USING INTERACTIVE ONLINE RESOURCES TO ASSESS NATURAL HAZARDS: A COLLABORATIVE LABORATORY PROJECT FOR INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY

One common way to make geology relevant is by assessing local natural hazards. Iowa is primarily impacted by meteorlogic hazards rather than geologic hazards, so students in geology courses are not afforded a connection between their personal experiences and the course content. One way to overcome this setting is by studying the geology of other regions. Recently, two states with a wide variety of geologic features and hazards (Washington and Oregon) have developed interactive, online maps that allow the public to access and analyze geologic data and hazard assessments.

To make use of these resources, I developed a multi-week laboratory project for an introductory physical geology course. For this lesson, students are placed in groups of three to four and randomly assigned a small municipality in Oregon or Washington. The cities used in this lesson are threatened by multiple geologic hazards but are small enough that professional hazard assessments are not available online. Each student group is given two lab periods to assess the danger posed by earthquake shaking and liquefaction, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, stream flooding, and landslides. Each city is vulnerable to a different combination of hazards and none will experience all of these hazards. Besides the hazards, the students use the interactive geologic maps to find the age and type of bedrock that underlies each location, and they assess the likelihood that some of the city’s public buildings will withstand a 9.0 megathrust earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Each group presents their findings to the class as if they are addressing the local city council and selects one or two hazards that present the biggest threat to the city. To ensure that all partake in this exercise, each student writes a 5-10 page paper summarizing their findings. This project could be adapted to work in other classroom settings.

Student reaction to the project has been mixed. Many are daunted by the size and scope of the project, but once they look at the hazard maps, they quickly realize how quickly an assessment can be made. The map interfaces are intuitive to use and students quickly learn how to access the needed information. The project also reinforces several “soft skills” such as collaboration, data analysis, and clear, effective , oral and written communication.