Earth Science Teachers' Association Annual Course and Conference

Friday 17th - Sunday 19th September, 2010

Hosted by the Department of Geology
University of Leicester

New! Friday Timetable

Post-16 INSET

For A-level geology teachers.

Update lectures on subjects from the mantle to Mars.

The 2010 eruption of "THAT" volcano....

Prior to March 2010, not many people outside of Iceland and the volcanological community had heard of the small volcano Eyjafjallajokull and even fewer could pronounce the name successfully. But following weeks of global travel chaos and a loss of millions of pounds to the aviation industry caused by its current eruption, this small volcano has become a bit of a celebrity. This talk will provide an overview of the work conducted by the Nordic Volcanological Institute during the eruption, the new data collected and the geological processes that caused the eruption.

Rhian Meara is a final year PhD student studying Icelandic Holocene tephrochronology and physical volcanology. She studied geology at the University the Leicester, gaining a first class honours MGeol in Geology. She is currently a science contributor to the Welsh radio and television outlets; Radio Cymru and S4C. Whilst working in volcanology, she has undertaken field-work in Iceland, Tenerife, New Mexico and Japan. In 2010 she worked as a Junior Volcanologist on the rapid response team for the Nordic Volcanological Institute working on the Eyjafjallajokull eruption.

“The War of the worlds”: humans and Earth fall out over climate change

HG Wells wrote “with infinite complacency men [and women] went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter”. His words are so prescient now, as humans accelerate changes to planet Earth’s climate. Fossils are witness to the profound environmental change of the past, often played out in mass extinctions of biota that define major geological boundaries. Do these fossils provide a key to understanding our future?

Mark Williams uses the patterns of fossils preserved in ancient rocks to decipher ancient climate change. He uses these ancient patterns to inform the current debate about human influence on planet Earth’s climate and biodiversity.

Exploring the Surface of Mars with Robotic Geologists

Mars is currently a dry and cold world. This together with a thin CO₂ atmosphere and a high UV radiation flux makes it extremely hostile to extant life. Much of the surface is over 3 Ga and peppered with impact craters. Erosion and weathering rates are low and plate tectonics is absent. There is however clear evidence for volcanism (possibly as recently as a few Ma) and large-scale aqueous features are intriguingly suggestive of a “warm-and-wet” past.

Much of what we know about the geology of Mars comes from high resolution remote sensing observations from orbiting spacecraft. Nevertheless, it is well understood that geological ground-truth is a fundamental aspect of exploration. Getting to the surface of Mars to do field geology is difficult. Of the 17 attempts at landing on the planet since 1971 only 6 (4 missions) have been successful. Admittedly the success rate has improved in more recent times but the risks and challenges remain. Surface missions are expensive, occur many years apart and are currently restricted to landing sites that are considered “safe”. This means that future surface missions have to be more suitably equipped for field geology, cover greater distances, negotiate difficult terrain, and for robots in particular, operate with a greater degree of autonomy to avoid standing idle for days on end waiting for instructions.

The talk will be divided into three parts: an introduction to the geology of Mars, the exploration of the surface with rovers/landers, and the need for intelligent robots for autonomous field geology.

Derek Pullan is a researcher with experience in exploration geology, electronic engineering, software development/programming, planetary instrumentation and science operations planning. He also has wide practical experience using combined imaging, analytical and geotechnical (sampling) instrumentation for in situ planetary geology. Derek is involved on a number of ExoMars rover instruments including PanCam, CLUPI and the Life Marker Chip. He was Instrument Manager and Mission Operations Science Planning Manager for Beagle 2 and established the Science Payload Operations Database (SPOD) for the mission. Currently Derek is the Leicester PI on the EC funded Planetary Robotics Vision Scout (PRoViScout) project with responsibility for the science/mission requirements and assessment of autonomous field trials. Other research activities include the application of near-field hyperspectral imaging for early disease diagnosis in clinical medicine and crime-scene forensics.

Seismology: Imaging the Earth’s Dynamic Mantle

While tectonic processes, such as mountain building and the rifting of sea floor at mid ocean ridges, can be observed at the Earth’s surface, illuminating the Earth’s dynamic mantle remains challenging. Using data from earthquakes a variety of techniques have been applied to better understand the Earth’s mantle.  Tomographic images reveal fast and slow velocities frequently linked to downgoing subducted slabs and upwelling mantle plumes. The conversions between compressional (p) and shear (s) waves give insights into the complexities of phase transitions in the upper mantle. Recent geodynamic studies attempt to use the seismic models to explain the evolution of many surface features, such as the topographic variation of the African continent. All these results (and more!) will be discussed to illustrate how passive source seismology is improving our knowledge on the structure and dynamics of the Earth’s interior.

Stewart Fishwick is a New Blood Lecturer in Geophysics.  Following an undergraduate degree in Edinburgh, Stewart moved to Australia to study for his PhD in regional seismology.  After four enjoyable years of research, fieldwork (and good weather) in Australia, he returned to the UK to a post-doctoral position at the University of Cambridge. Since 2007 he has been in the Department of Geology, at Leicester, continuing his research investigating the structure of the Earth using data from earthquakes.

Workshops including comets, skulls and ocean drilling

Special session joint with HE staff  - Geoscience in the 21st century - where have we come from and where are we going?

What have been the major advances in geoscience in the last 10 years and where will the future advances be made in the next 10 years? A meeting of 100 frontier geoscience researchers debated this question at the Geological Society in January 2010 at a meeting convened by the BGS, NERC, the Committee of Heads of University Geoscience Departments (CHUGD) and the Society. Jim will discuss the outputs from this meeting and the implications for teaching geoscience in the 21st century.

Jim Andrews has represented the HE geoscience community in his capacity as Earth Science Senior Advisor (SA) to the HEA Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Science for the past two years. He served as Executive Secretary to the Committee of Heads of University Geoscience Departments (CHUGD) from 2001-09 and now attends CHUGD in his SA role. He has been a member of the Geological Society Education Committee and Accreditation Panel since 2006. He has over 40 years experience in learning and teaching in HE at Newcastle, University College Dublin and Southampton universities and is currently an Associated Member of Academic Staff in the School of Ocean and Earth Science at the University of Southampton.

Bring and share session for resources and ideas

Come and join us for this session, where ESTA post-16 teachers share a wide variety of teaching ideas - even better, bring your own ideas to share with everybody else there. We look forward to you joining us for what is often one of the conference highlights.

HE "Geoscience in the 21st Century"

This INSET will take a forward look at where Earth Sciences are going and the implications for those teaching in HE.

Going digital – the future of field mapping and applications of GIS in the Earth Sciences.

The traditional map and notebook are being challenged by the development of robust tablet PCs and software which can be used in the field for the creation of geological maps and collection of geological data. This talk will demonstrate how University of Leicester students have been using the British Geological Survey’s SigmaMobile software in field exercises and discuss the approach taken to introducing digital technologies into their course. Once in a digital form geological maps can be displayed and interrogated using GIS software. Maps, images and data can be integrated, enabling students to build databases and enhance their understanding of the geology in a particular area.

Richard England is Senior Lecturer in Geophysics at the University of Leicester. After beginning his career as a geologist studying the North Arran Granite intrusion, Richard developed an interest in applying geophysics to geological problems. He has worked with industry exploring the tectonics of the Atlantic margins and has recently been using seismology to study the uplift of Scandinavia. He is Director of SEIS-UK – the UK’s seismic equipment facility, is a former Director of Undergraduate Teaching and holds a Research Fellowship in the SPLINT CETL.

GEES project - 3-D Visualisation: using internet-based activities to enhance students’ understanding of 3-dimensional spatial relationships.

This is a brief report on the results of a GEES-funded small-scale learning & teaching project exploring the use of internet-based activities to enhance students’ understanding of 3-dimensional spatial relationships.  The report will explain how this project has led to the introduction of internet-based activities into a new module “Special Topics in Geology”, which uses portfolio assessment to engage introductory geoscience students in their subject and to develop learning skills.

Maggie Williams is a University Recognised Teacher & Part-time Research Assistant within the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Liverpool.  Maggie’s research interests include academic research into hiatal surfaces and their significance in assessing the degree of stratigraphic condensation.  Her pedagogic research centres on the development of problem-solving activities and other activities to enhance students' understanding of 3-dimensional spatial relationships.  Over the last 10 years she has organised regular INSET courses for ‘A’ Level Geology teachers at Liverpool.  The University of Leicester is her alma mater.

Peter Williams is a University Recognised Teacher & Part-time Research Assistant within the Department of Earth & Ocean Sciences at the University of Liverpool.  Peter’s current research interests are in the development of e-learning materials and in understanding how the use of internet-based activities may help students understand 3-dimensional spatial relationships.

Update on GEES climate change project

The Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) received 250k in 2009-10 to 'repurpose' resources on the theme of climate change (C-change) and sustainability. The resources were produced by working with six institutional partners from the GEES disciplines and are now available on the web via a Creative Commons Share Alike license. Examples of the materials will be showcased. The total sum of the resources is roughly equivalent to a three year programme of full-time study at levels varying between university first year and MSc.

Update of UK Earth Science Courseware Consortium software: Creating e-learning modules for Earth Science students using Xerte templates.

A report on the experience of updating UKESCC materials (developed using Macromedia Authorware) by re-authoring them using free Xerte software developed by the University of Nottingham. The important question being: ‘how easy is it for a non-technical user to create e-learning materials without technical help?’

Special session joint with post-16 teachers - Geoscience in the 21st century - where have we come from and where are we going?

What have been the major advances in geoscience in the last 10 years and where will the future advances be made in the next 10 years? A meeting of 100 frontier geoscience researchers debated this question at the Geological Society in January 2010 at a meeting convened by the BGS, NERC, the Committee of Heads of University Geoscience Departments (CHUGD) and the Society. Jim will discuss the outputs from this meeting and the implications for teaching geoscience in the 21st century.

Jim Andrews has represented the HE geoscience community in his capacity as Earth Science Senior Advisor (SA) to the HEA Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Science for the past two years. He served as Executive Secretary to the Committee of Heads of University Geoscience Departments (CHUGD) from 2001-09 and now attends CHUGD in his SA role. He has been a member of the Geological Society Education Committee and Accreditation Panel since 2006. He has over 40 years experience in learning and teaching in HE at Newcastle, University College Dublin and Southampton universities and is currently an Associated Member of Academic Staff in the School of Ocean and Earth Science at the University of Southampton.

Discussion session “Looking at rocks: Whither (or wither) hand-specimen work in geoscience?”

Is the amount of hand specimen work decreasing in our teaching laboratories, and what is the relative importance of this practical work vs “new” skills? What is it being squeezed out by and what can be done to mitigate the effects of this on the skills and employability of our students? Discussion and ideas sharing session including approaches at Liverpool and Leicester – please come prepared to talk about the situation at your institution.

Workshops*

*Available as alternative to INSETS and optional alternatives for INSET attendees.

Geospatial data and technology in the geology classroom

Cat Muller, Space Research Centre, University of Leicester & Simon Roberts, Institute of Engineering Surveying & Space Geodesy, University of Nottingham.

This practical workshop will demonstrate how free, open-source remote sensing software and GoogleEarth can be used to enhance geology teaching.

Whilst completing a PhD in Atmospheric Science at the University of Birmingham (in remote sensing, clouds and precipitation), Catherine Muller undertook a range of teaching, including classroom demonstrating, running field trip projects, tutoring and assisting on masterclasses. She subsequently discovered that she had a real passion for educational/outreach activities and went onto a post-doc position that would allow her to explore her interest in educational outreach activities, but still retain her research interests in Earth Observations and climate change. She is now based in the Earth Observation Science group at the University of Leicester, and, in addition to a number of other research and outreach activities, works on the Space Academy project.  Space Academy is an educational project that uses space, space technology and climate change themes to inspire learners into pursuing a future based around geography, geology, science, technology, engineering and maths.

Simon Roberts is a project scientist with the Space Academy Partnership, which aims to promote the uptake of STEM subjects in schools and, in particular, the use of geospatial technology in the classroom. He worked previously for the Research Councils and has extensive experience of using GIS, optical and LiDAR data for environmental science.

Cosmic Collisions (and how often do meteorites hit your town?)

This talk will briefly describe what meteorites and sample return missions tell us about asteroids, comets  and the origin of the Solar System.   I will give a topical account of recent meteorite and cometary research.  The signs of asteroid and cometary impact across the Solar System will also be described.  I will show some martian and asteroidal samples from the research collections of the University of Leicester

John Bridges is an RCUK Fellow at the Space Research Centre.  He researches early Solar System processes and the evolution of the Mars surface.  He is a member of the Stardust cometary sample return mission team and is currently making a detailed study of hydrothermal veins in martian meteorites and how they have formed through impact.

Reconstructing diet from vertebrate skulls

Using real skulls of tigers, hippos, crocodiles and other vertebrates, this workshop will explore the relationship between the form and the function of teeth, the diversity of tooth form, and the functional significance of different dentitions. Teeth are found in almost all vertebrates. They have a very high preservation potential and because they are more commonly preserved than other parts of the skeleton they are important fossils. In general, teeth are well adapted to their role in food acquisition and processing, and there is a close relationship between tooth form and function. Can understanding tooth shape reveal details of dietary preferences of extinct animals? Come along and find out!

Vincent Williams is a vertebrate palaeontologist currently writing up his PhD at the University of Leicester. Having retired from a career in IT writing command and control systems he studied geology at the University of Leicester, gaining a first class honours MGeol in Geology. His research involves the diet and jaw mechanics of herbivorous dinosaurs with a particular interest in how they developed the ability to chew. By getting up close and personal with the business end of a dinosaur and studying the microscopic pits and scratches on its teeth, it is possible to determine how a tooth in the lower jaw moved against a tooth in the upper jaw in three dimensional space, and therefore work out how it chewed and what was being eaten. As displacement activity from PhD writing Vincent teaches on AS and A2 field courses with Greenhead College.

Ocean Drilling - Science beneath the Seafloor

Did you know that ejecta condensed from the hot vapor cloud produced by the asteroid impact at the end of the Cretaceous, the presence of a microbial world in oceanic basalts and the identification of the warmest climate transients in Earth history are just some of the major scientific discoveries made during ocean research drilling over the last 25 years. The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) is an international research program that explores the history and structure of the earth as recorded in seafloor sediments and rocks. Researchers from the University of Leicester have, collectively, spent more than 12 months working on the expedition ships and platforms during 2009-2010 program. In this activity, we will explain what it is like to work as a scientist on an expedition and give you the opportunity to analyse and interpret some of the data from a recent expedition that drilled ancient coral reefs.

Louise Anderson is a Research Associate based at the University of Leicester. In 2009-2010 Louise spent >5 months on ocean drilling expeditions: based in the Pacific Ocean and on the Great Barrier Reef. Louise has a wealth of expertise and knowledge in acquisition and interpretation of physical properties data measured downhole and on core. She has given presentations for the Natural History Museum’s ‘Nature Live’ broadcasts and taught on the ‘School of Rock’ a US-funded scheme that provides hands-on research experience for Earth and ocean science educators.  Sarah Davies is a Senior Lecturer in Sedimentology and Geology Careers Tutor, and leads the IODP research group.

OpenGeoscience —making the most of BGS’s free online geological data

In November 2009 the British Geological Survey (BGS) released ‘OpenGeoscience’ a portal to online geological information. Teachers have been able to use BGS information for a number of years, but it has not always been easy to find out what is available or to get hold of it quickly. The aim of OpenGeoscience is to make getting hold of online resources fast and simple. A number of resources have been made freely accessible for the first time, including British geology mapped at the 1:50,000 scale and 45,000 fully described geological photographs from the BGS archives. This workshop will be hands-on and introduce participants to OpenGeoscience, explain how information can be accessed and explore ways in which it can be used in the class or lecture room. The workshop will include demonstrations of ‘mash-ups’ using BGS map data in geographical information systems including Google Earth and illustrate how you can incorporate the data into your own online applications using Web Map Services. We are keen to hear your views on how OpenGeoscience should evolve in future, so please bring along your own ideas.

David Bailey is Head of Outreach at the BGS. He has a degree in geology and a doctorate on the metamorphic and structural history of SW Norway from Oxford University. He (briefly) taught A-level geology before joining the Natural History Museum. He joined BGS in 1990 where he has managed a number of commercial and government-funded projects. Since 1999 he has managed BGS’s outreach programme, represents BGS on a number of bodies with an interest in science education and is a Trustee of Belvoir High School in Leicestershire.

Patrick Bell is Team Leader, Web Systems at BGS. He has a geography degree and a masters in computer science from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He applied GIS to forest research with the Forestry Commission for two years before joining the British Geological Survey in 1996. During his time at BGS, Patrick has managed and implemented many internet related projects. He has a special interest in the delivery of mapping information via the web.

School seismology - taster

The school seismology project (www.bgs.ac.uk/ssp) supports teachers wishing to introduce practical observational seismology into their school.   Using a simple inexpensive seismic monitoring system the project enables UK schools to monitor and analyse seismic waves generated by large earthquakes anywhere in the world. This session is for teachers who have not yet got involved in the project. Paul will introduce the school seismology project and give a demonstration of the equipment.

School seismology - problem solving, show and tell

This will be a problem solving workshop for teachers who are already involved but want some help with specific problems. This will be combined with a show and tell session where teachers can give short presentations (~5 minute) on what they have done with the system.

Paul Denton is a seismologist working in the outreach team at the BGS. After graduating in physics from Bath University, he worked on seismic exploration crews in Egypt and Turkey for two years before joining the University of Leicester.   During his 14 years at Leicester he worked on many geophysics research and fieldwork projects and helped set up and manage the seismology equipment academic research equipment pool, SEIS-UK. Since 2006 he has developed resources and trained teachers for the UK school seismology project which now has a presence in nearly 500 schools across the UK, Ireland and the rest of the world.

The London Petrophysical Society Icebreaker Reception

Exceptionally Preserved Fossils: Windows On The Evolution Of Life

A special evening lecture by Prof David Siveter, Department of Geology, University of Leicester
Our understanding of the history and evolution of life on Earth relies heavily on the fossil record and especially on rare cases of so-called ‘exceptional preservation’, where soft parts of animals and entire soft-bodied animals are preserved. Such exceptionally preserved fossils provide an unparalleled view of animal palaeobiology and biodiversity.
The lecture will illustrate beautifully preserved fossils through geological time. It will focus especially on spectacular finds from two of the world’s most important fossil assemblages, from 530 million year old rocks in China and 425 million year old rocks in the Welsh Borderland. These deposits contain a wide range of marine animals that lived on the sea floor and in the water column, including sponges, worms, starfish, snails and other molluscs, sea spiders, crustaceans and their relatives of various kinds including evidence for the world’s oldest male! These fossils are crucial in helping to fill a gap in our knowledge of the history and ecology of life and in resolving controversies about the relationships of animals still alive today.

David Siveter is Professor of Palaeontology at his alma mater, the University of Leicester.  His main research interests are in exceptionally preserved Palaeozoic faunas and Palaeozoic arthropods.  He has field-based projects especially in China and central Asia, and he also studies fossils from North America, Russia and various parts of Europe, particularly the Baltic region. He is a former Chairman of The Micropalaeontological Society.

The ESTA conference is sponsored by: