Geography and Geology

Robert Snyder III

Lesson Plan: Using Ocean Color to Show Changes Between the Earth Systems

The earth system is comprised of four spheres: geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Human impact on one of these spheres can cause a change in another part of the system since the spheres are open and interact with each other. Recent research on ocean color will be used to show students how these interactions play out. A lesson plan that follows the 5E learning cycle will engage high school students in this new research.

Session B - 10:45 a.m. - Room 320.

Eva R. Wadoski-McClelland

Crystallographic Control on Formula-Normalization of the Tourmaline-Group Minerals

The tourmaline-group minerals are complex boron-rich cyclosilicates with crystals that are often chemically heterogeneous and intricately zoned. Tourmaline formulae are often based on a variety of normalization methods and stoichiometric assumptions, due to difficulties in obtaining complete chemical analyses. Because of these potentially erroneous assumptions, tourmaline samples may be misidentified. We are investigating whether the stereochemistry of the B-site can be used to validate normalization assumptions.

Session B - 10:30 a.m. - Room 320.

Joshua Lee Eikenberry

From the Imagined to the Real: Utilizing Virtual Worlds to Assist in Site Planning and Design

A "virtual world" is a relatively new idea. The concept is still in its infancy, yet urban planners can use this emerging technology to better visualize site plans and go over designs months before ground is broken. The purpose of this presentation is to showcase one such example, a digital 3-D re-creation of a proposed site development project in Ypsilanti and to begin to visualize the implications of virtual worlds in planning in general.

Group 1 - 8:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. - Room 310A/B .