ANIMATED COLLADA MODELS AND VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS FEATURING VOLCANISM IN VARIOUS TECTONIC SETTINGS ON PLANET EARTH AND OTHER ROCKY PLANETS AND MOONS

Students of Earth and Planetary Sciences need to study the different types of volcanism associated with four volcanigenic settings: plate margins, mantle plumes, impact structures, and tidally stressed lithosphere. Therefore we created animated COLLADA models of typical localities on Earth, Moon, Mars, and Io. Our Earth-based models include: sea-floor spreading in the North Atlantic, arc volcanism in the Cordillera, Tonga, and Japan; and meta-volcanics from the Appalachian-Caledonian Orogen. The latter are modeled using DEMs and draped images of modern analogs. The Lunar Mare provide the best examples of impact melting. We relate the mare basalts to the Inner Solar System’s Late Heavy Bombardment event, thought to be related to the Nice Model of dynamic Solar System evolution. Deep mantle plumes feed volcanic centers on Earth and Mars and comparison of the Hawaiian Island Chain to Olympus Mons dramatically demonstrates the interaction (or not) of plume and plate tectonics. Animating the Pacific Plate’s drift over the Hawaiian hot spot helps students understand the age sequence of the islands and seamounts. On Mars, the Tharsis Plateau hosts the largest shield volcano in the Solar system, Olympus Mons. Thanks to the Google Mars time slider we can view a cross section of the mega-plume and associated mantle convection. Io is our sole source of volcanism related to tidal-stresses. On Io, circulation of sulfur and sulfur dioxide, powered by tidal friction, plays an important role in creating umbrella shaped plumes. We use the currently accepted model in which liquid sulfur dioxide in contact with heated rock is superheated and rises rapidly. When it reaches the atmosphere it expands, cools, and forms a high velocity fountain of cold gas and frost particles that fall to ground as circular deposits; these can be overrun by lava, which increases sulfur dioxide pressure, and drives the cyclic process.

Virtual volcanic specimens were created using a NextEngine 3-D scanner and compared with Google SketchUp models in which photographs are draped over a wireframe of the original specimen. In the case of Mt. St Helens, a self-drive virtual field trip was created using Keyhole Markup Language, which locates the original view, thereby providing a track for students to follow as they use in-page controls to drive a virtual Jeep into the caldera.