Nicole D. LaDue Weather Hazards Climate Change Geologic Hazards Hazards Where Geology and Weather Interact Resources 11. Real and Virtual Fieldwork: “Why Does This Place Look the Way it Does?” . 199 by Don Duggan-Haas and Richard A. Kissel Just Go (and Don’t Stop) Connecting to Earth Science Bigger Ideas, the Next Generation Science Standards, and the Common Core Fieldwork Challenges and Benefi ts Fieldwork 101: Gathering Information and Creating Your Own VFE Safety and Logistics in the Field Things You Might Use in the Field Documentation and Specimen Collection Back in the Classroom: Virtual Field Experiences (VFEs) Closing Thoughts Resources 6 Appendix: The Teacher-Friendly GuidesTM, Virtual Fieldwork and the NGSS’s Three-Dimensional Science .