Spring 2022 Geology Project

Lone Star College – University Park GEOL1403 – Physical Geology Name:_______________________ Earthquake Project – Spring 2022 LEARNING OBJECTIVES: This project works you through the scientific method. You will:  make initial observations,  develop a hypothesis,  collect data,  plot the data in meaningful ways,  describe the data,  analyze the data, and  make interpretations about the processes that are occurring at a specific plate boundary. PROCEDURE: Focusing on the western boundary of the South America plate (see image at right), you are going to collect data on earthquakes that have occurred that this specific plate boundary during the past semester , and then ultimately make an interpretation of the processes occurring along this plate boundary along with a recommendation for future work. Read through the entire assignment prior to starting. The project is divided up into six parts, each part worth weighted differently. See grading rubric at the end. There are various paths or avenues you can work through this assignment. There is no one “correct way” to do this, but we need to make sure to operate within the guidelines of quality science. With that in mind: 1. Be true to your data. What this means is that your interpretations must be based on the data you have collected, and not the data you think you should have . 2. When you make choices in how you collect the data, you need to explain/justify the reasons that your process makes scientific sense. This project is worth 120 points toward your final grade. MATERIALS NEEDED  Pencil  Colored pencils or markers  Books and notes  Internet access  Calculator (optional)  Ruler (optional) NOTE: You will use the Internet only during Part 2, the Data Collection stage of this assignment. Using the Internet for any other part of this assignment will result in a zero. PART 1 : INITIAL OBSERVATIONS AND HYPOTHESIS (15 pts) Copyright © Lone Star College-University Park 2020

Start by making some initial observations about the western boundary of the South America plate, and from those, develop a hypothesis regarding what is happening along this plate boundary. Look at the image of South America on the first page, and make observations features you see for the western boundary of South America. Write those below. Observations (10 pts): Mapping Earthquakes Movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates creates faults and causes earthquakes as the lithosphere pushes together, pulls apart, or slides past one another. As the movement occurs, the rocks will often break and grind together, releasing vibrations of energy into the ground. The plane along which the rocks break and move is called a fault. This fault can occur near the ground surface where humans can actually see it, or deep below the ground. The technology we use to detect earthquakes can tell us exactly where the fault occurs below the surface. The image on the right shows two blocks of earth that are sliding against each other. The location at which the rocks actually break during a single event is called the focus of the earthquake. The point on the earth’s surface that is directly above the focus is called the epicenter . Based on your initial observations and the information above. Write your hypothesis for what the earthquakes will tell you about the western boundary of the South America plate. Remember, a hypothesis is an educated explanation of a process that could explain your observations. Hypothesis (5 pts): Copyright © Lone Star College-University Park 2020

Event # Date Latitude (  S) Longitude (  W) Depth (km) Magnitude (M) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 PART 3 : PRESENTING THE DATA ON A MAP (30 pts) With the various components of each earthquake collected, plot these data on the map of South Copyright © Lone Star College-University Park 2020

America on the next page. CAUTION: You first need to decide, what would be more meaningful to plot: the earthquake magnitude or the earthquake depth? Explain your decision (and you cannot choose both) (5 pts): Now, based on your decision, choose three colors . If you are plotting the earthquakes based on magnitude , then divide your earthquake magnitudes into three categories and choose a color for each category. These categories should be: 1) Earthquakes with a magnitude of 4-5, 2) Earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 5 and up to 6, and 3) greater than magnitude 6. If you have decided to plot your earthquakes based on depth , then choose a color for each of these three categories: 1) Earthquakes with a depth < 200 km, 2) Earthquakes with depths between 200 km and 400 km, and 3) Earthquakes with depths > 400 km. On the map provided, plot the epicenter of each earthquake (from the table) as a dot using your chosen color. Include the magnitude or depth next to each point. (25 pts) Copyright © Lone Star College-University Park 2020

PART 4 : ANALYSIS (30 pts) You are now ready to analyze your data. Your objective is to determine what type of pattern (if any) exists in the region. If a pattern is not emerging for you or you notice gaps in your data collection, considering collecting additional earthquake data. Add those additional earthquakes below. Mark them on your map with a different star symbol , but the same color-scheme . At this point, you may want to consider contouring your data (like how a topographic map is drawn). This is totally optional, if you decide to do this and need guidance you access the Internet at this point to view this video: https://youtu.be/qtwgHYPtPmI Additional Data: Event # Date Latitude (  S) Longitude (  W) Depth (km) Magnitude (Mw) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Look at your collected data. Sometimes, when doing science, you collect more data than is actually useful. What data did you collect that ended up being not that helpful? Explain . (5 pts) You have started by plotting either magnitude or depth on a map of latitude and longitude, but that is just one way to represent the data. On the next page is blank graph paper. What else would be helpful to graph?  Choose from the following for the X-axis: latitude, longitude, or distance from plate boundary, and  For the Y-axis: choose magnitude or depth.  I recommend using the long edge of the graph paper as your X-axis. Be sure to label your axes with titles and values, and include a title to your graph. (10 pts) Explain below what you have decided to graph and why you think this could be helpful to your hypothesis . (5 pts) Copyright © Lone Star College-University Park 2020

Making observations on your data: Copyright © Lone Star College-University Park 2020

Describe possible future work. Here are some writing prompts:  How could your study be improved?  What assumptions did you make?  What additional data would you like to add to your study?  What new questions do you have about this plate boundary? Copyright © Lone Star College-University Park 2020

Excellent (full credit) Needs work (partial credit) Not Present (no credit) Total Possible Pts (of 120) Hypothesis Observations and hypothesis are present and are tied to one another Missing observations or hypothesis or not clear how they are related No hypothesis stated 15 Data Collection Data is sufficiently collected and for proper location and time frame. Justification provided. Data is either insufficient, wrong location, or wrong time frame AND/OR justification not given. Data was not collected and justification was not provided. 20 Presenting the data Data are plotted accurately and according to the three categories. Explain for decision was given. Not all data are plotted accurately or data plotted are not appropriate AND/OR explanation for decision was not given Data was not plotted nor was explanation for decision given. 30 Analysis Demonstrates where essential information needs to be included Has tried to evaluate the data, but has not added anything meaningful No analysis performed 30 Interpretation Interpretations are consistent with the data. Model sketch was drawn and clearly described. Interpretations occur but are not consistent with data AND/OR model sketch was not drawn and/or not described. No interpretation present 15 Future Work Has identified where gaps in research or avenues for future work exists Future work suggestions do not align with presented findings No future work submitted 10 Copyright © Lone Star College-University Park 2020