CREATING AND ASSESSING A NEW COMPUTER ANIMATION ABOUT MANTLE MELTING

Computer animation is an underutilized tool in geoscience education. Geological processes can be difficult for students to visualize because many of them take place deep inside the Earth, and occur over extended time scales. Computer animation is the perfect medium to recreate these processes, as they can be depicted in motion and processes can be simplified and greatly speeded up. To date, very few computer animations of geological processes have been produced. Those that do exist tend to be lacking in scientific accuracy, or are too complex for a typical undergraduate audience. These problems reflect the chasm between those with the skills needed to make animations and those who know the science and the educational needs of students. At UTD we are making these animations by combining the professor’s insights with our talented undergraduates; our efforts can be seen at GeoScience Studios https://utdgss2016.wixsite.com/utdgss This animation is an example of our efforts. Three Great Ways to Melt the Mantle < https://utdgss2016.wixsite.com/utdgss/single-post/2017/09/30/Three-Great-Ways-to-Melt-Magma>is an eight-minute-long computer animation made in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere. This animation is intended to explain mantle melting to upper division undergraduate majors who have been taught basic principles of igneous petrology in readings and lecture. The animation relates a pressure/temperature diagram to a simple cross section of the Earth, before explaining the geotherm and the peridotite solidus. Finally, the effects of tectonic setting on the geotherm and the peridotite solidus, and how these effects interact to produce mantle melting, are explained. A simple assessment on P/T diagrams, the geotherm, and mantle melting was given to students in an Igneous Petrology course at the University of South Florida, after attending a traditional lecture on these topics, and again after watching the animation. In addition, students in an Igneous Petrology course at the University of Texas at Dallas were shown the animation and then asked to write a short response on how the animation helped their understanding of mantle melting. The results of the assessments and response are used to demonstrate the value of scientifically accurate computer animation in teaching key geoscience principles.