Contents - Earth Science Teachers` Association
Transcription
Contents - Earth Science Teachers` Association
Contents From the Editor Hazel Clark 3 On the birth of PEST John Reynolds From the Chair Maggie Williams 4 “Collecting” building stones – an unexpected obsession 40 Peter Kennett Introducing the new ESTA President Chris Carlon 6 The use of Android tablets for geological fieldwork – pitfalls and possibilities. 44 Phillip Murphy Communicating Geoscience: ESTA Annual Course and Conference at Plymouth University, 2013 Mark Anderson 7 Morteratsch: A student’s view Daniel Tudor ESTA Conference 2012 in pictures 9 Volcanic Prediction … and saving the ESTA Chair Designate!50 Mike Parker Bring and share 11 38 47 The Geology of Bradgate Park: ESTA Conference fieldtrip, 30th September 2012 23 Keith Ambrose UK Earth science curriculum update – reasons to be cheerful?51 Bradgate Park field day at the Keyworth Conference led by Keith Ambrose 30 Carole Rushall Reviews55 Diary Dates 57 ESTA Conference visit to the National Stone Centre, Sunday 30th September 2012 32 Geoff Selby Sly Crossword 2 59 Our Day Out at the National Stone Centre Angela Bentley Chris King 37 COPY Deadlines TES 38 2 30 June 2013 for publication in September 2013 TES 39 1 31 December 2013 for publication in March 2014 www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 1 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 1 15/04/2013 12:00:08 Teaching Earth Sciences Teaching Earth Sciences is published biannually by the Earth Science Teachers’ Association. ESTA aims to encourage and support the teaching of Earth sciences, whether as a single subject, or as part of science or geography courses. Full membership is £32.00; student and retired membership £16.00. Registered Charity No. 1005331 Contributions to future issues of Teaching Earth Sciences will be welcomed and should be addressed to the Editor Opinions and comments in this issue are the personal views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Association Designed, typeset and printed in the United Kingdom by Hobbs the Printers Ltd, Totton, Hampshire, SO40 3WX Website: www.hobbs.uk.com Editor TES Hazel Clark [email protected] [email protected] Editor ESTA News Maggie Williams [email protected] Reviews Editor Pete Loader [email protected] Secondary Coordinator Chris King [email protected] Advertising Hazel Mather [email protected] Higher Education Coordinator Jim Andrews [email protected] COUNCIL OFFICERS Chair Maggie Williams [email protected] Chair designate Pete Loader [email protected] Secretary David Bailey [email protected] Treasurer Carole Rushall [email protected] Membership Secretary Mike Tuke [email protected] Primary Coordinator Tracy Atkinson [email protected] Front cover Volcanic Bomb at ‘Camping Arenales’,Almagro Volcanic bomb from one of over 200 pyroclastic cones and lava domes comprising the Calatrava Volcanic Field occupying 5000 sq km in the south of the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain. Most date to Pliocene or late Pleistocene although some fumarolic activity was recorded in 16th - 18th cent. This volcanic field lies in a continental rift setting and is one of three areas of recent volcanic activity in Spain, the others being Olot (Gerona,Catalonia) and Cabo de Gata (Almeria). These are in alignment with the Auvergne and Eifel, and so are part of what is known as the West European Rift. This bomb sits in the grounds of ‘Camping Arenales’ in Almagro,28 km SE of Ciudad Real. It shows spheroidal weathering. Photograph by Peter Perkins [email protected] Do you have a picture for the cover? If so, please send it in. ® MIX Paper from responsible sources FSC® C020438 Exam Howler . . . Another way to manage loss of life and damage in an earthquake is by making everyone stand far away from buildings You can now follow us on Facebook. You can find us under Earth Science Teachers’ Association 2 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 2 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:09 From the Editor Hazel Clark Phew it seems to have been yet another busy year and we are only in March!. Firstly, let me apologise for the extremely late arrival of this issue. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I have been unable to devote the time that I usually allocate in January and February. I am currently sitting in a field centre in the south Lake District after a long day in the field doing some editing. Hopefully, what I miss here will be picked up in the proof copy. So I will leave it to you to judge the quality of the finished article! Following my rant about cuddly creatures impinging upon Earth science on the TV ….. they are at it again! On the BBC news app I spied an article entitled “Fossil raindrops probe ancient atmosphere” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ science-environment-20575250. The caption for the photograph reads “The pits seen here were created in ash at a time when the Earth looked very different from today”. Nothing too bad there you may say until you look at the picture. Most of the raindrop imprints are obscured by a meerkat. While it may be really clever to take a photo of a meerkat, I personally would prefer the raindrop imprints!!! I hope that you are keeping up to date with the ESTA Facebook page. Maggie has been diligently adding material to it on a regular basis (in fact has become quite an addict!) and some of the rest of us have been dabbling more sporadically. There is some really good stuff on there so please check it out. It was good to see so many of you at the BGS conference. I am sure that those who attended would agree that there was something for everybody and great fun was had by all as you can see from the Conference photos. Our thanks www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 3 to David Bailey and his BGS colleagues for making us so welcome and special thanks to Linda Marshall for making it all run seamlessly. There are some articles associated with the Conference in this issue and I hope to bring you more in the next issue. I think that it is especially interesting to compare the field leader’s version of the field visit with the participants’ take on it! Then reflect on what your students write compared with what you think you told them. We can also eagerly anticipate the 2013 conference at Plymouth. Mark Anderson, the conference convenor, has put together a taster to entice us down to the far flung areas of the south west. What a lot we have to look forward to!!! I hope that you are saving your pennies or badgering your school for some money/time off, as I am certain that it will be a great investment. As you are probably aware, it takes a lot of work to bring TES to you. One of the difficult things is to find material to fill in the gaps between articles so you are not left with a lot of white space. I would be really grateful if you would send in any exam howlers or photos of geological terms with a difference under the banner of Geological Surprises (for example the picture of cheese in this issue) or indeed anything of interest. As always, you can send articles to me at tes.esta@gmail. com I am like a puppy dog with two tails if I get sent unsolicited articles. So make it your new year’s resolution to write up that article that has been fermenting for years and make my day by sending it in. I look forward to hearing from you soon!! Hazel Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 3 15/04/2013 12:00:09 From the Chair Maggie Williams Conferences always provide excellent opportunities to learn and share ideas with other enthusiasts and to meet new people as well as old friends. In September 2012 ESTA’s 45th Annual Course and Conference was held at the British Geological Survey’s Environmental Science Centre at Keyworth, near Nottingham. This event turned out to be the highlight of the year, providing so much more than delegates could possibly have expected with fantastic opportunities to explore BGS ‘gems’ such as ‘The Geological Walk’ (a new and striking addition to the Keyworth site), the Core Store and the 3D Visualisation Facility. My thanks are due to Prof John Ludden, Executive Director of the British Geological Society, for his kind invitation to ESTA to hold the ESTA Annual Course and Conference at Keyworth. I would also like to express my thanks to David Bailey for all of his hard work in convening the 2012 conference and to all of those members of staff at BGS who either volunteered to run sessions during the conference or contributed ‘behind the scenes’. Together the ‘BGS Team’ provided the interesting, awe-inspiring, challenging and enjoyable event that I had hoped for and I wish to congratulate the team on their success. At this point I would also like to record my thanks to Linda Marshall (ESTA Conference Manager) who worked closely with the ‘BGS Team’ and so quietly and efficiently ensured that the ESTA conference ran smoothly. I am also grateful for the support of the ESTA conference that was provided by the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB), MinSouth (a London-based Local Society for the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining) and the GeoBus project. PESGB provided generous financial support for the 2012 conference. Without this sponsorship not only would ESTA have struggled to produce such a splendid conference event at a reasonable price, but also would have found it difficult to generate the many useful teaching resources, ideas and articles that you see published in this edition of Teaching Earth Sciences. Gavin Bowyer (from MinSouth) and Ruth Robinson (from the GeoBus project) both supported the conference by arranging two very interesting conference sessions for us. 4 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 4 The MinSouth session, run by MinSouth members and AMC Consultants Martin Staples and Lily Whitehead, was based on their experience of using digital modelling in mineral exploration and mining. In contrast, Ruth’s session was based on her experience of setting up an educational outreach project for schoolchildren developed and run from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of St Andrews. At the 45th Annual General Meeting we welcomed Dr Chris Carlon as ESTA President and voted Pete Loader Chair Designate and Carole Rushall as Treasurer. I am very much looking forward to working with Chris, Pete and Carole, but would like to take this opportunity to place on record my thanks to Professor Jon Gluyas and Jane Giffould. Jon (retiring President) has made significant efforts to ‘advance ESTA’s cause’ over the last two years and we wish him well for the future. Jane Giffould has not only worked hard work as Treasurer over the last three years, but has also willingly provided her expert help and guidance during the last three months to ease the ‘handover’ to the new Treasurer. Since the publication of TES 37.2, I have written an article about GEOTREX for the Secondary Science Review (SSR) for an Earth science themed edition that was published in December 2012. SSR is a publication of the Association for Science Education (ASE) publication and, if you don’t already subscribe to this journal, it is worth tracking down a copy to read for two reasons. Firstly, it is the first Earth science themed edition journal that ASE has produced. Secondly, it is a publication that includes a wide range of Earth science themes. SSR December 2012, 94(347) includes articles covering “Sub-Surf Rocks”, “The evolution of the atmosphere”, “Inspiring a generation through the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site”, “Common Earth science misconceptions in science teaching”. In addition this Earth science themed edition includes an evaluation of the impact of Earth Science Education Unit workshops. This publication also gives detailed worked examples, produced by Duncan Hawley, illustrating how fieldwork can form the pedagogic focus for a thinking-skills approach to teaching Earth science. www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:09 Earth Science Week is organised by the American Geosciences Institute and has the objectives to: • • • • Engage people in discovering Earth sciences Remind people that Earth science is all around us Promote opportunities in Earth science Encourage geoscientists to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about the Earth • Work with others to illustrate Earth science is a cross-curriculum subject. Review of the National Curriculum has continued to feature in other recent meetings I’ve attended and in correspondence I’ve received. As I write it is just before the start of the New Year and I am still worrying whether or not ESTA has made a strong enough case for retaining geology, particularly at Key Stages 3 and 4, in the National Curriculum and for science and for geography. I expect ‘all will be revealed’ in the near future, but in the meantime I keep my fingers crossed and send you best wishes for 2013. For the last two years the GSL has been bringing it to the UK. During the last quarter of 2012 I responded to a plea for help from Judi Lakin (Education & Training Officer at the Geological Society of London) to provide activities that could be put on the GSL website to mark Earth Science Week (ESW) in mid-October. I provided items on sedimentary grains and sedimentary rocks and a forensic geology exercise. There were also contributions based on Earth Learning Idea activities and other lesson plans produced by two other ESTA members (Pete Loader and Joanie Marion). I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Teaching Earth Sciences and, if you were unable to come to the 2012 conference, I also hope that this copy of TES will inspire you join us in Plymouth for the 2013 ESTA Conference. Until then, if you would like to find out more about the BGS, PESGB, MinSouth or the GeoBus project please go to: You may be interested to know that ESTA Council is currently in the process of looking at what ESTA does now and considering what we could include in our next 5-year plan for the Association. At the Earth Science Education Forum (ESEF) meeting, held at the start of December 2012, I was invited to explain what ESTA does to support teachers of geology and Earth science in the UK and in this meeting I outlined some of ESTA’s possible plans for the future. Involvement with the Geological Society of London’s initiative has given me the idea that ESW is something ESTA should be supporting and should be celebrating again next year. Watch this space for further details and plans for the future and don’t hesitate to let me know what you think our priorities should be to help you. Finally, please don’t forget to get in touch with me if you would like to: www.bgs.ac.uk/ www.pesgb.org.uk/ www.minsouth.org.uk/ www.geobus.org.uk/ • let me know what you think ESTA should be planning to do to help and support its members in the future; • find out how you can make a contribution to GEOTREX and/ or STEGO (ESTA’s on-line teaching resources); • join one of ESTA’s working groups; • become a Co-opted Council member. Maggie Williams, December 2012 [email protected] Old photos never die – they just come back to haunt us!!! Peter Kennett (one of the Association’s founder members) is endeavouring to write the history of ATG/ESTA, from 1967 to the present day. Most of his early photos are of rocks and not of people! Can anyone help by looking back through the albums and seeing if any relevant photos come to light? If so, please can you scan them and email to Peter [email protected] (in batches if they are too big), with a note about who they show, and if permission to use them, with due acknowledgement, can be assumed www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 5 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 5 15/04/2013 12:00:09 Introducing the new ESTA President Chris Carlon Reading back through past ESTA Presidential introductions it seems that the invitation to take on the role usually comes “out of the blue” with a “why me?” reaction! That was exactly my response when Maggie Williams rang me, so I’m clearly the same as previous Presidents and like them, it is a great pleasure and honour to accept this position. So why choose someone who has spent his life in mineral exploration and exploration management? As H.H. Read famously remarked “.. all other things being equal the best geologists are the ones who have seen the most rocks”. Minerals exploration geologists look for minerals in all terranes, different rock types and any age of host rock anywhere on Earth and even at the bottom of the ocean. They employ many different remote sensed, geophysical and geochemical techniques but still get “on the rocks” with a hammer and hand-lens. They often build up an encyclopaedic geological knowledge simply because mineral exploration is “where have I seen that before” geological detective work so they have every opportunity to be the best geologists! I grew up in Cheshire, a place renowned for its poorly exposed “boring red rocks” hidden under a thick glacial cover. At the age of 16 I started geology lessons at school taught by a very enthusiastic and inspirational geologist who was very involved with ESTA’s precursor organisation the “Association of Teachers of Geology”. He led us on a visit to the underground rock salt mine at Winsford and my purpose in life was immediately crystallised. A geology degree at Swansea, followed by a PhD research project at Manchester University has led to 40 years working for 5 major international mining companies on numerous projects for a wide variety of minerals in over 40 countries world-wide inclusive of 6 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 6 and as diverse as Chile, Russia, Sweden, Sudan, Iran and Mongolia. Well, that’s all well and good you might say, but how can all this help ESTA? Geologists simply love talking enthusiastically about the subject and for me it started with teaching adult education evening classes while still a research student. It grew with OU tutoring to first, second and third level students and has continued with talks to schools, universities, geological societies and also non-geologists, environmentalists, governments and NGO’s. In 2006 while Head of Geosciences for one of the world’s major resource companies, I became involved with ESEF and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Earth Sciences. After so many years working overseas I was immensely encouraged by the work done in the UK to inspire and support young people and their teachers, in opening their eyes to the amazing subject of geology and the importance of Earth- or geo-science. Having some responsibility for the health of the Earth science discipline in a major resource company has given me a much better understanding of the training and recruitment of Earth scientists, why they chose the subject, and recent patterns of education, employment and career development. Geology and its related Earth science applications in chemistry and physics are such important aspects in our lives. How the Earth treats us both benignly and violently; how we treat the Earth environmentally and through resource use and how we understand or do not understand Earth systems are such fundamental subjects that they deserve to be taught well and widely. ESTA plays an important part in support of these aims, so I look forward to contributing, working with Council and trying to add a little more to the marvellous work that ESTA already does and continues to develop. I look forward to meeting and talking to as many of you as possible while President of ESTA. Chris Carlon Consulting Economic Geologist www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:09 Communicating Geoscience: ESTA Annual Course and Conference at Plymouth University, 2013 Mark Anderson I attended my first ESTA conference at BGS, Keyworth last year. My abiding memories of the event are of the enthusiasm, immense commitment and enjoyment shown by delegates, exhibitors and organisers alike. This year Plymouth University plays host and we are aiming to equal the excellent meeting of last year. The University plays a central role in the cultural and economic well-being of the city and, in delivering our vision of excellent teaching, research and enterprise, works in partnership with many other organisations in Plymouth and the SW Region. Indeed, Plymouth City Museum, the National Marine Aquarium, the English Riviera Geopark and the Jurassic Coast will all be involved at various stages of the meeting. Over the course of the conference we hope to share our enthusiasm for these partnerships, and demonstrate how they can enhance the experience of students at all stages of their education. Technical Programme Our keynote speaker is Dr David Rothery from the Open University. David is well known for his appearances on popular science programmes such as the Bang Goes the Theory. He has written a wide range of books aimed at communicating “key ideas” in the Earth Sciences and also the wider place of Earth Sciences in understanding the Solar System. http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view. asp?page=24543 We also have a wide-ranging set of workshops confirmed. These will be held in the Earth Science teaching laboratories in the Fitzroy Building: • B ringing fossils into the classroom (Jodie Fisher, Plymouth University Jan Freedman, Plymouth Museum) • Microfossils as indicators of environmental change (Malcolm Hart and Christopher Smart, Plymouth University) Lectures and exhibitions will be held in the Sherwell Centre, a purpose built conference venue converted from a 19th Century Church on the University Campus. • E ducation through Expeditions (Antony Jinman, Polar Explorer and Explorer in Residence, Plymouth University) http://www. educationthroughexpeditions.org/ • Using simple tools to model with seismic data (Gordon Neighbour and Jean Luc Berenguer) • Virtual worlds and animations for teaching Earth Science (Oxford University, Oxford Sparks and Science Communication Team) www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 7 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 7 15/04/2013 12:00:09 • A careerinEarthSciences?Onlineresources for Schools (Mark Anderson and Luke Angell, Plymouth University) • ModelsforvisualisingtheEarthin3D(TomArgles, Open University) • Primaryworkshops • T heEnglishRivieraGlobalGeoparkinTorbay(http:// www.englishrivierageopark.org.uk/). Again we will examine opportunites for cross-curricular activites whilst also examining classic geological stratigraphic relationships and cave formation in limestones • AtripintoCornwall,justovertheRiverTamarfrom Plymouth. We will visit a wonderful self-contained site near the village of Kingsand. Here we will use “e-guidebooks” as a learning tool and as a way of allowing students to conduct fieldwork independently in a safe and supported environment. We also have provisional workshops offered from the following: • V irtuallyfieldwork?LessonsfromadigitalLakeland landscape (Tom Argles, Open University) • CommunicatingvolcanichazardsinSchools– the volcano top trumps project (Jenni Barclay, University of East Anglia and Paul Cole, Plymouth UniversityandtheSTREVAprojectteam)http:// streva.ac.uk/ • ModelsforvisualisingtheEarthin3D(DavidBailey, BGS) http://www.bgs.ac.uk/services/3Dgeology/ teachingandlearning/ • GeoBus(+)(RuthRobinson&KathrynRoper,University of St Andrews) http://www.geobus.org.uk/ We will, of course be offering the usual conference favourites such as bring and share. We will round off the Saturday programme, once again, with the frenetic excitement of a “Show and Tell” session. On Sunday 29th September we will have an opportunity to show off spectacular field resources that the SW has to offer for teaching. We will focus our field visits towards those areas where national and international recognition of the teaching potential of the sites has generated a wide range of educational materials that are available for teachers of Earth Science to use in their teaching: • T heJurassicCoastofEastDevonandDorset http://jurassiccoast.org/education. A spectacular opportunity to walk through 185 million years of EarthHistorybutalsoforamazingcross-curricular activities. We intend to have guided tours and a boat trip of the coast and, hopefully, an opportunity to fly on the unique “Jurassic Airlines” –anunforgettableflightbackthroughtimehttp:// jurassicairlines.co.uk/ 8 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 8 Social Events Early arrivals on Friday will have an opportunity for an immersive experience in the University’s “dome” (our Immersive Visualisation Theatre). We will demonstrate a range of immersive environments, as widely different as the solar system and a fly!! In the evening we will have a drinks reception in Plymouth City Museum followed by traditional West Country Fish and Chips on the University Campus. After the workshops and presentations on the Saturday we will reassemble at the National Marine Aquarium, close to the historical Barbican area of the city. Here we will have a tour of this unique research and teaching facility and dine amongst the sharks ! Professor Iain Stewart will be our master of ceremonies for the evening and, for the more energetic delegates, we can walk over Sutton Harbour to the Barbican for some harbourside drinks in the balmy warmth of a late Summer evening! We look forward to welcoming you to our University and our city and offering you all a useful but enjoyable conference. Dr Mark Anderson (Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Structural Geology, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (Faculty of Science and Technology), Plymouth University For details please contact the conference manager, Linda Marshall linmarshall@btinternet. www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:10 ESTA Conference 2012 How many businesses can boast of their own named bus stop? (Photo by Hazel Clark) The conference was held at BGS Keyworth (Photo by Hazel Clark) The new facilities and geological walk through time (Photo by Peter Kennett) The BGS rock store could double as an Indiana Jones film set (Photo by Hazel Clark) Recreating experiments such as thrusting in the NW Highlands (Photo by Hazel Clark) Mingling in the exhibition space (Photo by Hazel Clark) www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 9 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 9 15/04/2013 12:00:14 Infrared images show whether we are hot stuff (Photo by Hazel Clark) Viewing fossils in 3D (Photo by Hazel Clark) Carole Rushall, the newly elected treasurer (Photo by Hazel Clark) Mike Tuke’s isostacy experiments (Photo by Peter Kennett) Friday night ice breaker BBQ (Photo by Hazel Clark) A tour of the cricket ground included a visit to the Library which holds the largest collection of cricket books in the UK (Photo by Peter Kennett) Conference dinner was held at the hallowed grounds of Trent Bridge Cricket Club (Photo by Peter Kennett) The Dinner was held in the Long room (Photo by Peter Kennett) ESTA Chair, Maggie arrives at a field site in style (Photo by Hazel Clark) Is the retired web master looking for new employment? (Photo by Hazel Clark) 10 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 10 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:20 ESTA Conference ‘Bring and share’ – British Geological Survey Headquarters, 2012 Chris King The ‘bring and share’ was so packed with items and enthusiasm this year that it was difficult to give everybody a good ‘platform’ in our allotted time. So it is great that so many of the presenters have been willing to write up their work for Teaching Earth Sciences. This helps those of us who were there to ‘re-live’ the experience, and all those who weren’t there to read what happened – and to resolve to go to the Conference in Plymouth next year. Presentations were made by all those below and, for asterisked items (*) – the write-up follows. • E lizabeth Devon and Peter Kennett, Earthlearningidea: ELI update* • Pete Loader, St Bede’s College, Manchester: “Google Tectonics” and “Sedimentary Logging in the classroom” * • Abigail Brown, Hagley Catholic High School, Hagley: “Geology – a Domestic Science: Food shopping and nail varnish” * • Joanie Marion, Rudolf Steiner School Edinburgh: “Revising Bivalves and Brachiopods”* • Mike Tuke, ESTA Council: “Bikes, pylons and coral architecture”* • Simon Kelley, Open University: “Virtual microscope” • James Speed, Thomas Rotherham College: “Mineral Guess Who” • Peter Williams, University of Liverpool: “UKESCC Authorware materials: Rock Deformation and Using a Compass-Clinometer”* • Phil Murphy, Leeds University :“Using android tabs in field work” • Maggie Williams, University of Liverpool: “Geology and Coastal Erosion Resource Pack”* • Paul Grant, ESEU: “Earth heating” (presented by Chris King)* • Paul Denton, BGS: “School seismology website” • Judi Lakin, Geological Society: “Plate tectonics: new online resource”* • Becky Coates and Jim McQuaid, University of Leeds: “VolcaKnow: a smartphone app about volcanoes” * • Mike Parker, St. Bede’s College, Manchester: “A core activity, Earthlearningidea”* • Elizabeth Devon, Earthlearningidea: ‘Box Rock Circus”* • David Bailey, BGS: “GeoBritain Map”* • Chris Bedford, Radley College: “Fossil moulds and casts”* • Isobel Geddes, Wiltshire Geology Group: “The ‘Chalk Links’ downloadable pdf Fact Sheets” (presented by Elizabeth Devon)* • Chris King, Keele University: “The A-level entry good news story” Idea title: ELI Update: Geological mapwork from scratch and Geological mapwork from models Presenter: Peter Kennett, [email protected] Brief description: A series of cardboard models representing a range of geological situations. These are part of a set of twelve activities, each of which provides a geological map exercise which may be printed onto cardboard, in colour or in monochrome for student use. A further two activities involve interpretation of selected portions of BGS maps, taken, with permission from the www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 11 BGS Opengeoscience website, http://www.bgs.ac.uk/ OpenGeoscience/ Age range: 14-19 years Apparatus/materials needed: Print-outs of the maps and sections provided on the activity sheets. Availability of activity: www.earthlearningidea.com – published on the web at intervals during 2012. Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 11 15/04/2013 12:00:20 Idea title: ELI Update: Take it or leave it? – the geoconservation debate : When is collecting wrong, and when is it right? – try to decide for yourself Presenter: Peter Kennett, [email protected] Brief description: Asking pupils to discuss which minerals/ rocks/ fossils could be collected and which should be left for others to use or enjoy. Ten photographs of a range of items shown where they occur, are presented on screen. Pupils are asked to say, on a 10 point scale, whether the item could be collected and taken home “Free to collect at any time by school students, if safe and legal” (0), up to “Can only be collected under licence. Take a photo instead” (10). Age range: 11 – 18 years Apparatus/materials needed: Photographs of appropriate geological items on site, either projected onto a screen, or printed; a “key” to the graded 0 to 10 scale. Ammonite, vein of fluorspar (‘Blue John’), plant fossil and ripple marks (Peter Kennett). Availability of activity: www.earthlearningidea.com – Take it or leave it? – the geoconservation debate, published on the internet in March 2012. ....................................................................................................................................... Idea title: ELI Update: Jigging – using density to separate different materials Presenter: Peter Kennett, [email protected] Brief description: A simple practical activity used to separate minerals of different density from each other. It is a small scale version of a method which was used for centuries. A mixture of crushed minerals of markedly different relative density (e.g. galena, barite, fluorite and calcite) is poured into a plastic tube with a gauze sealed to the base and is then vigorously shaken up and down in a bucket of water. Within about 30 seconds, the minerals separate out into discrete layers, with the densest at the base. Never fails! Availability of activity: www.earthlearningidea.com. Jigging – using density to separate different materials, published on the web, June 2012. Age range: 8 – 80 years Apparatus/materials needed: a jig (or more than one for group work) (jig is made quite simply by cutting a length of about 25 cm of PerspexTM tube and fixing a piece of gauze to the base, by heating the gauze and pressing the tube onto it so that it melts enough to hold it; rough edges are smoothed off with a file; gauze such as that used for a Bunsen burner is suitable); a bucket nearly full of water; mineral samples of different density, crushed to about 3mm diameter (this can be done between two hammers, followed by sieving to remove powder); a hand specimen containing several minerals, to match those supplied in crushed form (optional, but useful to challenge pupils at the start as to how they would separate the minerals). 12 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 12 The jig in action, after 30 seconds of jigging up and down in the bucket of water (Peter Kennett) www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:21 Idea title: ELI Update: Building Stones 1– a resource for several Earthlearningidea activities (followed by three more detailed Building Stone activities using some of the same photographs) Presenter: Peter Kennett, [email protected] Brief description: A small group activity in the identification of a wide range of rock types, using naturalscale photographs of rocks used as building stones or for ornamental purposes. The sheets of photographs are intended for use as the basis for several further activities. Age range: 8 – 80 years Apparatus/materials needed: Sets of the photographs provided: the simple branching key provided. Availability of activity: www.earthlearningidea.com – published on the web at intervals during 2012. The late Fred Broadhurst enthusing ESTA members about building stones at the Trafford Centre (Peter Kennett) .................................................................................................................................... Idea title: Sedimentary Logging in the Classroom Presenter: Pete Loader, St Bede’s College, M/c, M16 8HX [email protected] Brief description: A 1 metre (or other) plastic tube (a suitably reinforced container that once housed a curtain pole is ideal) is filled with sediments of different types (to show a variety of mineralogy, textures and colours). To ensure a sharp, rather than a diffuse boundary between fine sediment overlying coarser sediment, it is best if the finer sediment is initially contained in a see-through plastic bag which prevents settlement into the open pore spaces in the coarser sediment below. With care, suitable sedimentary structures can be achieved – load structures, graded beds, cross bedding, imbricate structures etc. A typical contained sedimentary sequence used in the classroom. www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 13 This enables sedimentary logging to be taught in the classroom before going into the field. A suitable program for drawing and manipulating graphic log data (SEDLOG) can be downloaded free at http://thames.cs.rhul.ac.uk/ sedlog/. Age range: 16 + Apparatus/materials needed: Reinforced see-through plastic container, a variety of sediments of different textures, colour and mineralogy. An example of a graphic log using Sedlog Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 13 15/04/2013 12:00:22 Idea Title: Geology – a domestic science! Food shopping revision activity Presenter: Abigail Brown, Hagley Catholic High School, [email protected] Brief description: Bring in a shopping bag of food items and see if the students can work out what geological concepts you are attempting to illustrate – and then discuss the limitations of using food items! Can be done with a PowerPoint of images (available from ab296@hagleyrc. worcs.sch.uk). 5. 6. 7. Possible food items (and suggested geological interpretations): 1. Jacket potato – pluton cools faster on the outside forming chilled margin, stays warmer in the middle forming larger crystals. Alternative interpretation is pillow lava – rigid skin forms as quenched by sea water, but still squidgy inside. 2. Bread and toast – contact metamorphism, baked country “rock” is harder. Isochemical reaction – only thing which was added was heat. If you can achieve uneven toasting so that it is most browned at one edge this could represent greatest alteration closest to the intrusion i.e. higher grade contact metamorphism. 3. Kiwi fruit cut in half – coral with septa. Do they reach all the way to the corallite wall – is this a good analogue? Is it more rugose or scleractinian?! 4. Almonds and hazelnuts – brachiopod and bivalve symmetry rules. Do they all obey the rules (cf. 8. Gryphaea sp.). Peas, potatoes, raisins, rice krispies, boulders (poorly named!), onion bhajis – sediment sphericity and roundness – see where they plot on the diagram (e.g. see Edwards & King (1999) p88). Digestive biscuit, tomato, strips of pitta bread, fish fingers – Zingg diagrams (discs, sphere, blades, rods respectively). An alternative is a plate (disc) of fish fingers, chips and peas (rods, blades and spheres). Piles of sugar, couscous, potatoes, pulses (e.g. lentils, chick peas, mung beans, split peas, aduki beans, pinto beans) – mass movement/slope stability. Encourage students to bring something in and predict whose item can sustain the highest angle of repose. Add some water, then too much, at different speeds. What governs stability? Packing, porosity and permeability can be revised here too. Finally, breccia or conglomerate cherry rock cakes! Age range: 14-18 Apparatus/materials needed: Bag of shopping (see above for suggested items) or PowerPoint of food images (available from [email protected]) – or both. Reference: Edwards, D. and King C. (1999) Geoscience – understanding geological processes. London: Hodder and Stoughton .................................................................................................................................... Idea Title: Geology – a domestic science! Using nail polish to determine palaeolatitude Presenter: Abigail Brown, Hagley Catholic High School, [email protected] Brief description: Magnetic nail polish (available in many colours online from around £2 including a magnet and postage and packing) contains small iron particles. If a normal fridge-type magnet (with stripes of alternating polarity on one side producing what is called a “Halbach array”) is held over the nail polish immediately after it is applied, a permanent striped pattern is then produced in the nail polish. This can be applied to a study of the Earth’s magnetic field, and how it varies with latitude. A simple demonstration involves cutting slices of magnetic printer paper (about £1 for an A4 sheet) and taping them to the reverse of a diagram of the Earth, perhaps indicating the inclination of the magnetic field at various latitudes (as in Figure 1). The slices of magnetic paper are aligned with the inclination 14 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 14 (the magnetic stripes usually run up and down the paper – but check the orientation first using the nail polish), so that when nail polish is applied to the paper on top of them, the magnetic paper causes the iron particles in the polish to align and produce a striped pattern at different angles (see Figure 1) – rather like revealing a magnetic inclination in the rocks. Figure 1: (after WJEC 2011 GL5 Theme 3 Q1) www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:22 The completed version of the worksheet shown in Figure 2 illustrates how this approach can be extended to be used as a class activity. Using the demonstration diagram of the Earth with the magnetic slices taped to the reverse (without the nail polish applied to reveal the hidden inclination), the students rotate the sheet so that they can place the bottom of each cell (in the “Inclination” column) directly on the surface of the Earth for each of the latitudes stated, and paint nail polish into each box. There will then be a permanent record of the inclination at each latitude on their worksheets (as shown in Figure 2). The second phase of the activity is to use this record of how the inclination varies with latitude to determine the palaeolatitude at which three radiometrically dated basalt “samples” crystallised. A resource (Figure 4) with three circles of magnetic printer paper (or fridge magnets) taped to it at different orientations (representing different inclinations) is provided and the students lay their second worksheet (Figure 3) over the top of this resource and again paint the nail polish over the top. They can then use the inclination recorded on their worksheets to interpret the palaeolatitude at these different times, and can thus infer that during the Carboniferous (for example), Britain was at the equator. Figure 4: Basalt “samples” worksheet for determination of palaeolatitude Figure 2: Completed version of inclination worksheet An acceptable (but less fun) alternative to the nail varnish and magnetic printer paper approach is to tape small chunks of corrugated cardboard to the reverse of the diagram of the earth showing the inclination of the magnetic field at different latitudes. The cardboard chunks are aligned with the inclination at each latitude and when a crayon is rubbed over the top of the diagram, the inclination is revealed. Age range: 14-18 Figure 3: Completed version of palaeolatitude worksheet www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 15 Apparatus/materials needed: Magnetic nail polish with fridge-type magnet (available online, e.g. eBay, from £2 including postage and packing) and magnetic printer paper (available online, approximately £1 per sheet of A4), or corrugated cardboard and crayons if preferred. Diagram to show inclination of the earth’s magnetic field at different latitudes (e.g. see WJEC 2011 GL5 Theme 3 Q1). Worksheets shown above (available from ab296@ hagleyrc.worcs.sch.uk). Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 15 15/04/2013 12:00:22 Idea title: Of bikes, pylons and coral architecture Presenter: Mike Tuke, [email protected] Brief description: Last year at the ESTA Conference I showed how to make a model to show the parts of a solitary coral in 3D. The purpose here is to explain the purpose of those parts. Corals live in very high energy conditions and need to be strong to survive the force of the waves. I have long believed that students are more likely to remember the geological information I give them if it can be related to something they already know about, hence I start my lesson on coral architecture with a bike in the front of the class. First some engineering: take four strips of wood and make a square by putting a bolt through each corner. The square is not very strong because it can easily be squashed into a diamond. However if you take a fifth strip of wood of the same length and join it to opposite corners you have very strong and stable diamond shape made of two triangles (Figure 1). This is the same shape as the frame of your bike. The diamond bike frame was invented by Mr Starley in 1885 in Coventry. It made bikes stronger and safer and easier to ride. His company, the Rover Bike Company was so successful it transformed the fortunes of that city. The triangle is also the basic engineering structure seen in pylons, metal bridges and much else. Make a rectangle out of strips of wood as in Figure 2. This represents a longitudinal section through a solitary coral. Like the square it has not much strength. However if we now put dissepiments on to form triangles (Figure 3) it makes it much, much stronger. Take a plastic flower pot. This represents the coral wall. It can be squashed easily. However if we now insert septa into the opening it becomes much stronger even though the septa in the model are only thin card. The septa in a real coral are only thin but because of the large number of them they give the coral great strength just as the spokes in a bike wheel do. So the purpose of the dissepiments and the septa are to give the coral the strength it needs to resist the force of the waves. Apparatus/materials needed: Bike with diamond frame. Ask one of your students to bring his bike into class. Check that it does have a diamond frame and wheels with spokes first. Square. Five pieces of wood about 50cm long by 2cm wide by 8mm thick. Four nuts and bolts 25mm long. Coral wall. Two pieces of wood 40cm long, 4 pieces 25cm long all about 2cm wide by 8mm thick, 8 25mm nuts and bolts. The dissepiments once fitted should be cut so that they do not protrude beyond the coral wall and should be labelled so you know which piece fits which side and which is top and bottom. You will need a saw and a drill to make the models. Cut a thin piece of card to represent the polyp and staple it to the centre of the top tabula. Septa. You will need a plastic flower pot about 15cm diameter at the top. Take a 3cm length of a piece of 25mm diameter dowelling, a piece cut from broom stick is suitable. Make 4 cuts with a saw into the end, each about 15mm deep. The cuts should radiate from the centre and be 45o from each other (diagram 4). Cut 8 pieces of card of the right thickness to fit tightly into the saw cuts and of the same radius as the top of the flower pot. Slot them into the dowelling. If you wish to teach this without reference to bikes then just start with the rectangle. If you wish to simplify the septa model just use a section of a plastic cup or yoghurt pot and two intersecting pieces of card. Figure 1: Diamond with cross bar making two strong triangles Figure 2: Cross section of coral wall with tabulae Figure 3: Cross section of coral with dissepiments Figure 4: End of section of broomstick showing saw cuts Age range: AS/A2 16 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 16 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:22 Idea title: UKESCC Authorware materials: Rock Deformation and using a compass-clinometer. Presenter: Peter Williams School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool . [email protected] learning environments. Please e-mail Peter Williams for details how to do this. Brief Description: Two web-based units from the UKESCC software package updated using Xerte free software. The two units can be accessed at: pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~tjpeter/ rocdef/ and pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~tjpeter/compclin/. It is also possible to package the units for individual institution’s Age range: designed for first year undergraduates, but might also be interesting for final year A level students who are thinking about Earth Science undergraduate courses. Apparatus/materials needed: Internet connection. Idea title: Geology and Coastal Erosion Resource Pack Presenter: Maggie Williams School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool (on behalf of Frank Bennett, Ranger – Wirral’s Coast). Brief Description: This resource pack aims to provide a resource for students, teachers and members of the public with an interest in learning more about Wirral’s coastline. The pack includes maps, photographs, health and safety advice, information about the coastline and its geology, detailed descriptions of sites along the coastline and provides links to websites giving further information about various topics (e.g. the SSSI and RIGS sites in Wirral, Wirral Shoreline Management Plan and resources for teachers). The resource pack is in digital format and can be emailed on request by contacting: Maggie Williams at: hiatus@ liv.ac.uk or Frank Bennett (Ranger – Wirral’s Coast) at: [email protected] Age range: 11 – 95 Apparatus/materials needed: Internet connection. Idea title: Investigating solar energy absorption of the Earth Presenter: Paul Grant, [email protected] Brief description: Examine a composite satellite image of the Earth, and note that there are four predominant colours (green, yellowish, deep blue and white), then measure the temperatures of swatches of these colours exposed to either solar or artificial radiation. Global implications: discuss the implications of the variations of absorption of solar radiation on different Earth surfaces represented by the colour swatches. Discuss ‘feedback’ and potential consequences. Discuss the consequences of ice loss from the West Antarctic, and compare this with the effects of the annually-increased summer melting of Arctic Sea ice during the past ten years. Age range: 14-19 Apparatus/materials needed: Infra-red (IR) thermometer (e.g. from Maplin at £19.99), pieces of paper of the necessary colours; sunlight. Alternative using artificial light: 40 Watt desk lamp 20cm above surface, illuminate for 300s prior to measurements being taken The experimental set up (Paul Grant) Colour Temperature reading oC 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Average Black 50.3 49.4 52.6 52.1 52.8 53.8 54.3 53.7 53.3 53.5 52.58 White 30.1 28.4 29.5 28.7 28.1 29.6 29.4 28.6 27.5 27.4 28.73 Blue 48.8 48 50.3 50 51.1 51.3 50.3 51.7 50.3 50.2 50.20 Green 50.4 49.6 50.9 50.9 52.6 51.7 51.8 51.1 50.3 50.2 50.95 Yellow 37.1 36.8 36.5 37 37.9 37.2 37.1 37.6 36.8 37.4 37.14 Tabulated results. Ambient temperature 22oC, on 2/9/12, @ 13:00 BST; outside : direct sunlight; 10s residence time / measurement www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 17 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 17 15/04/2013 12:00:22 Idea title: Plate tectonics: new online resource Presenter: Judi Lakin, the Geological Society, judi.lakin@ geolsoc.org.uk Brief description: The new educational resource – Plate Tectonics – has just been made live and can be accessed using the link: www.geolsoc.org.uk/plate-tectonics This project has been generously (and patiently) sponsored by Centrica. The writers are named on the acknowledgements page, and were led by Pete Loader and Ian Kenyon, who have worked extremely hard. Age range: 11 upward Apparatus/materials needed: Web access The Geological Society ‘plate tectonics’ online resource home page Idea title: VolcaKnow Presenter: Presented by Becky Coates on behalf of VolcaKnow team (contact: Jim McQuaid, j.b.mcquaid@ leeds.ac.uk, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT. Brief description: The VolcaKnow smartphone app. We have developed a smartphone ‘app’ which will provide a “one-stop-shop” for students who are interested in/ researching volcanoes. There are a great many excellent websites about volcanoes but there is nothing currently available for smartphones. The app will provide an authoritative guide with links to the best websites on the subject. There is a range of categories into which volcano “information” is grouped, these include: How Are Volcanoes Formed? Which will include topics such as Structure of the Earth, Plate Tectonics, Types of Volcano, Inside a Volcano and Types of Lava Volcanic Hazards (Pyroclastic Flows, Lahars, Volcanic Ash, Volcanic Gas and What Causes an Eruption?) 18 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 18 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:23 planning on a number of “a day in the life of……” style interviews. There will also be a gallery as well as direct links to the best volcano photos and movies online. The app will include a map showing all Holocene volcanoes, they are split into type so that the user can select which volcanoes they want to display, the map include tectonic plates again which can be turned on and off. Each volcano is linked to its webpage on the Smithsonian (http://www. volcano.si.edu/world/list_allnames.htm). Part of the Holocene volcanoes map An example from VolcaKnow smartphone app. There will be some more esoteric topics such as; The Volcanic Features of the UK, Volcanoes in Space and a Hall of Fame. Topics are subdivided into material for different age groups (typically Key Stages 3,4,5 as well more in depth for undergraduate level). There will be revision and teaching aids also. In the future it is hoped to include research topics from academics involved in volcanic research. Given our access to people actively working in the field we are We will take the weekly RSS feeds Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report and use these to highlight volcanoes on the mapping screen based on their current activity status. There are currently a number of apps which do this for earthquakes but nothing for volcanic activity. Age range: KS 3-5 plus undergraduate. Apparatus/materials needed: This is a smartphone application (‘app’) which can be installed onto Apple iOS devices (e.g. iPhone & iPad) and also Android devices (e.g. Samsung Galaxy 2) Idea title: A Core Activity (an Earthlearningidea) Presenter: Mike Parker, St Bede’s College, Alexandra Park, Manchester, M16 8HX. [email protected] Brief description: A simple card sort exercise to allow students to consolidate knowledge and give evidence for the composition of the core. Students sort evidence cards into groups (density, meteorite, seismic) to piece together evidence about the Earth on the composition of the core. Age range: 14 – 18 Apparatus/materials needed: Core Evidence Cards (good to laminate to allow for multiple usage) – see www.earthlearningidea.com Idea title: Demonstrating the formation of external and internal fossil moulds, and the distinction between moulds and casts. Presenter: Chris Bedford, Radley College, cmb@radley. org.uk external and /or internal casts using plaster of Paris (or similar). Brief description: Mix alginate with water to ‘double cream’ consistency. Pour over a shell (placed concave-up) in crystallising dish. Allow it to set (this takes a few minutes). Alginate sets to a rubbery consistency which can then be peeled off and broken away to show the impression of the outside of the shell (external mould) as well as the inside (internal mould). This could be taken further by making Age range: 11 – 18 www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 19 Apparatus/materials needed: Alginate (normal set) casting material – from the art department, or online; modern shells (best with strong external features); crystallising dish(es) – from the chemistry department. Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 19 15/04/2013 12:00:23 Idea title: Box Rock Circus: Earth Science out of doors Presenter: Elizabeth Devon, [email protected] Brief Description: Box Rock Circus is set in a 7m diameter circle, edged by granite setts. The obelisk is nearly 2m high. There are two sets of dinosaur footprints running through the circle, set in a safety play surface of Safamulch, a product made from re-cycled tyres. used to work out size of the dinosaurs and their gait but, best of all, to tell stories. Did the big one really eat the little one? There are also resin fossil casts set into one block for children to do fossil rubbings. These are proving very popular indeed. The Circus was built as an educational and recreational resource for the village and surrounding area. Box is 6 miles east of the City of Bath, at the southern edge of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Local schools and groups such as the local geological societies, natural history, local history and wildlife societies have visited and are booking visits. If further details are required, please visit the website – http://www.boxrockcircus.org.uk Age range: 2 – 102 Of course, you don’t need a rock circus to teach basic rock identification and the rock cycle out of doors – but it does make life easy. It is possible to teach KS2 and 3 Earth science requirements of the National Curriculum at the Circus. This is especially true if some of the Earthlearningidea (ELI) activities are used, either on site or back in the classroom. The ELIs ‘Make your own rock’ and ‘Metamorphism – that’s Greek for “change of shape” isn’t it?’ are particularly relevant. The quarry blocks (all relatively local) from Silurian to Jurassic can be used to demonstrate plate tectonic movement. Also, the circle represents the age of the Earth; black marks on the granite setts indicate the appearance of some organisms and red marks indicate the five mass extinctions in the Phanerozoic. The two sets of dinosaur footprints running through the circle can be Apparatus/materials needed: Lots of specimens, large blocks of rocks from local quarries, a friendly stonemason, hours and hours and hours of time, endless patience, notto-be-defeated attitude to fund-raising, ability to fill in lots of forms with irrelevant questions, an understanding family. Box Rock Circus (Elizabeth Devon) Idea title: Chalk Links Presenter: Isobel Geddes, geddes@ wiltshiregeologygroup.freeserve.co.uk 7. Chalk and its influence on art and literature 8. Chalk and its influence on the horse racing industry Brief description: Downloadable themed fact sheets (in pdf format) have been produced by geology groups in Wiltshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire on how the chalk rock beneath the English downland influences landscape and human activities – they are suitable for geography project use wherever chalk underlies the landscape: Age range: 11-18 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Chalk links to landscape Chalk and groundwater Chalk and chalk streams (Hampshire watercress) Chalk links to archaeology Chalk and industry (whiting) Chalk and building materials (stone and brick) 20 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 20 Apparatus/materials needed: Downloadable themed fact sheets in pdf format link: http://www.oxfordshiregt.org/chalk_links.htm These fact sheets can be reproduced and used free by educational establishments and local not for profit groups. If you would like higher resolution copies, or to link to these factsheets from other websites please contact the North Wessex Downs AONB office by telephone: 01488685440 or email: [email protected]. uk www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:23 Idea title: GeoBritain map Presenter: David Bailey, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, [email protected] Brief description: The GeoBritain Map is a simple online database listing events, geotrails, museum collections, amateur geology groups and other resources designed to encourage and support anyone developing an interest in geology. The interface is a Google map of the UK with ‘pins’ identifying a local group, site or event. Clicking on a pin will reveal further information – usually a website or other contact details. The aim is to help people discover activities and resources in their local area rather than search for items by name. The GeoBritain Map builds on a web page originally designed to help users find information about specific sites on other BGS web pages. The current version includes information that could be easily sourced via existing public websites. We have made a minimal attempt to verify the accuracy of third-party data and so far have not addressed sophistications such as polygons to indicate the area of a Geopark or other large area, rather than a pin placed at a key locality such as a visitor centre. We hope that users will help us to build the database by sending us information on localities and events in their local area and by keeping the information up to date. Feedback is also welcome. Please let us know if you find any errors in the data or technical problems with the web page. You can email new information or use the ‘Tell us what you think’ link on the right hand side of the page. This is a feature for feedback on every page in the ‘Discovering Geology’ section. Age range: All ages Apparatus/materials needed: Access to the World Wide Web and any standard browser. URL: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/ geologyOfBritain/geoBritainMap/home. html?src=topNav Or navigate to the BGS home page, select ‘Discovering Geology’ from the navigation bar, then select ‘GeoBritain Map’ from the links listed in the ‘Geology of Britain’ panel. The GeoBritain map on the British Geological Survey website. Idea title: Revise bivalves and brachiopods www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 21 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 21 15/04/2013 12:00:23 Idea title: Revise bivalves and brachiopods Presenter: Joanie Marion, Edinburgh. jm_academic@ hotmail.co.uk Brief description: The PowerPoint presentation has full instructions and is available from the email address above. The worksheets are also available and include the following: (a) Card sort [or key definition scramble]; (b) Unlabelled views of both fossils. (1) Students do card sort [or unscramble the worksheet]. (2) Students place the card in the correct places [or correct number from scramble] on the unlabelled fossils. They also draw a line of symmetry. Plenary: worksheet – comparing bivalves and brachiopods. Extension: exam question on environmental indicators. Full answers are available for teachers with the worksheets and on the PowerPoint. Age range: AS/A2 Apparatus/materials needed:Pens/pencils Comparing Bivalves and Brachiopods Feature Bivalves Brachiopods Size of shells Same Pedicle (top) is larger than brachial Symmetry of valves (draw) Between valves (equivalve – same size and shape) Down middle of valve (inequivalve – different size and shape) Muscle scar types Adductor only (closes) (means valves open on death) Adductor and diductor (usually valves closed on death – unless broken up) Pedicle opening / foramen No Yes Pallial sinus/line Yes No Environment Shallow marine and FRESH Deeper water = MARINE ONLY Geological history Late Cambrian More species abundant after Permian extinction. Early Cambrian Decimated after P/T extinction – pushed into deeper water niches An example worksheet – with answers in italics. Direct Debit • An easy way of renewing your subscription to ESTA and saving on postage stamps is to pay by Direct Debit. • ESTA’s Direct Debit collection date is on or after 1st October each year. • The Direct Debit Guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that take part in the Direct Debit Scheme. • You can cancel a Direct Debit to ESTA at any time by writing to your Bank or Building Society. (If you cancel a Direct debit Instruction, you should also send a copy of your letter of cancellation to ESTA) If you wish to set up a Direct Debit Instruction to pay your futures ESTA subscriptions, there is a Direct Debit form enclosed with this copy of Teaching Earth Sciences. The form should be completed and returned to C. A. Rushall (Treasurer) at the address shown on the form. 22 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 22 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:23 The Geology of Bradgate Park: ESTA Conference fieldtrip, 30th September 2012 Keith Ambrose Bradgate Park forms part of the outcrop of Precambrian rocks which give rise to the unique landscape of Charnwood Forest (Figure 1). Key to units: MM: Mercia Mudstone Group SF: Swithland Formation SP: Stable Pit Member SD: South Charnwood Diorites H: Hanging Rocks Formation Bd: Bradgate Formation SB: Sliding Stones Slump Breccia BH: Beacon Hill Formation Figure 2 illustrates the part of the sequence seen in Bragate Park and Figure 3 illustrates what the geologiy of Charnwood Forest is thought to be with all of the overlying Triassic and Quaternary sediments removed. 1 Old John Tower The outcrops around Old John Tower expose a sequence of well-bedded volcaniclastic tuffs of the Beacon Hill Formation, Charnian Supergroup. You can see the fine detail of the bedding that varies from thinly laminated to medium bedded alternations of volcaniclastic mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. Within this sequence, we can see a number of very well developed sedimentary structures, in places highly polished by decades of footwear. The main features we can see are graded bedding, microfaulting, scouring and a variety of soft sediment deformation features, including wavy bedding, rafted and truncated laminae, load casts (Figure 4), pillow structures and flame structures. The tuffs were laid down in the seas surrounding active volcanoes, and the material entered the sea either by fallout from the air or by turbidity currents, the latter resulting in normal graded sequences. Layers of coarser and finer sediment created density contrasts in the wet sediment pile, allowing the formation of load casts, pillow and flame structures. Being an area of active volcanoes, there would also have been many earthquakes. These resulted in the micro-faulting and probably aided www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 23 the formation of the soft sediment deformation structures. Higher up in the sequence, we can see a bed that has been very locally subjected to soft-sediment deformation, producing a series of slumps; note how abruptly this deformation terminates. 2 Sliding Stones Slump Breccia The Sliding Stones Slump Breccias is a key part of the Charnian sequence, forming an important marker bed that is traceable over a very wide area around the Charnian anticline. Exposed are some spectacular breccias that are poorly sorted and composed of many clasts of different sizes and up to 3 m long. They are fragments of tuffaceous mudstone and siltstone that were very soft when ripped up and redeposited, hence many of them have been distorted – one particularly contorted fragment is known locally as the Swiss Roll Structure. Clasts of felsic and intermediate lava have also been found at some localities. The clasts are set in a matrix of volcaniclastic sandstone. The deposit represents plastic deformation in a proximal debris flow that resulted from a submarine landslide, probably triggered by an earthquake. The breccia fines upwards and the higher beds exposed contain very few clasts, with volcaniclastic sandstone being predominant. On the highest beds, the mudstone clasts are absent and we can see a very good example of what has been interpreted as a water or gas escape structure. You can see how the bedding locally sags and is completely broken up in parts and that it only affects one bed, with undisturbed layers above and below. The event was very localised and synsedimentary. The sediment was still very soft and waterlogged. Because the bedding sags downwards, we can assume that the water or gas forced the sediment upwards, creating a hollow into which it fell back. Some water or gas escape structures take the form of a small volcano-like feature above the sediment layer that has been affected. A more recent theory is that such structures can also be produced by thixotropic shaking of the waterlogged sediment, again probably triggered by an earthquake shock. This could also lead to dewatering. Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 23 15/04/2013 12:00:23 Figure 1: The geology of Bradgate Park, showing the route of excursion (in black, with optional route shown as dashed line). Numbered localities are described in the text. 24 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 24 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:24 Figure 2: A simplified lithostratigraphy of the Charnian Supergoup. The shaded part of the sequence are the beds that outcrop in Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood. 3 Bradgate House – Home of Lady Jane Grey, the 9 day Queen of England We now move on to look at a completely different rock type. Here, and in many exposures leading to the Newtown Linford entrance to the park, we see exposed the South Charnwood Diorite, originally known as ‘Markfieldite’. This is a coarse grained intrusive igneous rock that cooled slowly at relatively shallow depths (1-3km). You can see a mixture of crystals that include dark mafic minerals – amphibole and pyroxene making up 40-50% of the rock, pale quartz and pink alkali feldspar. The quartz and feldspar form as intergrowths of a granophyric texture, due to a process known as ‘under cooling’, hence the rock is known as a granophyric diorite. If you look on the joint planes, you can see evidence of epidote (green) and haematite (red) mineralisation, and veins of quartz. You can also see very good evidence of slickensides on some of the joint surfaces, indicating differential movement within the mass of rock in response to major tectonic earth movements. The South Charnwood diorites represent the youngest phase of igneous intrusion in the Charnian Supergroup and cut through all the succession. They have not yet been radiometrically dated but possibly comparable rocks at Nuneaton, 30 km to the south-west, have given a U-Pb age of 603 million years. However, new U-Pb zircon dating on the Charnian sequence in Charnwood Forest has given dates of around 560 million years. Thus the igneous rocks of Nuneaton either have an incorrect date, or do not correlate with the South Charnwood Diorites. www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 25 4 Stable Pit Quartzite This locality features an excellent exposure of well bedded quartzite, dipping at 15-20º to the northwest, and in places you can make out cross bedding, also dipping to the northwest. It is medium grained and the grains are well rounded. Part of the Brand Group, it has been equated with the basal Cambrian Quartzite that occurs in several places in England, the nearest being the Hartshill Sandstone Formation in the Nuneaton area. Very little detail can be seen in the rocks to allow an accurate interpretation of the depositional setting, but the cross bedding suggests deposition in current-agitated, nearshore marine environment. Elsewhere in the country, rocks of this age show variations in depositional setting from shoreface to turbidites and deep water settings. You can see that the rock has been mineralised with quartz veins and there is also evidence of haematite staining on some joint plains. The quartz veins are particularly prominent on an E-W trend but there is also a set of veins trending N-S. These can be seen to be cut out and displaced by the E-W veins in places. On one bedding surface on the top of the outcrop, you can see a series of sub-parallel ridges. These may represent current ripples, again suggestive of fairly shallow water environments. On the west side of this exposure, you can see a small notch in the face. This marks the position of a small dyke about 1 m wide, trending east-west, and composed of quartz diorite. This appears to be structurally controlled as it is parallel to the cleavage trend, to quartz veins within the rock and prominent joints. We have been unable to date this but it may be of Ordovician age and an offshoot from the nearby Mountsorrel intrusion that lies to the northeast. 5 Mercia Mudstone We are now visiting one of the few places where the Mercia Mudstone can be seen exposed in Charnwood Forest. It is a former brick pit that probably supplied the clay to make the bricks for Bradgate House. You can see the well bedded, nearly horizontal sequence of red mudstones that contrasts well with the steeply dipping Charnian sequence. Within the face, you can see a green bed, which is a dolomitic siltstone or fine-grained sandstone. These Triassic rocks are also well exposed in many of the quarries, where they show a very marked angular unconformity with the underlying Charnian rocks that represents a time gap of around 300 million years. The unconformity surface is highly irregular, with the Mercia Mudstone infilling deep palaeo-valleys carved into the underlying hard Precambrian rocks. The Mercia Mudstone represents the deposit of a vast desert that existed in the Mid- to Late Triassic times. This desert covered a much larger area than any of the deserts Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 25 15/04/2013 12:00:24 Figure 3: The geology of Charnwood Forest, showing the location of Bradgate Park. Inset at lower right shows actual outcrops of Precambrian and Cambrian rocks (black), separated by Triassic ‘cover’ strata. we see today. However, this was not a sandy desert but a dust desert with a high water table that allowed the windblown dust to accrete by sticking to the damp surface. The high water table also resulted in the precipitation of gypsum (Ca SO4) very close to the sediment surface, and this mineral is commonly seen in these rocks although it tends to be dissolved away close to the ground surface and thus cannot be seen in the quarry face. Like modern day deserts, there were violent rainstorms in the Triassic 26 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 26 and these led to the deposition of the thin siltstone and sandstone beds. By late Triassic times, all of Charnwood Forest was buried beneath Triassic strata, which were in turn overlaid by a thick sequence of Jurassic and Cretaceous marine mudstones and limestones, including the Chalk, as the local crust subsided. During the Cainozoic uplifts, at the time of the Alpine Orogeny, the younger Mesozoic rocks were stripped away leaving the Mercia Mudstone and Charnian rocks exposed. The land surface www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:24 Figure 4: Soft sediment load cast structures in the Beacon Hill Formation at Old John Tower. The scale is a £1 coin was finally sculpted to its present day form during the ice ages and subsequent perma-frost conditions when large areas of ground moved by solifluction processes. This process resulted in the accumulation of loose, surficial debris called ‘Head’. Keith Ambrose [email protected] Figure 5: The dewatering/gas escape structure at the Sliding Stone exposure References and further reading Ambrose, K., Carney, J.N., Lott, G.K., Weightman, G. & McGrath, A. 2007 Exploring the landscape of Charnwood Forest and Mountsorrel. Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey. Bland, B.H. & Goldring, R. 1995 Teichichnus Seilacher 1955 and other trace fossils (Cambrian?) From the Charnian of Central England. Neues Jahrbuch for Geologie und Palaeontologie (Seilacher Festschrift) 195, pp.523. Boynton, H E & Ford, T D. 1995 Ediacaran fossils from the Precambrian (Charnian Supergroup) of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England. Mercian Geologist, 13, pp.165-183. Carney, J N. 1995 Precambrian and Lower Cambrian rocks of the Nuneaton inlier: a field excursion to Boon’s and Hartshill quarries. Mercian Geologist, 13, pp.189-198. Carney, J N. 1999 Revisiting the Charnian Supergroup: new advances in understanding old rocks. Geology Today, 15, pp.221-229. Carney, J N. 2000a Igneous processes within late Precambrian volcanic centres near Whitwick, north-western Charnwood Forest. Mercian Geologist, 15, pp.7-28. Carney, J N. 2000b Outwoods-Hangingstone Hills. In: Precambrian Rocks of England and Wales. Geological Conservation Review Series No. 20. pp. 43-48. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough.19 Carney, J N, Alexandre, P, Pringle, M S, Pharaoh, T C, Merriman, R J & Kemp, S J. 2008 40Ar-39Ar isotope constraints on the age of deformation in Charnwood Forest, UK. Geological Magazine, 145, pp.702-713. Carney, J N, Ambrose, K A, Cheney, C S & Hobbs, P R N. 2009 Geology of the Leicester district. Sheet description of the British Geological Survey, 1:50 000 series Sheet 156 (England and Wales). Compston, W., Wright, A.E., & Toghill, P. 2002 Dating the Late Precambrian volcanicity of England and Wales. Journal of the Geological Society London, 159, pp.323-339. Ford, T D. 1999 The Precambrian fossils of Charnwood Forest. Geology Today, 15, pp.230-234. www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 27 Ford, T D. 2000 Precambrian palaeontological sites: Charnwood Forest. In Precambrian Rocks of England and Wales. Geological Conservation Review Series No. 20, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, pp.185-193. Hatch, F H. 1909 Text-book of Petrology, London. Lapworth, C. 1882 On the discovery of Cambrian rocks in the neighbourhood of Birmingham. Geological Magazine (2), 9, pp.563-565. McGrath, A.G. 2004 A Geological walk around Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood. Published by the British Geological Survey on behalf of ODPM and MIRO. McIlroy, D, Brasier, M D, & Moseley, J M. 1998 The Proterozoic-Cambrian transition within the ‘Charnian Supergroup’ of central England and the antiquity of the Ediacara fauna. Journal of the Geological Society of London, 155, pp.401-413. Moseley, J. 1979 The geology of the Late Precambrian rocks of Charnwood Forest. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Leicester. Moseley, J, & Ford, T D. 1985 A stratigraphic revision of the late Precambrian rocks of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire. Mercian Geologist, 10, pp.1-18. Pharaoh, T C, Webb, P C, Thorpe, R S, & Beckinsale, R D. 1987 Geochemical evidence for the tectonic setting of late Proterozoic volcanic suites in central England. In Pharaoh, T C, Beckinsale, R D, & Rickard, D (Eds) Geochemistry and Mineralization of Proterozoic Volcanic Suites. Geological Society of London Special Publication, No.33. pp.541-552 Ramsey, D. 2007 New light on early slate & granite extraction in Northwest Leicestershire. Leicestershire Industrial History Society Bulletin 18, pp.3-79. Sutherland, D S, Boynton, H E, Ford, T D, Le Bas, M J, & Moseley, J. 1994 A Guide to the geology of the Precambrian rocks of Bradgate Park in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire. Transactions of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society, 87 (Revised Edition). 36pp. Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 27 15/04/2013 12:00:25 Figure 6: Selected Precambrian fossils from various localities in Charnwood Forest Vizan, H, Carney, J N, Turner, P, Ixer, R A, Tomasso, M, Mullen, R P, & Clarke, P. 2003 Late Neoproterozoic to Early Palaeozoic palaeogeography of Avalonia: some palaeomagnetic constraints from Nuneaton, central England. Geological Magazine, 140, pp.685-705. 28 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 28 Watts, W W. 1947 Geology of the ancient rocks of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire. Leicester. Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society. Wills, L J, & Shotton, F W. 1934 New sections showing the junction of the Cambrian and Precambrian at Nuneaton. Geological Magazine, 71, pp.512-521. www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:26 ESTA Annual Conference 27th - 29th September 2013 Plymouth University Mid-Devonian 390Ma © PALEOMAP Project (www.scotese.com) Conference theme : Communicating Geoscience for further information contact the ESTA Conference Manager, Linda Marshall [email protected] tel: 01297 551077 E S T A Earth Science Teachers' Association w w w .esta-uk.net Registered Charity No. 1005331 [email protected] www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 29 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 29 15/04/2013 12:00:26 Bradgate Park Field day at the Keyworth Conference led by Keith Ambrose Carole Rushall Chris, in true teacher mode, asked the group to consider the evidence shown in the rocks so far and asked “what would the environment have been like when the rocks were formed?” Elizabeth was the star pupil suggesting deposition in water of a possibly volcanic ash material. Kevin joined the group and explained the geology of the immediate area. Elizabeth’s deductions were correctthe rocks had a volcaniclastic origin accumulating on a Precambrian sea floor. Upon closer examination, the delicate laminations in a well walked path exposure show a good example of a ‘load’ structure Figure 1: Even toilet blocks can be used as an educational resource. Twelve ESTA members were dropped off at Hunt’s Hill on a cold and very windy Sunday morning. The first point of interest was the toilet block built with local volcanic stone (including the roof made from Cambrian Swithland Slates). We entered Bradgate Park and walked up the hill towards the Old John Tower where we were to meet the visit leader, Keith Ambrose. We examined exposures along the way and found evidence of graded bedding, cross bedding and disturbed laminations in fine-grained sediment. Figure 3: Laminated sandstone with ‘load’ structure. We then visited a ‘secret’ location to view the famous Precambrian Charnian fossils – secret because of recent vandalism. Fortunately we were still able to see some of the fossils. The group then descended the hill walking east for about 500m to the Sliding Stone Slump Breccia. This was explained as a submarine debris flow and forms the base of the Bradgate Formation. It showed interesting contortions such as the ‘Swiss Roll’ Figure 2: Chris posing a question. 30 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 30 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:28 Keith finally took the group a short distance to a small quarry where the Stable Pit Member was exposed. This Lower Cambrian quartzite would make an interesting site for study - as would any of the sites we visited during the day. The picture shows Mike examining a quartz diorite dyke which could be of Ordovician age. Keith explained that it was difficult to date as there were insufficient trace minerals but it could be associated with the nearby Mountsorrel intrusion. Figure 4: The ‘Swiss Roll’ contortion. Keith then showed the group a further interesting feature in this formation and asked for any explanations. The bedding locally sags and has been interpreted as a water escape structure. Keith explained a recent theory that it could have been the result of thixotrophic shaking of waterlogged sediment. Figure 6: Mike examining a quartz diorite dyke. This visit was an excellent introduction to some of the oldest rocks in England. All of the sites we visited could be easily accessed by groups of different levels. Keith’s knowledge and detailed hand-outs were comprehensive and well received. For return visits to the area David recommended the BGS booklet and geological map Exploring the landscape of Charnwood Forest and Montsorrel of which Keith is one the authors (Ambrose, K. et al. 2007). Figure 5: The sag structure. We had our packed lunch on the coach and drove to the car park at the Newtown Linford entrance to Bradgate Park. We did not have much time to fully investigate the afternoon exposures but Keith took us to a few of the main sites of interest. Close to the ruins of Bradgate House a family were enjoying their picnic sitting on an excellent exposure of the South Charnwood Diorite (previously known as ‘Markfieldite’). They were somewhat bemused when we all hovered around their spot until we explained what we wanted to see. In this coarse grained granophyric diorite we identified green epidote, red haematite, quartz veins and slickensides. www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 31 Reference Ambrose, K., Carney, J.N., Lott, G.K., Weightman, G. & McGrath, A. 2007 Exploring the landscape of Charnwood Forest and Mount Sorrel. A walkers’ guide to the rocks and landscape of Charnwood Forest and Mount Sorrel. Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey. Exam Howler . . . Water table is a table that shows the amount of water that there is in an area. Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 31 15/04/2013 12:00:30 ESTA Conference visit to the National Stone Centre, Sunday 30th September 2012 Geoff Selby Sly Summary 13 ESTA Members attended the National Stone Centre on a damp Sunday morning. They must have enjoyed it as the original intention was 2 hours on the trails but we stayed out for 4 hours. The site consists of 6 disused quarries. The walk took in four of the quarries, all of which are in the Carboniferous Limestone and display numerous marine fossils of about 300Ma including brachiopods, crinoids, corals and dermal denticles (placoid scales). Within the site there are examples of a lead mine; lime kilns and the Millennium Wall which displays various rocks and the variety of construction of dry stone walls found around the British Isles. First Trail Starting outside the Discovery Centre the first display is a set of steps made from rocks representing the succession from the Precambrian to the Palaeogene (Figure 1) There is a description of the rock forming each step which includes its geological formation, classification, source and any specific uses and from lower to upper is as follows: Precambrian – Wentnor Group – Strinds Formation. 550560Ma • S andstone probably deposited in a braided river delta, but changed by intense Earth movements • Slightly metamorphosed fine sandstone • From Dolyhir Quarry, Old Radnor, Pawys, Wales • Used for tough road stone Ordovician – Early Caradoc Series. 463Ma ranite – similar to green slate but formed from a • G batholith of igneous intrusions associated with a subduction zone along the north eastern edge of the Midlands Microcraton. • Granodiorite • Mountsorrel Quarry, Nr Loughborough, Leicestershire. • Used for road stone 32 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 32 Ordovician – Windermere Super Group – Borrowdale Volcanics. 454Ma • M ade up of ash particles (tuff) from pyroclastic flows. Earth movements later (Devonian) created the slatey cleavage. • Green Slate • Broughton Moor Quarry Coniston, Cumbria • Used for Worktops, roofing and building. Silurian – Wenlock Series. 425Ma • M uddy Limestone, Lagoonal. Brachiopods, corals and trilobites. • Limestone • Lea and Coats Quarry, Wenlock Edge • Used for building, lime burning and aggregate Carboniferous – Visean. 330Ma xceptionally pure limestone (99% calcium • E carbonate), deposited in tropical seas just south of the equator • Limestone • Brassington Moor Quarry, Derbyshire • Used in plastics, paints, pollution control, glass, soil treatment and ceramics Carboniferous – Namurian. 316Ma • Braided river complex fed from mountains in the North. • Course Sandstone (Grit) • Crossland Quarry Huddersfield Permian – Cadeby Formation. 256Ma • • • • Coastal Mudflats alongside deserts Dolomitic limestone Bolsover Moor Quarry, Derbyshire Used for Aggregates, agriculture and building. Trassic – Anisian Stage – Sherwood Sandstone Series. 240230Ma • H ot deserts about 25oN of equator. Windblown sands with flash floods www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:30 • Sandstone • Cove Quarry, Dumfries and Galloway Scotland • Used as a building stone Jurassic – Tithonian Stage. 146Ma • • • • Tropical waters with oolitic banks Limestone Jordans Quarry, Portland, Dorset Used for building stone and sculpture Palaeogene – Antrim Basalt group. 62-58Ma • V olcanic ‘hot spot’ basalt lavas spread from South West Scotland to Iceland. Includes the Giants Causeway in Antrim • Basalt • Glenwherry Quarry, Balleymena, Co Antrim. • Roadstone and concrete aggregates Figure 1: Geological succession steps (Photo by Hazel Clark) Moving to the Lead Mine The lead mine was in use about 200 years ago. There is a stone wall lining (termed ginging) around the top layer of the mine and the shaft is currently 10m (30ft) deep but was deeper when the mine was operational. Hand/foot holds can be seen in the lining of the shaft This shaft was found on the day that work started on building the Discovery Centre. As a result, the site of the building was moved 5 metres to the west so the mine feature could be preserved. Figure 2: Gigantoproductus sp. Almost all the quarries on this site are intersected by lead veins and there are approximately 120 mine shafts. The Fossil Beds Carboniferous Lagoonal Limestone. This site illustrates bedding in the Carboniferous Eyam limestone (Cawdor). We used the evidence of the fossils and their relationship to bedding to make deductions about the environment of deposition. The brachiopod, Gigantoproductus (Figure 2) lived on the sea bed and fed off plankton. Plankton are animals and plants which float in water. Plants need sunlight to survive therefore the depth of water must be less than 200m due to the inability of sunlight to penetrate deeper into the water column. The large number of brachiopods in the beds would indicate that plankton must have been abundant which would indicate the water depth to be considerably less than the 200m, possibly as low as 50m. Rugose coral fossils on the same beds would build up a three dimensional structure by extracting calcium carbonate from the sea water. This would require the water to be warm. www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 33 Figure 3: The North East Quarry Figure 4: An example of the crinoids on the bedding surface in the floor of the North East Quarry Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 33 15/04/2013 12:00:33 Figure 5: View from the Pound looking towards Black Rocks – note the hogg hole in the wall (Photo by Hazel Clark) Figure 6: Internal construction of a typical dry stone wall (Photo by Hazel Clark) Crinoids also lived on the sea bed. They look like plants but are animals, they hold themselves on the sea bed by ‘hold fasts’ looks similar to a root but they are not very long. Any strong movement of water would knock them over which would reduce their ability to trap plankton. So the water must have been fairly calm for most of the time. faults. These lines can be seen in 3D as cracks down the quarry face and across the quarry floor. So these 3 fossils tell us that when the beds were forming 330Ma the sea was shallow, warm and calm, probably a lagoon. To the east of the fossil beds the remains of a Reef can be seen. This is the ‘smoking gun’ in the evidence of lagoon environment because everything to the north of the reef would lagoonal whereas everything to the south was deep ocean. At the end of the fossil beds is a vein of barytes but most of the view is of soil as this has been washed onto the veins over the years. North East Quarry This quarry (Figure 3) was the last of the National Stone Centre quarries to be closed. This area was once fields, but quarrying has revealed the first few metres of the Earth’s crust. The limestone beds here would have been deposited as flat layers of limey mud at the bottom of the broad shallow tropical lagoon. The mud was made up of the remains of shells, ejected pellets, skeletons etc. Each layer solidified, turned into stone with the pressure of the water column above and gradually more sediment on top. A lull in the amount of sediment being deposited results in a harder surface which is then covered by sediment as deposition it restarts, results in the bedding plains forming. Earth movement tilted the beds so they now dip to the east and (just as if you tried to bend concrete) caused them to break, forming vertical joints and 34 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 34 Some of these joints later filled with fluids rich in lead, barytes and other chemicals, which crystallised out to form mineral veins. The remains of old lead mines can still be seen in the rock faces. As with almost all rocks, the brown, red and yellow colouring is due to the natural iron oxide (i.e. rust) Within the ‘floor’ of the quarry are numerous crinoids some of which are up to 1m long. On the face to the west end, there is an area of brown about third of the way up from the floor, this has been caused by iron staining as it filtered through the limestone. On the right of this staining there is a hole about half way up the face. This is the remnants of a lead mine where the shaft has been blasted away during the quarry working. On the floor on this west side are numerous boulders of limestone, these are the actual size of the rocks from a blast on the face. They would have been transported to a crusher for reducing down to a cobble size of 3 – 4cm for use in road construction. Indeed this quarry was operated for aggregate to use in the construction of the M1 through Derbyshire. The quarry closed in 1966 as the M1 moved north into Yorkshire. The Crinoid Beds We investigated the crinoid beds (Figure 4) and discussed the theories for the catastrophic death assemblage: • H ydrocarbons were forced out over the sea surface which smothered the crinoids. Some evidence of bituminous material on the wall facing the beds. www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:35 olcanic ash covered the area boiling the water, • V killing the crinoids. Bonsall volcano 4 miles away. Last known eruption 290Ma • Shark attack. Sharks swam through the area eating the calyx. Calyx was held together by a skin which decomposed quickly. Note the position of a few of the stems and fronds. They are in situ but the calyx is missing, this tends to negate the this theory. mast) is the area of a small coalfield at the edge of the East Midlands Coalfield. These coals formed as the area became overgrown with swampy vegetation. Later, gradual earth movements and climatic change caused the swamps to dry out and form deserts. The hills to the south of Wirksworth are composed of red and buff soft sandstones, clays and pebble beds which were formed in these desert conditions. Beyond them further to the south are the sticky red marls. Before leaving this point we looked at the rock face at the side of the crinoids beds. This was a wall of the lead mine. There are deposits of barytes to the right hand side (near to the path) with some small deposits of lead within. To the West is the, now dormant, Middlepeak Quarry which was operational until the 1990s, producing aggregate for roads. View of landscape Behind the millennium wall is a shear drop into the South East Quarry and looking towards the East of the NSC there is a view of the Black Rocks (Figure 5). The landscape has been influenced by the geology. The lower ground in front is made up of Bowland Shales (mudstone; siltstone and sandstones) which were laid down after the limestone but, as it is softer, it has been eroded. The muddier waters were the prelude to large deltas forming from the north which killed off the limestone forming plants and animals as they needed clear water. The clays and silts were in turn covered by sand and coarse grit, forming the Namurian “Millstone Grit” series. Lenses of these grits form the higher ridges of the hills to the east. Many of these hills are broken by small cross faults. Slightly to the south (looking towards the radio Dry Stone walls The “Pound” is a demonstration of drystone walling in the Peak District. There are examples of hogg holes to allow sheep through and preventing larger animals from passing. To the side of the pound is an artist’s impression of an industrial chimney made of limestone and constructed by the drystone wall system. The landscape behind the chimney, to the horizon, is of Ashover Grit covered by the trees. Below is the Bowland Shale Formation, then below the shale is the Carboniferous limestone. Millennium Wall This was a project to bring together and demonstrate the various drystone walling techniques (Figure 6) and building stones used around Britain and was built to celebrate the Millinnium. The following table shows the geographical areas represented and the stone used: 1 West Yorkshire Carboniferous, Westphalian (Coal Measure) sandstone 2 Cotswold Middle Jurassic, oolitic limestone 3 South Yorkshire Gritstone salvage offcuts 4 South East Scotland Carboniferous, dolerite 5 Derbyshire Carboniferous, Namurian (Millstone) Grit and Dinantian Limestone 6 South Wales Carboniferous, Blue Pennant sandstone, 7 Caithness Devonian mudstone (“slate”) 8 West of Scotland Quartz dolerite 9 South West Scotland Devonian glacially rounded granite (reclaimed) 10 Central Scotland Devonian sandstone (reclaimed) 11 Isle of Skye Tertiary Basalt lava (reclaimed) 12 Cumbria Ordovician Borrowdale volcanic tuff/slate 13 Northumbria Carboniferous, Westphalian (Coal Measure) sandstone (Ganister) 14 Cheshire Carboniferous, Namurian (Millstone) Grit 15 Lancashire Sandstone (gritstone) 16 Sutherland Precambrian welded quartzite 17 Cumbria Silurian Brathay Blue slate 18 North Wales Ordovician/Silurian Greywackes glacial boulders www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 35 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 35 15/04/2013 12:00:35 Figure 7: Story board giving details of the walling technique – in this case the Highland single boulder dyke (Photo by Hazel Clark) Figure 8: The example of the Highland single boulder dyke(Photo by Hazel Clark) Reef Quarry There is virtually no bedding at this location because it was the front of the reef and subject to rougher sea and disturbance of sediments. The limestone here is decidedly fossiliferous. Many of the fossils are hollow and the cavities have been lined with crystals, possibly indicating that there was little disturbance after death. The cave to the south east side is possibly an underwater cave system filled with silt which developed shortly after the limestone was formed. Mineral-rich fluids migrated into the cave system and on cooling crystallised out, forming lead and barium deposits. Ripple marks can be seen on the underside of overhanging stratum. thought unsuitable for canal construction. During this time the railways were extending across the country so it was decided to build a railway line instead, which passed over the bridge. We looked at the archway. It was originally held together by lime mortar, which is flexible allowing the arch to move slightly as the weight of the trains passed over it then to flex back into its original position. Some later repairs used cement. We noted that there is no cement to the sections to each side of the arch i.e. no wastage of materials. The criteria in the 19th Century is “If not needed don’t do it”. Deep Quarry The shear quarry face of approximately 30m depth. The top beds dip steeply southwards and there is some sign of slumping, but the lower beds are nearly level. About 2m from floor of quarry there is a band of clay formed from volcanic ash. This ash was possibly derived from a volcano in the Bonsall/Matlock Bath area. Lime Kiln The base of lime kiln dates from the 1770 – 1830 period. The method involved a layer of fuel (coal, charcoal or wood) overlain by layer of limestone cobbles in a repeated sequence. Firing the lower layer of fuel heats and breaks the limestone down to powder which then allows the next layer of fuel to be ignited. The process converts limestone (CaCO3) into quicklime (CaO). After lunch in the Discovery Centre we ventured out onto the Cromford and High Peak Trail and then Steeplehouse Quarry. Steeplehouse Quarry At the entrance to the Steeplehouse Quarry is a narrow gauge railway run by a group of enthusiastic volunteers. Some members of our group decided to have a ride on the train to the Limestone blocks which had been extracted from this quarry up to the 1970s. The polished limestone provided the grey fossil ‘marble’ flooring for parts of Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport and Blackburn Cathedral. Within the blocks of limestone in this quarry there are signs of sharks’ presence in the form of dermal denticles which are sometime referred to as sharks teeth but are actually sharks skin scales. We were joined at this point by Robin, one of the rail enthusiasts who was also a geologist. He gave us all a talk on the ‘denticles’ and the actual sharks teeth found in the quarry. We then returned to the Discovery Centre for a nice cup of tea before making our way home. Geoff Selby-Sly Director, National Stone Centre [email protected] Cromford and High Peak Trail The trail was built in 1830 and the original plan was for a canal but as limestone is notoriously permeable, it was 36 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 36 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:37 Our day out at the National Stone Centre Angela Bentley At 9:00 am on Sunday 30th September Fiona and I were at the new BGS building choosing our packed lunches. We had enjoyed a very interesting, entertaining and educational ESTA weekend and were going on to the National Stone Centre for a fieldtrip on our way home. We visited the Millennium Dry Stone Wall where sections of walls can be seen showing the traditions, stones and styles of walling from different regions of Britain. I must admit to being surprised at the beauty and variance in each wall with some stones looking like they could only be lifted by Hercules himself! We travelled in convoy and managed to arrive at Middleton without losing too many of our party. We were met by the leader, Geoff Selby Sly and after a cup of tea we braced the elements to look at the steps made from rocks depicting the succession in the British Isles then moved on to an old lead mine adjacent to the Discovery Centre. Hazel explained to us the term ‘pig’ for the molten lead comes from iron smelting: when the liquid iron was poured into the trough the blocks attached looked like piglets feeding hence -pig iron. We were also told that mines were marked with a nick when a new owner wanted to take over a mine. After three weeks and three nicks the mine was legally owned by the new miner. If the original miner came back he would find that his mine had been nicked – which is the origin of ‘you’ve been nicked’. The knowledgeable, helpful and enthusiastic staff at the Stone Centre made our visit pleasurable. After our very tasty packed lunches we visited another quarry and had a jaunt on a jolly little open air train which captured the spirit of our excursion. Afterwards we were joined by a local geology expert who has tirelessly been trying to preserve the fossils in situ by exposing and turning huge boulders. He pointed out some fossilised shark skin dermal denticles that protects shark skin from damage and parasites in addition to improving their fluid dynamics, there were also shark teeth amongst other reef fossils. Jaws in the Peak District? – good title for A2 coursework! The area was originally a reef with a lagoon behind and is a SSSI because of the amazing geology. We saw the fabulous crinoid beds, I must admit that standing in the cold imagining a warm tropical lagoon had a slight sadistic quality. Angela and Fiona (Photograph by Maggie Williams) www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 37 There is certainly scope for fieldwork and subsequent coursework at the National Stone Centre. We had a terrific day out and are really looking forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s ESTA conference in Plymouth. Angela Bentley [email protected] View of part of the Millennium Wall illustrating some of the range of walling types (Photo by Hazel Clark) Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 37 15/04/2013 12:00:39 On the birth of PEST John Reynolds It certainly doesn’t seem 20 years since the 1993 birth of PEST, amid the seismic events accompanying the arrival of the National Curriculum. For most of the 1980s I was teaching Geography and Geology to CSE, O- and A-level in Stoke and in 1985 agreed to become Treasurer of the then Association of Teachers of Geology (ATG). Suddenly, much activity was triggered by the impending arrival of the National Curriculum. GCSEs replaced CSE and O-levels in 1986/7. Many of us were involved in writing teaching materials for often-reluctant non-geological Science teachers to help them teach the geological content now included in the Science curriculum. These Science of the Earth units for KS4 and KS3 were well-received, pleasing the Treasurer with excellent sales! The change of name in 1988 to the Earth Science Teachers’ Association reflected the shift of emphasis. A small ATG Primary Group had been developing teaching materials during the 1980s and pioneered in-service training sessions at Annual Conferences. The arrival of the National Curriculum gave extra impetus to the Group. Members included teachers from Yorkshire, Staffordshire, South Wales, the National Stone Centre, the Natural History Museum & Northampton Science Service. In 1988 I returned to Primary teaching, for which I had trained and had spent seven happy years at the start of my career. My classroom teaching for Y5/6 included developing Earth science activities for KS2 children and their teachers. In those early days of the NC, Primary Science and Geography Co-ordinators were given 20 days INSET over 2 years in half-day slots. My party piece was on rocks and their uses, performed at 4 LEA Centres in Staffordshire and Keele University. Over 100 teachers took away samples of common rocks, sets of worksheets and plenty of ideas. Needless to say, a lot of rock needed to be collected and then processed by hammer in my garden! The venture formed the basis of many ESTA activities – Conference workshops, Rock Kits, two PESTs and the Rocks and Soils packs. 38 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 38 ESTA Council was happy to fund a separate centre pullout section of the quarterly Teaching Earth Sciences, called Teaching Primary Earth Science – shortened to PEST. They would be on yellow paper and be made available for £5 per annum to anyone, as a separate subscription from full ESTA Membership. After a short gestation, the first issue was published in Spring 1993 on fossils, a topic found fascinating to most children, but largely ignored in the NC. Background information for teachers was balanced with activities for children – making a flicker book and plaster casts of fossils. Several thousand copies of PEST 1 were printed and distributed free in Primary Geographer and Primary Science Review, as well as Teaching Earth Sciences. Copies were handed out at workshops run by members of the Primary Group at ESTA, GA, ASE Annual and Regional Conferences, as well as locally in our own school pyramids. PEST 2, Introducing Rocks, followed in Summer 1993, PEST 3 – Soil, in Autumn 1993 and PEST 4 – Mountain Building, in winter 1993. At this time ESTA members were involved in writing the well-received pair of INSET Handbooks – Earth Science for Primary/Secondary Teachers. Very time-consuming was the production of our Working with Rocks pack, and later Working with Soil, both funded by the Dennis Curry Charitable Trust. They included work relating to Literacy and Numeracy strategies as well as Earth science, and were useful for teachers looking for help with NC Guidance for Year 3 Unit 3D: Rocks and Soils. For good measure we helped the Ordnance Survey to produce the UK Geology map in their UK Wall Map series, designed for KS2/3 level. The first colour proofs had the same blue for the sea as for Carboniferous rocks! Thus began the hectic round of writing quarterly issues of PEST and delivering workshops at three conferences each year. Over the twenty years the Primary Team have kept up with the adaptations and changes to the Primary National Curriculum. The workshops have evolved and many new ideas included, from food to cross curricular topics. The PESTs have branched out to cover such issues as environment and sustainability, often with a fun aspect, and sometimes involving guest writers. The team itself www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:39 has included many people over the years, not just primary teachers but also those involved in study centres, museums and other branches of Education. Those were the days and they still are! We have a new Primary National Curriculum about to start thus new ideas need to be developed. Today’s very small Primary Team needs your help to continue the good work. From 2013 the team have decided to call PEST “Primary Earth Science Teaching” to bring it in line with the acronym that has always been used for it, and have slightly changed the primary logo to reflect this. For 2013 we plan to update some of the materials published in the early issues of PEST and trust that you and your children enjoy them as much as we old fossils did in writing them. The Primary Team are looking for new members to share in the fun of thinking up new PEST activities and work sheets. If you have skills to offer, please contact the Primary Team at [email protected] John Reynolds [email protected] Reminders to ESTA members Subscriptions Membership subscriptions for 2012/13 should have been paid on 1st October 2012. If you haven’t renewed your subscription yet then please send a cheque to: Mike Tuke (Membership Secretary) at Old Farm House, Waterloo Farm, Great Stukeley, Cambridgeshire, PE28 4HQ Current membership rates are £32 (full/institutional), £16 (student/retired) Direct Debit – did you know? • An easy way of renewing your subscription to ESTA and saving on postage stamps is to pay by Direct Debit. • ESTA’s Direct Debit collection date is on or after 1st October each year. • The Direct Debit Guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that take part in the Direct Debit Scheme. • You can cancel a Direct Debit to ESTA at any time by writing to your Bank or Building Society. You should also send a copy of your letter to ESTA. If you would like to set up a Direct Debit Instruction, fill in the application form enclosed with this edition of TES and send it to the Treasurer at the address given on the form. www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 39 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 39 15/04/2013 12:00:39 “Collecting” Building Stones – an unexpected obsession Peter Kennett “What on Earth are you doing, photographing a penny stuck to that shop-front here in Piccadilly?” “Well, I’m a geologist......” “Oh yeah!” This conversation did not actually happen during a recent endeavour to record a wide variety of building stones, but it clearly went through the minds of passers by and the people in the shops. So, what brought me to risk the inquisitive gaze of the general public in the cause of science? It all started when the Earthlearningidea (ELI) team, Chris King, Elizabeth Devon and I decided to publish an activity outlining how to investigate the geology of gravestones. (We have kept the well-used title of “Will my gravestone last?” since we couldn’t think of a better one. See www. earthlearningidea.com for details). At its simplest level, pupils only really need to be able to recognise “granite”, “sandstone”, “marble” and “slate”, with the recent addition of “gneiss” in modern cemeteries. However, many youngsters would like to go further than this. Until recently an excellent set of 16 postcards of building stones were available from Manchester Museum, but this is no longer the case. We therefore decided to follow Manchester’s example and build our own, larger collection of photographs, also at natural scale. Given that many of Earthlearningidea’s users live in other countries, this would not always be practicable, so we decided to build up our own, larger, collection of photographs, also at natural scale. A 1p piece has a diameter of 2cm and was stuck lightly to every surface first, to enable a constant scale to be demonstrated. After a lot of trial and error, we found that a Nikon D60 digital SLR camera, mounted on a tripod and with the lens set to 55mm zoom gave the right result. A piece of dowel 23cm long enabled a constant distance between the surface and the front of the lens to be maintained. Stray reflections, especially when photographing a dark stone such as a gabbro, could be a nuisance and I had to suffer the ignominy of being told later by my sister (younger than 40 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 40 I am) that a Polaroid filter would help! Given the above set-up, it became possible to produce A4 sheets of photos containing six photographs, each 3 inches square, at natural scale. In all, 36 different building stones have appeared on the ELI website so far, and many more are awaiting an opportunity to produce further sheets as extension material. A brief description of each building stone is provided, with several examples being given below: Clearly, we had accumulated more than enough photos and descriptions for one activity, so they have been published as five separate items on the www. earthlearningidea.com website over the summer of 2012. The first publication titled ‘Building stones 1 – a resource for several Earthlearningidea activities’ contains all 36 photographs together with their descriptions. Pupils are encouraged to use the key provided to group the pictures into igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks (once they have been cut up into packs and the names removed). Pupils can then proceed to identify each rock more precisely, on the grounds of texture and colour as seen in the photographs. Having set the scene, ‘Will my gravestone last?’ follows, with details of how to organise a trip to the graveyard, first to identify the rock types used and then to investigate their weathering properties. The remaining three activities focus in turn on igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, and allow a more detailed examination than was possible in the introductory activity. Acquiring a sufficient variety of building stones in the first place required a degree of local knowledge and sufficient familiarity with them to be sure of their identification. Thanks to having followed Eric Robinson around on several occasions, and having listened to him explaining the stones used in the centre of Sheffield gave me sufficient confidence to sally forth with the camera. The first place www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:39 South West England Granite, England was our local churchyard, at Ecclesall Parish Church, where many of the great and the good of Sheffield lie under some very expensive and ornate tombstones, ranging in date from 1795 to the present day. This was relatively easy, being watched only by schoolchildren on their way home and a few squirrels, and I was able to ‘bag’ a good variety of ‘granites’, gabbros, local sandstones, Carrara Marble, and some of the newly fashionable Indian gneisses. However, the only Shap Granite grave lay in deep shade and I was aware that there was a much better example Kemnay Granite, Aberdeen, Scotland (1p coin is 2 cm in diameter) All photographs by Peter Kennett forming the cladding of the relatively recent Law Courts in the city centre. Knowing that the Law Courts were covered by extensive CCTV cameras, and that they had even taken my penknife off me on a previous visit, I felt it prudent to ask the security man first! The Shap Granite has some superb ‘heathen’ (xenoliths) but I decided against explaining this to the man, in case I was misunderstood and simply got on and took the photographs. Having started, I found more Igneous – Imperial Mahogany Granite, Red Hills, South Dakota, USA (Jessops shop front, Sheffield, 2012) The attractive red-brown colour comes from the feldspars, and the pale blue is quartz. The dark minerals are ferromagnesian minerals. The presence of blue quartz in an igneous rock usually indicates that it has undergone some degree of metamorphism after it had cooled. This is borne out by the appearance of subtle banding in the rock when seen in bulk. It is of Precambrian age (i.e. more than 542 Ma). Sedimentary – Portland Limestone, Isle of Portland, England (Sheffield City Library, 2012) Portland Stone was popularised by Sir Christopher Wren, when he used it in the rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral after the Great Fire of London in 1666, and it now features in many public buildings throughout the U.K. Examination under a hand lens shows that it is often composed of spherical ooids of calcium carbonate, 1mm or so in diameter. These were produced by the action of algae on a warm sea floor, and subjected to the action of currents, during the Jurassic Period (200-146 Ma). Shelly fossils of oysters resist weathering rather better than the bulk of the limestone and the extent to which they stand proud of the surface allows an estimate of weathering rates to be made when the age of the building is known, e.g. by using a tyre depth gauge. Metamorphic – Broughton Moor Slate, Lancashire, England (Paving at the fountains in the Peace Gardens, Sheffield, 2012) This slate could be classified as a sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic rock! It was formed when volcanic ash was blasted out of a volcano in Ordovician times (488-444 Ma). The ash settled in surrounding water, with the coarser particles settling first, grading up to the finer ones. It later underwent metamorphism at a destructive plate margin in the Caledonian Orogeny (mountain-building episode) and acquired a cleavage at a high angle to the original bedding. www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 41 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 41 15/04/2013 12:00:39 Rubislaw Granite, Aberdeen, Scotland and more examples of attractive building stones, including some with good sedimentary structures, as I worked my way up the city centre. After asking permission at the Yorkshire Bank (Rapakivi Granite) and Jessops Photographic (Dakota Imperial Mahogany), I didn’t bother any more and simply set up the gear where I felt like it, sometimes kneeling on the pavement to shoot the lower plinth of a building, or aiming straight down at an exotic kerbstone. The only conversation came when I was having trouble with sky shine on a highly polished window sill of ‘Emerald Pearl’ Larvikite, on a former lavishly furnished branch of Barclays Bank, now converted into a restaurant. A voice behind me said. “Tek it at an angle, luv and tha’ll avoid t’reflection”. He then advised me to go to the Geology Department at Sheffield University to find some more. “They’ve shut it”. “Oh, ‘ave they? – reight then”, and off he went. Rubislaw Granite with xenolith I had heard conflicting reports about the origin of the Larvikite, both the greenish Emerald Pearl and the iridescent Blue Pearl. The rock is well known as a marker erratic in the tills of the East Coast, having been brought over by the ice from its only known occurrence in Norway. However, it was now rumoured to be coming from India or China. Puzzled, I contacted the major stone importer in the region, Pisani plc in Derbyshire and was told that it IS only known from Norway, but that huge quantities are shipped out to India and China for cutting and polishing and are then transported back to Europe! Pisani were so helpful that I arranged to call in when I was nearby and was allowed to look round their yard – a veritable Aladdin’s Cave for a geologist. Huge polished slabs of every conceivable igneous and metamorphic rock filled the yard, with the sedimentary rocks being displayed under cover. Many of them were completely new to me, originating mostly from China and India, but with some from Brazil, Spain, Portugal and Scandinavia. Most of these wonderful rocks are probably destined for kitchen work surfaces, but some will find their way into the cladding of buildings, either in their own right, or as matching stone in repair work. For example, the well known Balmoral Red Granite from Scandinavia is often matched Pisani plc’s yard, Cromford, near Matlock 42 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 42 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:40 Balmoral Red Granite, Finland nowadays by a much cheaper Chinese equivalent, which is quite difficult to distinguish from the Scandinavian rock. By now, ‘collecting’ building stones had become as obsessive as acquiring cigarette cards of battleships in my youth (and no, I never have smoked!). Aware of Eric Robinson’s books on the building stones of London, I took the opportunity of a meeting at the Geological Society to roam along Piccadilly, St James Street and Pall Mall, book in one hand and camera in the other. The most amazing rock type was the reddish rudistid limestone, forming the plinth below the window of a café on St James’ Street. This time, it was the café customers who were left wondering what was going on. Immediately outside the Geological Society on Piccadilly, the pavement was being renewed in beautifully clean ‘York Stone’ displaying ripple bedding – again a worthy subject for a photograph, (even if it possibly comes from Lancashire!). More delights awaited inside Burlington House itself. The superb reception desk, built in 2007 of traditional British stones, is worthy of study and there is an accompanying leaflet. Unfortunately it is not possible to photograph a sufficiently clear area of any of these slabs without dismantling the desk, but it is a feast for the eyes. Several of the older furnishings in the foyer are of ‘marble’ (in fact, fossiliferous limestones), but one of the most distinctive is in a rather cramped area where I was reliably informed by Ted Nield that Darwin and Huxley would certainly have stood for a time on their visits. It is in a place that the ladies cannot enter, and my photograph did not come out well enough in the gloom to show the stone, so I shall have to go again the next time I call! www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 43 Shap Granite, Cumbria, England The latest venture has been to visit the John Lewis branch in Sheffield and ask to see their ‘granite’ worktop samples. I had hardly heard of most of them, many of which have been given Italian names, although they almost certainly come from China and India. All this has made me realise that truly, “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing”, and I need a more informed source if I am to add to the collection. I have now found a book called the Building Stone Heritage of Leeds, where the authors, (Murray Mitchell and the late Francis Dimes) have clearly consulted archives dating back to the 19th Century in their quest for accuracy. I feel a trip coming on, where I can use my free pensioner’s pass for a day in Leeds....! References Day, S. & Nield, E. (c 2007) Handsome Accommodation – a Guide to the Geological Society of London’s Apartments. London: The Geological Society. Dimes, F.G. & Mitchell, M. (2nd ed 2006) The Building Stone Heritage of Leeds. Leeds: The Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society Ltd. Kennett, P. et al (1999) The Building Stones of Sheffield (A3 folded card). Sheffield: Sheffield Building Stones Group. Price, M. T. (2007) Decorative Stone: The Complete Sourcebook. Thames and Hudson Robinson, J.E. (1985) London Illustrated Geological Walks, Book Two. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press Ltd, for the Geologists’ Association. Earth Learning Idea www.earthlearningidea.com Acknowledgments I am most grateful to Messrs. Pisani for showing me around their wonderful stone yard at Cromford and to Elizabeth Devon for her comments on the first draft and for telling me about the Decorative Stone source book. Peter Kennett [email protected] Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 43 15/04/2013 12:00:40 The use of Android tablets for geological fieldwork – pitfalls and possibilities. Phillip J Murphy Android devices are widely available at a variety of price points in today’s mobile communication market. On the University of Leeds first year Geological Sciences degree Lake District field trip 28 out of 43 students had an android device with a further 12 having an equivalent smart phone showing by far the majority of our students are carrying an advanced computer capable of data capture and storage on their field work. This study is aimed at assessing the viability of using these devices for data capture as part of the standard fieldwork procedures of undergraduate geological mapping projects. A visit to android market place will show about a dozen apps of varying complexity and are available for taking geological measurements in the field but previous work has identified Rocklogger produced by Bramley Turner Jones of RockGecko based in Australia as one appropriate for field mapping project use (Murphy 2011). Rocklogger is a geological tool for measuring the orientation of rock outcrops. It uses the phone’s compass and orientation sensors to measure dip and dip direction, or dip and strike, in a single click. GPS and magnetic field information can also be saved, along with details on the rock plane & type. Key features: • Log dip & strike or dip & dip direction by placing the phone on the rock/plane in any orientation (using the rotating symbol and quick help features as guides) • Plot logs on a map, with correct dip/strike symbols • Plot poles or planes from logs on a stereonet, and interpret by touching the plot to find trends and intersections • Log the ambient magnetic field • Launch the camera to take photos while logging. Notes and GPS data are saved to the log file. Photos are stored with the log file, and are automatically attached when you send a log via email from the browser screen • The log is saved to a .csv file, which can be sent to Excel / Mapinfo / etc for interpreting. Paid versions can also export KML files for use in Google Earth (desktop version). 44 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 44 Taking the strike and dip of outcrops with a compass / clinometer usually takes a few minutes per measurement. With Rocklogger, many measurements of an outcrop can be taken in seconds in any orientation. It also works upsidedown, e.g. for logging overbreak in a mine (though this would be without GPS location). The evaluation version is limited to saving 3 records per 3 minutes, and has the stereonet plotter disabled. Rocklogger Unlocker is available for purchase in the market to disable the evaluation version restrictions. This also enables Rocklogger’s stereonet plotter: • Plot records from log files as poles or planes on a stereonet • Draw poles or planes on the stereonet by touching or using the sliders. Use this to find intersections of planes or trends of pole clusters • Filter records by plane type • Each plane type is plotted in a different colour, including user-defined planes • The unlocker also allows you to export logs in KML format (in addition to CSV) for use in the desktop version of Google Earth. While dip and strike measurements can be taken using any Android device in order to make full use of the App the device needs a GPS receiver. This is not a feature in budget pads or phones at the moment so relatively expensive hardware is needed. As the technology trickles down the market budget GPS functioning hardware will become cheaper. Four new tablets (Motorola Xoom) and a smart phone (HTC ChaCha) were purchased and the app downloaded to each device. These were taken on the Pembroke field trip as a preliminary deployment and then used extensively by postgraduate demonstrators and undergraduates during the Lake District field mapping training. The pads and apps were also displayed at the annual Earth Science Teachers Association conference to gauge their potential usefulness for both GCSE and A level teaching. There were three main strands to the evaluation process: • evaluation of hardware (ease of use, robustness etc) • evaluation of the software (ease of use, shortcomings for mapping) • accuracy/precision www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:40 Overall comments from all users were positive and the students felt using Rocklogger to aid data recording during their field mapping projects the following summer would be a great help. Hardware The Motorola Xoom is a relatively large tablet with an 81/2 by 51/4 inch screen. Each was supplied with a soft cover for the back of the tablet as the protection of the camera lens and prevention of slipping when laid on a dipping surface had been identified as problems in the previous work. Battery life was adequate – the tablet could be used all day with GPS enabled (a power hungry utility). Screen brightness in the field proved a problem – bright sunlight made the screen unreadable and increasing brightness settings definitely reduced battery life. The Xoom camera displays a poor quality image while taking a photo – this does not reflect the quality of the captured image but does mean you have to check the stored photo to ensure it is up to standard. Other hardware platforms have shortcomings when in photo mode such as the HTC Smartphone does not provide an image to the view finder at all. These camera issues which clearly need investigating before a device is purchased. In the field the screen gets very dirty and can become difficult to use. On the large screen of the tablet the graphic of the dip arrow is not of sufficient definition. It is fine on the smaller screen of a Smartphone but needs upgrading for use on the larger tablets. Using the tablets in rain and wind proved not to be a problem. Keeping it inside a plastic bag was enough to ensure students using them were still recording data when people had quit trying to record anything in their field note book. For dip and strike measurement using the Rocklogger app the instrument does have to be orientated in a geologically meaningful way so a user must understand what is being measured. This is not the case on some apps where a tablet can be laid on a surface in a random orientation and a measurement will be taken. For educational use this was seen as a real strength of the Rocklogger design and avoids it being a true ‘black box’ measurement system. location, description and a photograph became very rapid. The variety of structural features which can be measured would cover any geological eventuality and they can be interchanged very quickly. A photograph can be tagged to each measurement taken; this was very popular with the users. Once a measurement is taken there is no ’quick look’ option – you have to move to the ‘edit’ option to check the quality. Users wanted to be able to quickly check the reading once taken before it is assigned to the data file. Another shortcoming identified was the GPS location and accuracy data display is in a very small font – user would like this to be clearer when taking a measurement. Accuracy/precision In an attempt to gauge these factors a bedding plane was reoccupied. This was a narrow bedding surface exposed on the side of a cutting in an abandoned quarry. It was selected to give a field mapping realistic setting rather than somewhere with total sky coverage for GPS and a perfect surface for measurement. The data were also recorded in foul weather – strong winds and heavy rain. The measurement surface is shown in the centre of Fig 1. The data shows accuracy in realistically poor mapping conditions are reasonable and certainly comparable with data from standard UK compass clinometer where the clinometer scale is in divisions of 5 degrees. The GPS accuracy is variable and in better conditions time would have allowed each reading to be taken with 5m accuracy. A trial of different users undertaken on an inclined plane during the Earth Science Teachers Association annual conference on the 29th September 2012 is shown below. Fifteen different users, all new to the technology, managed to gather a data set showing a high degree of accuracy and precision. This shows user variation is a very minor factor in ensuring consistency of data quality. Post-field use: The tablet is a USB device so all files are easily accessed and edited. ata can be plotted on Google maps but this does Recommendations A mat screen tablet would overcome some of the problems of reading the screen in bright sunlight. Also perhaps a different background colour rather the Apps default black may help. Screen protectors are easily available and cheap. Software The App is intuitive and easy to use. Users quickly established a personal procedure at each outcrop to capture data in the most efficient way for themselves and recording an outcrop including dip & strike along with www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 45 Figure 1 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 45 15/04/2013 12:00:40 Table 1 Time on 20/06/2012 10:40:18 10:40:43 10:41:15 10:41:57 10:42:47 10:46:11 10:46:55 11:11:07 11:12:31 16:31:14 Dip angle 48.4 49.5 49.2 48.2 49 48.8 48.6 48.7 48.9 48.7 47.1 48.5 49.1 48.4 48.65 0.56806 Dip angle Strike direction GPS accuracy (m) 37.3 79 5 37.5 38.2 37.7 38 37.3 37.7 38.5 38.4 38 37.86 0.429987 Mean SD 73 76 74 73 76 82 83 83 80 77.9 4.01248053 5 25 10 5 10 15 5 10 5 Mean Standard Deviation Strike direction 158 158.2 158.2 158 159.6 154.3 157.9 156.7 156 156.5 158.1 157.5 157 158.5 157.4642857 1.294132999 to Smartphone screens. The present crop of dip and strike measurement apps do not have the range of features to replace a field note book such as linked field sketching options, photo annotation and sedimentary logging but do provide a robust and rapid means of gathering an recording field data. They can be usefully deployed alongside the traditional recording techniques for the recording of structural data and as such are an extra tool in the armoury of a field mapping geologist. School teachers were impressed with the ease of use and low cost of the apps and many reported they will encourage the use of Rocklogger as a measurement tool on their field work. Many schools struggle with the cost of maintaining a loan collection of compass clinometers so were keen to adopt this technology as it removed an ongoing equipment headache. The development of a full field note book replacement usable on a tablet platform is, I am sure, only a matter of time but is not been achieved so far. have the shortcoming of the limited scale available when working in detail however it is useful to check coverage to plan the next day’s activity. Structural data can be plotted as a stereo net on the tablets. This proved very popular with the undergraduates but the plots cannot be down loaded. Ongoing work I am in regular correspondence with the app writer (Bramley Turner Jones of RockGecko) working on an update to incorporate improvements identified as a result of the work detailed in this report. Conclusions Rocklogger (and other such apps) provide a quick, simple, accurate, cheap and reliable method of recording dip and strike. The data are stored in formats ready for further use/ manipulation in standard software packages. The ease of use and ready availability of hardware means we will see more use of such measurement and recording techniques. While obvious backing up of files and care with hardware platforms is needed this is no more onerous, and in many ways more robust, than the use of a field note book and compass/clinometers. The main shortcomings identified in this study are the difficulty of reading screens outdoors and the loss of definition of graphics when used on larger platforms such as the Panasonic Xoom tablets as opposed References 46 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 46 Murphy, P. 2011 A tablet for your field headaches – a non-digital natives first attempt at creating a digital field note book. Teaching Earth Science 36(2) pp.47-48. Web sites: https://play.google.com/store http://www.androidzoom.com/ I would like to thank James Witts, Graham McLeod, Andrew Merrick, Tom Fletcher, Hollie Romain, Helen Wilkinson and the class of the University of Leeds Lake District field trip 2012 for their input. Phillip Murphy School of Earth and Environmental Sciences [email protected] www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:40 Morteratsch: A student’s view Daniel Tudor In September 2012 a mixed group of final year Physical Geography, Geography and Outdoor Education students from Liverpool John Moores University travelled to Pontresina, Swiss Alps, to observe the Morteratsch Glacier (Figure 1). In 1850 this glacier stood near the end of the massive Morteratsch valley it occupies. The terminus of the glacier was visible from Hotel Morteratsch, which was solely built so that the Victorian upper class could travel up and dine within view of the glacier’s snout. This was the time that Victorian Mountaineering mania reached its peak. Tales of the British Alpine Club summiting and conquering the Alps reached back to the English upper classes and resulted in a massive tourist industry to Alpine regions, especially in sight of glaciated valleys or the taller peaks such as Mont Blanc. The glacier is now just over 2km from the hotel. This demonstrates the rapid retreat of the glacier over the last 120 years and is an indication of the effect that recent climate change has had in the region. Areas which were once covered by vast expanses of glaciated ice are now openly vegetated by hardy plants. The trim line of the glacier can still be seen along the upper edges of the valley. With incessant rock falls occurring from the lateral moraines, especially during the summer months when the insulated ice inside these moraines starts to melt and large boulders tumble down to reach the valley floor. Usually a large rumble similar to a snow avalanche precedes the crash of the boulder. This would often leave us looking around and hoping that the next one wasn’t going to be where we were working. During the time at Morteratsch each student undertook a separate project associated with the glacier. Some undertook how sediment transport in the proglacial river has changed over time whilst others worked on the glacier to understand how the glacier is retreating and how much ablation occurred over the week of our stay. More specific research included the measurement of clast size around the glacier and how this related to the englacial, subglacial or supraglacial processes. This involved the student measuring around 200 clast sizes across the glacier and undergoing www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 47 Figure 1: Morteratsch glacier snout with the Bernina Peaks. (Photo by C.Basey) one unfortunate incident where a quick slide down some blue ice resulted in a bruised ego but no injury. The specific area of interest for the author is how the glacier ablated over the week. This meant that ablation stakes had to be secured in the ice using the notorious Ice Lance (Figure 2). This is basically a high pressured steam hose which melts a hole in the ice and results in the wielder looking like a Star Wars character (Figure 3). To measure the ablation of a glacier, ablation stakes are used – these are usually just white sticks. Two measurements are taken, Figure 2: Using the ice lance on to drill holes for ablation stakes, a key piece of kit in measuring the melt rate of the glacier snout. (Photo by S.Taylor) Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 47 15/04/2013 12:00:41 the part of the stake which faces up the glacier and then the part of the stake which faces down the glacier, these two measurements are then averaged out to give the melt. This method allows for an average daily melt and overall average for the week to be taken and allows for the reduction of human error in the readings. During one night of heavy rain, which is believed to have caused a massive flood event on the glacier, massive ablation of the glacier occurred due to the erosional properties of the rain. Especially considering the fact that the Morteratsch glacier is actually a temperate glacier therefore rain has a much more drastic effect on the ablation compared to considerably colder glaciers where rain freezes instantly and adds mass to the glacier. The ablation of the glacier proved to be considerable over the week long study period, approximately 17 cm with the major amount of melt during the flood event previously mentioned. However, it can be stated that ablation is not the only variable contributing to glacial retreat there are lots of different factors. Orientation is also an important factor and actually directly influences the rate of the glacial retreat. As areas which face north-east are less likely to retreat at the same rate as those facing other directions (Evans, 2006). This could be noticed in the case of the Morteratsch which actually faces north-east and the accretion zone (the area of snow collection) is shaded for Figure 3: A View from the top of the snout of the glacier with ice drill. (Photo by A-M. Nuttall) Figure 4: The view from the Perz glacier and the start of the glacier walk. (Photo by P.McHugh) 48 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 48 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:41 the majority of the day in comparison to the Roseg glacier (which actually faces north-west and is located in the valley next to Morteratsch), this glacier appears to be retreating at a much more rapid rate. However, during my research it was possible to see that a glacier is not affected by a single variable but is actually a complex and intricate machine which is affected by a multitude of different variables. Visiting and studying the environments around the Morteratsch glacier benefited the students with an understanding of glacial systems and how rapidly they change in a real life situation instead of a just in theory. The visual impact is hard to explain, but it is amazing to reflect upon how such a massive structure, which can dramatically change its valley started as a tiny snow flake. It also brought home how important climate change is in affecting glacial response especially in the case of Morteratsch where the glacier is so well documented. Dyurgerov and Meier (2006) believed that glaciers can be used to see the real effects of climate change and in the case of Morteratsch it is definitely possible to see this. However, the field trip was not always about undertaking work. A glacier walk starting from the Perz glacier and meeting the Morteratsch glacier (Figure 4) around halfway allowed for a much more personal look at the glacier. Particularly impressive are the large crevasses which just seem to carry on forever. This look into how a glacier is dynamically changing allowed for the theories stated in the lecture theatre to be actually seen in the field. Overall, the field trip to Switzerland allowed us to develop our understanding and discuss/formulate new theories as to how the glacier is changing over time and how this may link to climate change. References Dyurgerov, M. & Meier, M. 1999 Twentieth century climate change: Evidence from small glaciers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 97(4), pp.1406-1411. Evans, I. 2006 Local aspect asymmetry of mountain glaciation: A global survey of consistency of favoured directions for glacier numbers and altitudes. Geomorphology. 73(1-2) pp.166-184. Daniel Tudor [email protected] Secondary Working Group Event 2013 The next ESTA Secondary Workshop will be on Saturday 18th May in the Science Learning Centre at Keele. Items on the agenda are likely to include: • using social media sites • updating activities from archived version of Teaching Geology and Teaching Earth Sciences • the potential of Earth-caching As previously, ESTA will pay travelling expenses, provide lunch and tea/coffee and can even stretch to a few peoples’ overnight expenses (in the Keele Management Centre) if they have to travel from afar. The day will start with coffee before 10.00 and end by 4.00. We hope to see you there. If you would like to register your interest or find out more about this event, please contact Chris King: [email protected] www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 49 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 49 15/04/2013 12:00:41 Volcanic Prediction … and saving the ESTA Chair Designate! Mike Parker In the weeks leading up to Christmas when students and teachers alike are feeling the strain it is always a good idea to try and mix up lessons. This year we were presented with a golden opportunity, to leave behind GL1 for a week and take a short diversion into the death and destruction of GL3 and volcanic prediction/ forecasting. Although the idea of real time volcanic monitoring is by no means a new thing, the lower 6th classes of St. Bede’s College had a vested interest in Mt. Tongariro as one of their teachers was planning to climb it during his brief December sabbatical. This teacher also happens to be the chair designate of ESTA. The students reacted very positively to this sidestep into GL3 and in particular to the real life, real time information gathering. This exercise only lasted for two double lessons; the first of these gave the students an overview of volcanic monitoring techniques and possible precursors to volcanic eruptions. In between the two lessons the students were asked to research the current state of affairs of the two volcanoes towards which their intrepid teacher was heading; Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ruapehu in New Zealand’s North Island. Armed with all the latest data the students produced reports on the current situation of the volcano and their hazard forecast with recommendations for the public. Below is a section from one of these reports. Current Situation – At present the volcano of Tongariro is exhuming large amounts of SO2 leading to a rotten egg smell spreading over 100km. A build-up of pressure and temperature, 800°C, has been observed in the Crater Lake. Recommendation – Although historical evidence shows that further eruptions are likely at present the signs suggest that there is no need for an evacuation of the local area, although airports should be on alert and people travelling nearby should be made aware of the situation. 50 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 50 The students thoroughly enjoyed this exercise and this was echoed in their comments when asked how they felt about the diversions away from the scheme of work: “Currently our beloved Mr Loader is in New Zealand sightseeing whilst a volcano could potentially erupt. This seemed like a great opportunity to try and evaluate whether we should send a helicopter to airlift him to safety.” Just when the students thought their favourite teacher was safe, disaster struck once more. All had heard, on many occasions, about Mr Loader’s planned trip to the active White Island via helicopter. Suddenly on the 12th of December White Island started to disrupt Mr Loader’s plans once more as the alert moved from ‘yellow alert level 1’ to ‘orange alert level 2’ (minor volcanic eruption underway). It seemed the islands of New Zealand were not keen on this visitor from abroad! These gave another excellent example for students to research and produce further geohazard forecast report using real time data. Below is an extract from a student’s report, slightly more concerned this time. “Past eruptions of this volcano, like in 2000 when magma reached the surface, have been rather destructive and if one was to happen Mr Loader would not be safe visiting the island. The lava dome is being observed and if it continues to grow I would suggest that Mr Loader vacates the area quickly as this would mean that an eruption is imminent! However if there is no growth he can visit and live it up on White Island”. We have done what we could now to inform Mr Loader of the perils that await him in visiting these places. Now all we can do is wait with bated breath to see if he returns in January! Mike Parker St Bede’s College, Manchester www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:41 UK Earth science curriculum update – reasons to be cheerful? Chris King The primary curriculum in England A draft primary curriculum in maths, English and science was published for England by the Department for Education (DfE) in June 2011 and it seems that the Department has taken heed of the recommendations made by the geoscience education community late last year (see King & Bilham 2012). The document submitted to the DfE recommended that at Key Stage 1 (5-7 year olds) children should study in science, ‘the sorting and grouping of rocks based on appearance’ and at Key Stage 2 (7-11 year olds) ‘Formation and identification of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks, their resultant properties’ and ‘Fossils as a record of extinct species and of evolution’. Relevant parts of the draft science curriculum are shown in Figure 1; the solar system and the water cycle are also covered elsewhere.* ESTA members will note some erroneous oversimplifications in this draft material, but the DfE has been alerted to these and hopefully, will correct them before final publication. This detailed Earth science content in the draft curriculum is most welcome, as it is a marked increase on the current curriculum. It is certainly likely to mean an increase in the CPD offered by the ESTA primary group and by the Earth Science Education Unit (ESEU), since many current primary teachers will be unfamiliar with this material. A possible reservation to the draft might be that the bulk of the material is aimed at 7-8 year olds, an age when many children might find it difficult to grasp some of the concepts involved, so any CPD provided by ESTA and ESEU will need to be carefully targeted. A second reservation was that the increased Earth science content in the primary curriculum might mean a reduction in the Earth science content of the secondary curriculum – despite the efforts of the geoscience education community to avoid such an outcome – but read on …. The secondary curriculum in England The draft secondary science curriculum for England has recently been ‘leaked’ and the leaked document has been www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 51 criticised for just being, to paraphrase one commentator, “just a list of content”. Although is good to be able to report that this list of content includes Earth science phrases very similar to those of the current KS3 (11-14) and KS4 (14-16) science curriculum, even though they are presented in chunks of science clearly labelled as ‘biology’, ‘chemistry’ and ‘physics’, a recent comment has just been received from ‘someone in the know’ – “much work is currently being done on the thing, so that won’t be the final position, by any means”. So, if the drafts eventually see the light of day with the Earth science intact – it seems that the Earth science content, will remain significant, if small – and that all pupils will receive some teaching in Earth science through the national science curriculum. ‘Clearly though, we must ‘watch this space’, as ever.’** GCSE geology It is good to be able to report, as shown in Figure 2, that the GCSE geology entry has remained above 1000, and that it is currently being taught in 61 centres across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. If ESTA members are considering teaching the new and more popular GCSE geology specification in their own institutions, or encouraging a colleague to do so, please be aware of the, ‘So you’re starting a new GCSE Geology course’ handbook on the ESTA website, with a range of other materials supporting the teaching of GCSE geology. A-level geology There is even better news for A-level geology where the A2 entry jumped by 9.5% this year (or 10% if you round the figures up!) to more than 2000, whilst the AS entry also increased, by 2.5%, to more than 3200, see Figures 3 and 4. The 213 examination centres for A-level geology (2012 figures) across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are clearly doing a good recruitment job. Again, for ESTA members or colleagues thinking of developing a new A-level or AS-level geology course, there is much resource material available on the ESTA website, including the, ‘So you’re starting a new A-level Geology Course’ handbook. Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 51 15/04/2013 12:00:41 Figure 1. Excerpts from the draft primary curriculum published for England by the Department for Education (DfE website, 2012). Programme of Study Pupils should be taught to: Notes and Guidance Year 2 [6-7 year olds] Everyday materials • identify and name a variety of everyday materials, including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water, and rock Pupils may study materials additional to those listed in the Programme of Study; for example: • in school: brick, sand, paper • in school grounds: soil. Uses of everyday materials • identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including : wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick/rock, and paper/ cardboard. Examples of uses of materials listed include: • brick: walls, steps, buildings, houses. • Pupils can apply their knowledge and skills by: • comparing the uses of everyday materials in and around the school with materials found in other places (at home, the journey to school, on visits … Year 3 [7-8 year olds] Rocks • compare and group together different kinds of rocks on the basis of their simple physical properties • relate the simple physical properties of some rocks to their formation (igneous or sedimentary) • describe in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within sedimentary rock. 52 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 52 Ensure pupils understand that different kinds of rocks are found on and under the Earth’s surface, and that the properties of different kinds of rocks relate to the way in which the rocks were formed. Pupils can apply their knowledge and skills by: • discussing different kinds of rocks and how their properties make them useful in different ways e.g. granite is hard and polishes to a smooth surface, so makes good work surfaces and monuments; limestone is soft and crumbly and you can draw with chalk; sandstone is an attractive building material but does not weather well because it erodes relatively quickly; jewellery can be made from crystals in rocks. Pupils can set up and perform simple tests on the properties of a variety of kinds of rock, record their findings (using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, bar charts or tables), report on their findings including presenting written explanation, and use their results to suggest improvements and predictions for setting up further tests. • discussing the differences between igneous rocks (hard, have crystals in them, found where volcanoes have erupted e.g. granite, basalt) and sedimentary rocks (found where there has been a seabed, made up of layers of sediment squeezed and squashed together, tend to be softer and a bit crumbly e.g. limestone, sandstone and shale). • looking at rocks with a hand lens to decide if they are made of grains or crystals, and whether they have fossils in them. Pupils can observe closely and report on their findings, including presenting written explanation. • discussing the different kinds of living things whose fossils have been found in sedimentary rock: for example, plants, dinosaurs, sea creatures (e.g. ammonites and trilobites). • making: ‘biscuit fossils’ using crumbled biscuits, syrup, and raisins; a model of igneous rock formation using molten chocolate; or a model volcano using bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Teachers should be aware that a third category of rocks, metamorphic, consists of rocks which have been changed through the action of heat or pressure. Pupils are not expected to be taught about this category, but teachers should be prepared to answer questions about the nature of e.g. marble and slate. www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:41 Year 4 [8-9 year olds] Classification of living things • identify and name a variety of living things (plants and animals) in the local and wider environment, using classification keys to assign them to groups • give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics and how they are suited to their environment. Pupils can apply their knowledge and skills by: describing and comparing the classification of common plants and animals to living things found in other places (at the zoo; under the sea; at the farm; prehistoric life; extinct plants and animals). Support this work by using the science biographies of Charles Darwin (explained the diversity of life) … Year 6 [10-11 year olds] Evolution and inheritance • explain that evolution happens over time, fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth many years ago; how animals and plants are suited to and adapt to their environment in different ways; and how this leads to evolution. Building on the topic on Rocks in Year 3, pupils should be introduced to the fossil as evidence for evolution. This can include how they are formed, the types of plants and animals most likely to be preserved as fossils, and how fossils are used to explore the characteristics of prior animals and plants. Pupils can be introduced to the work of palaeontologists. Pupils can apply their knowledge by: • discussing how fossils are formed and how they help build a picture of what animals and plants were like, including what we know about dinosaurs. Geology teacher training The situation is nothing like as rosy for geology teacher training. Since Bath University closed its course in 2011 and Keele closed its course and re-opened it in 2010, and closed its course and reopened it in 2011, the number of geology teachers trained in 2010 was six, in 2011, four and currently two people are being trained. This may reflect a rumour reportedly circulating amongst careers tutors in Higher Education geoscience departments, that it is no longer possible to train as a geology teacher in the UK and anyway, geology is no longer taught in schools. Currently (late-November 2012) the situation is in flux because of the new ways in which the Teaching Agency is allocating training placements to schools and teacher education institutions. At present no places have been allocated because ‘this is usually dealt with outside of the normal allocations process. Because of the changes in subject priority we need a bit more information which would allow allocations to make a clear decision on how best to allocate these places.’ (part of an email from the Training Agency). Keele University has supplied this information to the Agency (including many of the figures above) – and awaits a response. Meanwhile, letters have been sent to all Higher Education Geoscience Departments in the country citing the UCAS (2010) data showing that 45% of applicants to geoscience courses had either A-level or Scottish Higher geology, and asking them to publicise teaching as a career to their undergraduates. Visits are being paid to all the institutions within striking distance of Keele to give presentations with the same message, www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 53 whilst the ESTA/Keele stand at the recent Geological Society Careers Day (held at BGS, Keyworth) drew interest. Information about the situation, sent to the Geological Society’s Geoscientist magazine, is likely to figure prominently in the December edition. Scotland The number of entries for ‘Intermediate’ and ‘Higher’ geology in Scotland have been dwindling recently, although as a percentage of the school population the Intermediate entry is very much on a par with the level of GCSE entry elsewhere in the UK. However, it is in the comparison between A2, AS and Higher where Scotland does not have the numbers (probably because it has been impossible for geoscientists to train as teachers in Scotland for some time, so that the numbers of geology teachers have been reducing). As a result the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has decided to close examination-level geology and to launch a new Environmental Science exam suite. Unfortunately the new Environmental Science exam contains little geology. The Scottish Earth Science Education Forum (SESEF), with the support of ESTA and the Earth Science Education Unit, has been fighting a rear-guard action, but with little result so far. SQA have agreed to keep all the geology units in their catalogue so that these could be certificated, but at the moment no final assessment by examination is being considered under the Curriculum for Excellence initiative. Arguments about the geological heritage of Scotland and its importance to the Scottish economy today seem to be falling on deaf ears. Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 53 15/04/2013 12:00:41 Figure 2. GCSE geology entry in recent years. Figure 3. Recent A2-level geology entries. curriculum review at some point, but no date has been set. A review may provide the opportunity of influencing the science curriculum for Earth science, using the arguments about international comparisons, etc., that seem to have been effective in England. Figure 4. AS-level geology entries since 2001. Meanwhile the ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ running in Scotland retains a reasonable amount of Earth science at upper primary level, with secondary level Earth science being found mostly in the geography curriculum. Wales To quote a phrase of one of ESEU’s Welsh facilitators, Nikki Maddocks, ‘KS3 is an Earth science free zone in Wales, looks like it may become a science free zone’ – this is because of the Welsh government’s focus on literacy and numeracy, with reduced emphasis on all other subjects, including science. Nikki reports that there will have to be a Challenge and opportunity The current curriculum situation is clearly a mixture of challenge and opportunity, but as ESTA Council and as ESTA members we must continue to respond to both with enthusiasm and resilience, as ESTA has done over many years – to ‘advance education by encouraging and supporting the teaching of Earth sciences at all levels’ (ESTA website). References Department for Education (DfE) website 2012 National Curriculum for science, Key Stages 1 and 2 – draft: http://media.education.gov.uk/ assets/files/pdf/d/draft%20national%20curriculum%20for%20 science%20key%20stages%201%202.pdf Earth Science Teachers’ Association (ESTA) website: http://www.esta-uk. net/ King, C. & Bilham, N. 2012 Towards a balanced Earth science Curriculum for England – science and geography perspectives. Teaching Earth Sciences 37(1), pp.45-48. Chris King Chair of the ESTA Secondary Group, Education, Keele University, Keele, ST5 5BG [email protected] * In the event, the Earth science content of the formal proposals for the primary science curriculum was unfortunately much reduced, in comparison with this draft. The full proposals can be found at: http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/n/national%20curriculum%20consultation%20-%20 framework%20document.pdf ** Despite the good signs for the Earth science content of the English secondary curriculum noted when this paragraph was written – many ESTA members will know that these were not born out when the proposals were finally published. In the proposals, the ‘Earth science’ included in the KS3/4 science curriculum was not the Earth science recognised by most Earth scientists – in particular, there was no mention of either the rock cycle or plate tectonics. Instead, despite the recommendations submitted in 2011 to the Department for Education by the Earth science education community (King & Bilham, 2012), the rock cycle was not included in the curriculum at all and plate tectonics only appeared in a list in the KS3 geography curriculum alongside rocks, weathering and soils. Since then we have responded to the consultations and lobbied widely and fiercely for the Earth science content of the science curriculum to be reinstated. After this great effort to protect the position of Earth science in the curriculum – we just have to sit back and ‘watch this space’ again – in hope. 54 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 54 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:42 Reviews Introducing Oceanography David Thomas and David Bowers Dunedin Press 2012 ISBN 9781780460017 Paperback £9.99 The Dunedin Press have recently published a series of excellent small books of between 100 and 150 pages which neatly summarise aspects of the Earth Sciences. Two of these have already been reviewed in this journal. This latest one, on oceanography, is very clearly written in ways that the layman can easily understand and contains a variety of photos, graphs and diagrams. It is a very good introduction to the subject. There are some minor errors, for instance the key to figure 5.8 is wrong. I enjoyed reading this book but it has only marginal relevance to A level Geology. It would be of more interest to Biologists and Geographers and those interested in climate change. It is a book for the library though it could well inspire someone to study oceanography at university. Mike Tuke The book starts by describing the different types of ocean currents and what causes them. There is a clear description of the Coriolis Effect. This is followed by a chapter on ocean waves, their propogation and the differences between deep and shallow water waves. Chapter 5 is about the tides; the description and explanation of why high tide does not coincide with the full moon is very clear but I found the explanation of the cause of the two tides every day difficult to follow. The book then deals with the light in the oceans and then the chemistry of the oceans. Having dealt with the physical aspects of the oceans the remainder of the book is devoted to the Biology of the oceans. At the end of the book there is an extensive glossary with each term neatly defined and a reference to the page in the book where more can be learnt. This is followed by two pages of sources for further information, both books and web sites. Exam Howler . . . ‘Volcanic geezers’ www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 55 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 55 15/04/2013 12:00:42 Plate Tectonics : online teaching resource plate tectonics, such as J. Tuzo-Wilson, is most interesting and educational. The Geological Society – October 2012 • T he multiple choice quizzes are fabulous and certainly very challenging -watch out for the double negatives. • The drag and drop exercises are fun, like the multiple choice, they are designed to make students think. • The anagrams make great starter and plenary activities. http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Home/Plate-Tectonics I first discovered this website through my ‘Twitter’ account and immediately ‘re-tweeted’ the link to all my students stating that this is a ‘fabulous much needed resource’, so I was delighted to be asked to review The Geological Society Plate Tectonics site. The site looks in depth at how plate boundaries work and is fantastic for students, teachers and enthusiasts of Earth Science. Pitched at 14-16 year olds, I believe some of the language and content could be challenging for less academic students. The front page is colourful and easy to navigate; nonetheless, a search box would have been useful. The animations are excellent, they clearly and succinctly demonstrate the processes believed to occur at the plate boundaries. The accompanying sound effects made me smile though the addition of a spoken commentary would have been beneficial, particularly for younger students. As a Sixth Form resource the site is superb with entertaining activities and examination relevant content. The background information on the pioneers of 56 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 56 The site contains entertaining assessment games: I will definitely be booking out the IT suite for a lesson so that my students can enjoy some interactive learning. The website is up-to-date and relevant with new material being added regularly. The Teachers’ Zone has some useful worksheets and copies of GCSE Geology exam questions. I recommend that every teacher of plate tectonics make use of this free, informative and fun resource. Overall this is a wonderful site for all students: stretching for the top end of academic ability at GCSE, great for A Level revision and accessible animations for all abilities. Angela Bentley Aquinas College, Stockport www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:42 Diary May 2013 July 2013 11th – 12th May Newmarket Rock ‘n’ Gem Show, Newmarket Racecourse Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk 7th – 8th July Newcastle Rock Gem ‘n’ Bead Show, Newcastle Racecourse Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk 18th May ESTA Secondary Working Group meeting Keele University Contact: [email protected] 14th – 15th July Farnham Maltings Rock Gem ‘n’ Bead Show, Farnham Maltings Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk 18th – 19th May Cheltenham Rock Gem ‘n’ Bead Show, Cheltenham Racecourse Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk August 2013 June 2013 8th – 9th June Kempton Park Rock ‘n’ Gem Show, Kempton Park Racecourse Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk 4th – 5th August Kempton Park Rock ’n’ Gem Show, Kempton Racecourse Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk 11th – 12th August Welsh Rock ’n’ Gem Show, Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk 8th – 9th June Somerset Park Rock ‘n’ Gem Show, Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk Exam Howler . . . It is said that animals can also detect seismic activity. Some, such as snakes kill themselves when an earthquake or volcano is going to happen. www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 57 Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 57 15/04/2013 12:00:42 SEPTEMBER 8th – 9th September Newton Abbot Rock ’n’ Gem Show, Newton Abbot Racecourse Contact: www.rockngem.co.uk 14th – 15th September Open day at Snailbeach Mine, Shropshire Contact: www.shropshiremines.org.uk/snailbeach/sbheri. htm 27th-29th September ESTA Annual Course & Conference: Communicating Geoscience Plymouth University Contact: [email protected] September 2014 26th – 28th September ESTA Annual Course and Conference Open University, Milton Keynes Contact: [email protected] Geological surprises 58 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 58 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:43 Crossword puzzle Number 2 ACROSS 1. Term to describe strike-slip faults which occur at right angles to mid-ocean ridges and which indicate the direction of spreading. (9) 6. The progressive spreading of successive beds of sediment over an increasingly wider area. (5) 9. Light- coloured, fine-grained igneous rock found as a late-stage vein in granite bodies. (6) 10. Cubic mineral with a lead-grey streak and a hardness of 2.5 on Mohs’ scale. (6) 12. In mineral optics, produced when light is refracted through a doubly refracting mineral. (1-3) 14. Homogeneous, ordered solids with a limited chemical composition. (8) 15. Half-open, steep-sided hollow in a mountain region. (3) 17. Fracture along which observable relative displacement has occurred between adjacent blocks. (5) 20. A bivalve which has a sub-circular shell with a convex right valve and a flat left valve. (6) 22. Class of soil texture composed of sand, silt and clay. (4) 23. A rock produced in zones of tectonic dislocation by the process of cataclasis. (8) 26. A local Peruvian name for ignimbrites that have been altered by vapour-phase crystallisation. (6) 27. The name for the zone below the level of the water table where all voids are saturated. (6) 30. Name of the first woman and mother of the human race? (3) 31. Prefix meaning ‘through’. (3) 32. Iron-rich sedimentary rocks. (4) www.esta-uk.net TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 59 DOWN 2. Lowest points. (6) 3. Single flat surface of a naturally developed crystal. (4) 4. Long, linear, elevated, volcanic structures often lying along the middle of the ocean floor. (6) 5. Prefix meaning ‘sloping’. (5) 6. Word to describe a limestone largely composed of ooids. (7) 7. A projecting part, such as a ridge on the side of a hill. (4) 8. A term used to describe certain types of folds. (12) 11. Any part of the circumference of a circle. (3) 13. Internet domain name for Aruba. (2) 16. Deposits of sediments formed at the mouth of a river where it enters the sea or a lake. (6) 18. Term to describe the sediments deposited after transport by the wind. (7) 19. King crab. (7) 21. Former name of Tokyo. (This name is literally ‘bay entrance’ or ‘estuary’). (3) 23. A workable paste used to bind construction blocks of stone together and fill the gaps between them. (6) 24. A type of surface wave that travels slightly faster than a Rayleigh wave. (4) 25. A point of zero displacement in a material transmitting standing waves. (4) 28. Class comprising all the birds. (4) 29. The line where two surfaces meet. (4) Vol 38 No 1 2013 Teaching Earth Sciences 59 15/04/2013 12:00:43 Crossword No 1_Answers B I V A L V E E I N L A T E R I T E R E R M E S O N O R E P I U A Y T S U R F E C S A B K H A S A A D O T A T O L L S R I O C A N N E L C Y R L O N G S H S A I C C R E T I S O N A A R Y H O A M O R MA G M A L U E U D I A M S R I T N T O N O H I O N Q U E U O M S E A K L P S H E O T A R D A N G E R H L S S T O E S E D R I F T R I A N P A L A E O G E O G R A P H Y Apologies for two ‘typos’ shown in the December Newsletter. Here is the correct information about the dates of the ESTA Conferences in 2013 and 2014 and the mailing address for your completed Gift Aid Forms. Gift Aid it The December Newsletter included a Gift Aid form that members could complete if they wished to arrange to Gift Aid their current and any future subscriptions. The slip that you needed to complete and return to the Treasurer should be sent to: Carole Rushall, Foundation Centre, Durham University Queen’s Campus, University Boulevard, Thornaby, Stockton-onTees, TS17 6BH. If you have misplaced the form and would like to arrange to Gift Aid your subscriptions, then please contact Carole by email at: c.a.rushall@durham. ESTA Conferences in 2013 and 2014. The 2013 ESTA Conference will be at Plymouth University from 27th to 29th September. For 2014 the ESTA Conference will be held on 26th-28th September at the Open University, Milton Keynes. If you are an ESTA member living close to either of these places and would be willing to spare a couple of hours to look after the ESTA stand in 2013 or 2014, please email: [email protected] with the subject BOARDS. (ESTA will pay travelling expenses to volunteers) 60 Teaching Earth Sciences Vol 38 No 1 2013 TES Issue 38_1 Text.indd 60 www.esta-uk.net 15/04/2013 12:00:43