Crypt-crops?

Reposted from "Research at a Snail's Pace:"


I was going to try and post this Sunday, but I ran out of time. I'm having one of my classes measure some tombstones for their lab activity. They'll collect data on the width of marble tombstones a measurement at the top, and one at the bottom. Then they'll plot the change in thickness versus the date on the grave.

This is a pretty easy and fun activity - it's got some good pedagogy, too. It forces the students to actively participate in the learning activity, students have an opportunity to collect, graph, and analyze data. It also has connections with interesting and current research in the weathering rates of various materials.

I'm having the students use rulers, rather than calipers - I feel like the risk of damaging the grave markers is too high with students using a couple dozen steel calipers. I may try to get some inexpensive plastic-jawed calipers in the future. As a test, I gathered a few measurements from a nearby cemetery to see if students would be able to get usable data. Most of the thickness variation was more than 1mm, so they should get precise enough measurements to see a general trend. At the end of the week, we'll collate all the measurements and then the students will analyze and plot the class data - turning in a lab report next week.



My quick data collection produced a weathering rate estimate of about 0.03 mm/yr, which is fairly slow, compared to some other locations. But my data set is pretty small - and I suspect a few of these gravestones were "resurfaced" in some way.

A few links:

I based my lab activity off of the SERC's weathering rate activity write up:
http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/interactive/examples/weatrate.html

GSA is sponsoring a research/outreach program about gravestone weathering, too - some cool and time-appropriate citizen science:
http://www.goearthtrek.com/Gravestones/Gravestones.html

Howdy!

Judging by the spike in my visitor counts, Brian Romans' post of my braided river image has gone up.

For those of you that are new, welcome. Feel free to poke around. In other news, here's a picture for your entertainment:



Those of us that study the variety of processes that occur at or near Earth's surface, we sometimes have to account for the fact that living organisms often call this thin veneer of fragmented rock, organic debris, air, and water home. As they go about their lives, they often churn up these layers of meticulously deposited material. When viewed from the perspective of a geologist, we call it "bioturbation." When viewed from the perspective of a groundskeeper, it's called a "varmint." Technically speaking, it was probably a ground squirrel or a mole, not a gopher 'round these parts.

"Well, here we are! Pismo Beach and all the clams we can eat!"

"Hey, wait a minute! Since when is Pismo Beach inside a cave?"

I arrived at school one Monday morning to find this lovely tunnel lying exposed in the newly graded front "yard" of our newly renovated science building. I took a few pictures - the whole plot was smoothed over and seeded by the grounds crew before I could find a toy Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck to place in the photo...

...it must have been that left turn near Albuquerque.