ONLINE FIELD EXPERIENCES FOR STRUCTURE AND TECTONICS IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS

The initial purpose of this project was to visit classic field locations, review literature, and develop materials for a field experience to the Southern Appalachian Mountains. This 1400-mile field trip was scheduled for the spring 2020 semester. Preparatory work in 2019 included reconnaissance to sites in the Great Smoky Mountains, Appalachian fold and thrust belt, as well as the Cumberland Plateau. Most sites were gleaned from field guides, published papers, and roadside geology resources. While preparing for this fieldwork, geologic maps were downloaded from the USGS National Geologic Map Database. Though they varied in age of publication, exposed units, stratigraphic nomenclature and color-coding, many had cross-sections useful for the interpretation of structures and critical to understanding collisional tectonics. Several maps were downloaded as KMZ files and imported into Google Earth, allowing for a full check before driving the windy roads of rural Tennessee and Kentucky to verify accessibility. In March 2020, one month before the scheduled field experience, the world shifted into COVID-19 pandemic mode changing course delivery and restricting travel with shelter-in-place orders. As a result, the field experience was converted into a 3-day, virtual field assignment. An online format presented challenges but also provided opportunities. Several field sites were added along I-75 to investigate the stratigraphy of the Cumberland Plateau and to estimate apparent dip once into the Appalachian fold and thrust belt. These sites are far too dangerous to attempt in person but were accessible using the Street View on Google Earth. The final field assignment included 32 stops, each with specific latitude and longitude and directions for viewing the rock exposures as well as a 2-3-minute voice recording highlighting the rock types, stratigraphy, structures, and tectonic context. Students were required to screen-capture the outcrop image and summarize the audio files for each stop to provide a “field notebook” for grading. Upon completion of the assignment, some measure of success was attained based on student feedback. Virtual field assignments, such as this one, provide a mechanism for augmenting laboratory work in semester courses, and could be used to enhance traditional field courses.