Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

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Southern New Hampshire University *

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205

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Geology

Date

Apr 3, 2024

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PHY 205 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric Overview Understanding the current and historical geologic and plate tectonic settings of a geographic area has more than academic implications. Past geologic history has implications for economic deposits, conservation, and future land use. As the need for alternative energy escalates, there is an increasing need for geoscience professionals to effectively apply the concepts of geology to identify areas suitable for future mining and extraction activities, and to set aside land for future use for other purposes. Examples of this are wetlands and other protected areas. For your final project, you will assume the role of a park ranger at a national park of your choice. The park must meet these requirements: be easily accessible by multiple routes and be open over a long period of time. You will make recommendations to park visitors on how to tour the national park and how to effectively learn the national park’s geology. Based on your knowledge of geologic processes and plate tectonic settings, you will develop a two-part final project: 1) a virtual poster illustrating the geologic and tectonic setting of the selected national park, and 2) a virtual tour of the national park using Google Earth. This assessment addresses the following course outcomes: • Analyze rock types for their essential relationships to economic deposits, geologic settings, and structural formations in the geosphere • Assess convergent, divergent, and transform plate settings for their fundamental influence on the tectonic environments of geographic locations • Interpret the geologic history of locations for determining the typical impacts of geologic processes and events on human and environmental concerns • Contrast key internal and external Earth processes for determining their central impacts on the origin and structural formation of landforms • Utilize analytical tools and software to make basic recommendations for key stakeholders in the geosciences community Scenario Imagine that you are a park ranger at a national park of your choice that meets the following requirements: easily accessible by multiple routes and open over a long period of time. You have been the park ranger at your selected park for several years, and you have expert knowledge about the park’s geology and tectonic setting. You know that park visitors are a key part of the geosciences community; after all, they are the people who come to the park to experience the park’s geology. You want to draw visitors to your national park by providing recommendations for learning about the geologic development and tectonic history of the area. In addition, you want to recommend the best possible route for touring the national park so that visitors can see and learn about the park’s geology effectively. Prompt Your virtual poster and virtual tour should address the following prompt: You will create a one-slide virtual poster that details the geologic history and plate tectonic setting of the selected national park. Think of this as a display that tourists will see at a visitor center shortly after entering the park. You will also create a

Google Earth virtual tour that provides visitors with a recommended route for touring the national park to efficiently learn about the geology and tectonic environment. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Prepare a one-slide virtual poster detailing the geologic history and plate tectonic setting of your selected national park. Remember that your audience is a subset of the geosciences community: visitors to the park. Since most park visitors are not geologists, they probably know little about geology, so make sure to use clear, easily understandable language. A. Overview 1. Map: Where is the national park located? Include a map showing the location of your national park. 2. Geologic Interest: Give a concise overview of the basic geologic setting and plate tectonic setting of the national park. What makes the park interesting geologically? Why should visitors want to tour the park? B. Geology: This section will contain most of the detail of the poster and present a comprehensive account of the history of the park in terms of geology and tectonic movement. Include pictures, diagrams, and graphics where appropriate as support for your text. 1. Rock Type(s) : Describe the predominant rock type(s) present in the park. Identify the economic deposits, geologic settings, and structural formations in or near the park that may be impacted by the rock type(s) you described. What is the relationship between the rock type(s) and the economic deposits, geologic settings, and structural formations? 2. Tectonics : Describe the tectonic environment of the region where your park is located. How does plate movement fundamentally affect the geology of your park? 3. Geologic History : Describe the overall geologic history of the region where your park is located. How have past geologic events affected and shaped your park? 4. Structure(s) : Describe the predominant subsurface or surficial structure(s) present in your park. What internal and external processes formed the structure(s)? C. Conclusion: What is the most effective way to tour the national park you selected? Briefly describe your recommended tour progression and explain why you are making this recommendation. (You must complete the Google Earth virtual tour before making your recommendation.) Below is a sample layout. You are NOT required to use this layout. Feel free to be creative, but remain informative. Remember that “white space” is important in a poster. II. Develop a Google Earth virtual tour of your national park for potential tourists. Your tour should both showcase the geology of the park and be efficient and easily accessible. The tour should begin at the entrance you identify and work progressively through the park to the exit, with stops along the way to observe the park’s geology. This means that you may need to revise your entrance and exit locations after selecting your geological locations; your goal should be to develop a logical, cohesive tour. When you have finished creating your virtual tour, make sure to save it as a .kml file. A. Transportation: Evaluate the transportation network near the park, and identify the most effective locations for entering and exiting the park, given the geologic sites that you want park visitors to experience (you may need to revise your entrance and/or exit after selecting your geologic locations). Add a placemark (pushpin) at the entrance and the exit that you identify. B. Location Selection: After identifying the most effective entrance and exit locations for the park, you are ready to focus on geology. Select locations in the national park where visitors

could learn about geologic features of the national park. Add a placemark at each location you select. 1. Rock Type(s): Select two locations that demonstrate the predominant rock type(s) present in your park. 2. Tectonics: Select two locations that demonstrate the tectonic environment of your park. 3. Geologic History: Select two locations that demonstrate the geologic history of your park. 4. Structure(s): Select two locations that demonstrate the predominant subsurface or surficial structure(s) present in your park. C. Geologic Features: Describe the geologic features of the locations you have selected. Your description should be placed in the description textbox for your placemark. Consider including embedded or linked video clips, soundbites, or graphics to support your description. 1. Rock Type(s): Analyze the texture, color, and appearance of the rocks you examined to select your locations. How does this analysis help you define the essential relationships between the rock type(s) and the economic deposits, geologic settings, and structural formations in or near the park? 2. Tectonics: Assess the tectonic environment of the locations where you added your placemarks. Are your locations convergent, divergent, or transform plate settings? How do you know? 3. Geologic History: Interpret the geologic history of the locations where you added your placemarks. How have geologic processes and events affected human and environmental concerns at these locations? 4. Structure(s): Contrast the processes that formed the structure(s) at the locations where you added your placemarks. How have these processes impacted the origin and structural formation of the landforms in your park? Milestones Milestone : Google Earth Tour Draft In Module Five , you are required to submit a draft of the Google Earth tour of your national park up to that point. Remember that you want to draw visitors to your national park by providing recommendations for learning about the geologic development and tectonic history of the area. In addition, you want to recommend the best possible route for touring the national park so that visitors can see and learn about the park’s geology effectively. The Google Earth virtual tour will provide visitors with a recommended route for touring the national park to efficiently learn about the geology and tectonic environment. This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric. Final Submission : Google Earth Virtual Tour and National Park Poster In Module Seven , you will submit your Geology of a National Park: Google Earth Virtual Tour and National Park Poster. This submission is graded with the Final Project Rubric. What to Submit Your virtual poster should be one slide and your Google Earth virtual tour should be saved as a .kml file. Cite your sources when appropriate using APA style.

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