Going into the field March 9th

Since we will be doing some fieldwork next week I thought I'd give you a list of suggested equipment required for most geological fieldwork.

So long as weather permits, we will be in the rural Creswick area from 11:30am till 2:00pm. Plan accordingly.

Essential field equipment:
Field notebook
Pencils, eraser, pencil sharpener
A few coloured pencils
Ruler
Hand lens
Compass-clinometer (will be provided next week)
Relevant maps (will be provided next week)
First aid kit
Backpack
Food and water sufficient for the fieldwork period
Suitable clothing and footwear
safety equipment as appropriate

Sampling equipment:
Geological hammer
Sample bags
Marker pens for labelling
Chisels and other hammers

Optional and specialist equipment:
Handheld GPS
Camera
Hydrocloric acid (10%)
Pocket steroscope
Magnet
Clipboard
Comparison and identification charts appropriate to the task

OBVIOUSLY... you don't need ALL of this. For example, we will not be collecting any samples, thus you do not need to bring any of the "sampling equipment".

Stereographic Projection Software

I know of three PC software programs you can download to produce stereographic projections:

1. GEOrient by Rod Holcombe
http://www.holcombe.net.au/software/rodh_software_georient.htm#download

I provide a little instruction on how to start using GEOrient at this web address: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgbmgxgp_0fgt4hgcg

2. Stereo32 produced by the University of Bochum
http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/hardrock/downloads.htm

I've never used this program before.

3. Stereonet by Rick Allmendinger
http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/faculty/RWA/programs.html

There's a Mac version of this program too. I've used this one the most, but GEOrient is recommended by the man who wrote Stereonet, so maybe we'll stick with GEOrient.

All of these programs aren't very user friendly...but you can fiddle around.

the "Blank Page" problem

If you find you are having a hard time answering the exam questions or with things covered in class, feel free to come and talk to me about them. In fact, I beg you to talk to me about the concepts and/or methods that help you learn better ... how else can I improve in teaching the subject? ... ultimately helping you.

From my experience so far, I've noticed that students struggle with what I call the "blank page" problem. That is, you're given an empty page that requires you to fill in space with lines and interpretations. When looking at this empty page you have no clue where to start, which leads to extreme frustration and in some cases a learning block... even after a hint or given the answer you still can't figure out where it came from.

To help with this problem:

(1) Clarification of components. Make sure you know what the question is asking, or what each of the visual pieces represent. For example, if you don't know what that random vertical line cutting into a profile section represents and it's not mentioned in the problem description... don't hesitate to raise your hand and ask.

(2) Focus on things you can observe. For example, observe the order of stratigraphy and mark areas of repeated or omitted sections. Or observe changes in dips. Variations are good to observe... or you can observe there are no variations.

(3) Think about geologic features that could explain those observations. Structural features like faults and folds are common in this class. Go through your notes or textbook and ask yourself, "how would the stratigraphy/rocks deform in this scenario?", then compare and contrast to your observations.

(4) Most importantly.... BREATHE! Take your time! Don't allow yourself to get SO frustrated that you want to pull your hair out. Take a walk. Talk to me or another classmate. In some cases I need to use a different teaching method or you need another couple of days to wrap your head around it.

Seismicity May of Australia