Introducing Electronic Mapping Tools in a Geology Field Camp and a Research-Based Geology Curriculum

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Electronic mapping tools, including global positioning system (GPS) and laser ranging equipment, promise to revolutionize geological mapping. Our project will give students in our field camp and on campus a working familiarity with this equipment, and allow them to develop new insights into geology that the precision and data-managing capability of this equipment allow. The largest impact will be in our six-week field camp, taught in the Rockies. GPS is best suited to support our traditional mapping exercises, and will be used to locate points and log data in several multiple day projects. Laser rangefinders, coupled with GPS, provide a means of fast and accurate detailed topographic and geologic mapping of small areas. Total stations, when used with proper surveying techniques, provide even higher accuracy, at a cost of more time. By using both a total station and a rangefinder in several projects, students will develop practical experience with the capabilities and the limitations of each tool. As a result of our project, students will be able to select the appropriate tool for their task, understand the principles on which the tools operate, use the instruments effectively in a field setting. In our 15 years of teaching field camp, we have uncovered a number of field problems that these tools are well suited to address, and we are excited to see the results. We have been able to pilot work with GPS, and thus have the experience to design effective projects. Our Department has a successful philosophy of making all of our instrumentation available to students at all levels. Thus this equipment will also support innovations in courses and student research projects on campus ranging from introductory students creating topographic maps to seniors developing new research projects based on precise mapping of local outwash deposits.