U of U Osher 2018 – Earth Science Outside.

Earth Science Outside – Osher Spring Schedule – Course #85 – Overview, Syllabus, and General Schedule

MONDAYS, 3/26/2018 – 4/30/2018, 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM.

The first session will be at Osher’s headquarters at the Commander’s House, Fort Douglas. Sessions 2 through 6 are at diverse parks and places in Salt Lake County.

IMPORTANT – Session locations may change!! If  you found this page, congratulations! For the most up-to-date information for a session, such as a change in venue, click HERE.!!!

 

COURSE OVERVIEW

Admire, treasure, and appreciate our local, spectacular geology. Learn how it came to be. Sessions will be outside and include mild walking. Chairs will be provided for discussion / lecture portions. Locations subject to change due to weather. IMPORTANT! repeat! Click  for last minute information (see below or via EVENTS menu), such as a change in where we’ll meet. Springtime in Salt Lake County can include inclement weather.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Embrace the JOY of Landscape Literacy.

By the end of Earth Science Outside, participants will appreciate how patterns in Nature are pathways toward appreciating Earth systems science. Participants will gain sufficient knowledge to analyze features of Utah’s Wasatch Front with some confidence and features of Utah’s Colorado Plateau, Basin and Range, and Rocky Mountains perhaps with less confidence but with considerable joy. Success will be when participants pester family and friends with their observations.

The Five Steps toward the JOY of landscape literacy.

  • Step one: Look around. Be mindful of patterns. Breathe deeply.
  • Step two: Look deliberately at the shapes of landforms. Notice patterns.
  • Step three: Look deliberately for patterns of sediment versus bedrock.
  • Step four: Focus on patterns in bedrock. Is there evidence of layering? What about crosscutting relationships or folding? Or tilting of layers?
  • Step five: Think about what you see.

 

INSTRUCTOR: Genevieve Atwood, PhD.

Dr. Atwood has spent her distinguished career on the interface of Earth science and public policy. As Chief Education Officer of Earth Science Education, Genevieve encourages elementary school teachers to go outside with their students and share joy of the Earth science. Former adjunct associate professor of geography at the University of Utah (now Emeritus), former State Geologist of Utah (now Honorary), former member of the Utah House of Representatives, and Fellow of the Geological Society of America.

 

WELCOME!

Welcome. I’m Genevieve Atwood. This is my first year teaching an Osher class. However, I have taught formal and informal teachers outside every summer for the past 20 years and led the U of U Analysis of Utah Landforms field trips for ten years. I love to connect what you can see locally to global concepts of Earth science, specifically to tectonics and erosion/deposition. I’ll coach you to recognize patterns of the physical world as clues to Earth’s systems and Earth’s history.

We’ll explore bits and pieces of the evidence of how our Utah came to be. We’ll meet outside unless inclement weather (then an alternate site). Be sensible! SAFETY FIRST. Alert me (Genevieve) or the course geology-assistant (Peg Alderman) to even the slightest concerns. Hazards are inherent to our meeting outside. Safety is a team effort.

  • Wear appropriate clothes and shoes.
  • Be prepared for 10 – 30 minute mild walks on sidewalks, grass, and trails.
  • Be comfortable for lectures: Lawn chairs / park benches will be provided for discussion / lecture portions. Okay to bring your own chair, warm beverage, etc.
  • The reward for arriving a bit early is… more Earth science!

Logistics: NO exams. NO papers. YES, BRIGHT EYES and helpful attitudes.

Tablets and iPhones: encouraged for viewing content (discouraged as distractions).

Feedback on sessions encouraged.

 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE AND SUBJECT MATTER

SESSION 1: March 26, 2018. Fort Douglas Commander’s House and Parade Ground. 1965 De Trobriand St, SLC, 84113.

Logistics, waiver etc; then 3.5 billion year geologic history of Utah told in 15 minutes… inside.

Outside… practice step one toward landscape literacy: look around. Be mindful of patterns. Breathe deeply.

Content: Landforms. Physiographic Provinces. Landmarks. Sense of place.

Click HERE for more information and for last minute information.

 

SESSION 2: April 2. Fault Line Park. On 400 South between 1100 East and 1000 East, SLC, 84102. Click HERE for more information.

Step two toward landscape literacy: Look deliberately at the shapes of landforms. Notice patterns.

Step three toward landscape literacy: Look deliberately for patterns of sediment versus bedrock.

Content. Tectonics rules! Compressional tectonics vs Extensional tectonics. Bedrock vs sediment. Evolution of the Basin and Range province.

 

SESSION 3: April 9. The mouth of Parleys Canyon. Bike path parking lot, 2700 So. Wasatch Blvd. SLC 84108. Also known as a Grandeur Peak Trail Head. Click HERE for more information.

Step four toward landscape literacy: Focus on patterns in bedrock. Is there evidence of layering? What about crosscutting relationships or folding? Or tilting of layers?

Content. Relative age (younger than / older than). Rules of superposition, crosscutting relationships, original horizontality, environments of deposition. Clues to Earth history.

 

SESSION 4: April 16. The bench overview at Popperton Park. Approximately 410 N Virginia St, SLC, 84103, about a block uphill from the intersection of Virginia Street and 11th Ave. Click HERE for more information and for last minute information.

Step five toward landscape literacy: Think about what you see.

Content. Environments of deposition. Evidence of past and present climate. Lake Bonneville. Great Salt Lake. Evidence of Ice Age climate. Evidence of today’s climate.

 

SESSION 5: April 23. Warm Springs Park (the old Wasatch Plunge), 840 N 300 West, SLC. 84103. Opposite the Tesoro (Andeavor) gas station at 965 N Beck Street. Click HERE for more information and for last minute information.

Steps one through five toward landscape literacy: Consider what you notice as clues to diverse pieces of a puzzle.

Content. Consider, how could the beautifully rounded quartzite rocks of the pavilion have traveled from the Uinta Mountains? How did fossils of warm water shells get to the parking lot?? Why are warm springs here?

Treat your observations as clues to Utah’s geologic past. How many tectonic phases would you find necessary to tell the story of what you see here?

 

SESSION 6: April 30. Sugar House Park. Enter the park at 1330 E 2100 South, SLC 84106. We’ll double check if it’s East Hill Terrace pavilion or Sego pavilion LOOK FOR THE EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION SIGNS. Click HERE for more information and for last minute information. (Not activated, check back.)

Steps one through five toward landscape literacy: Think about what you see. Pull together the evidence you’ve seen of over a billion years of Earth history.

Content. Geology is cumulative. History of planet Earth is fascinating. It can be told in many ways: geologic history based on fossils (traditional jargon) and geologic history based on tectonics (Lehi F. Hintze’s phases.. and this courses’ chapters for Utah).

 

REPEAT to remember. REMEMBER to repeat.

  • Embrace the Earth Science that surrounds you.
  • Tectonics rules!
  • Thanks for taking the course.