Earth’s solid interior harbors the long-term memory of processes that shape our planet. Seismology is the primary tool for probing this otherwise inaccessible frontier of exploration. The method of seismic tomography uses waves generated by earthquakes to image the Earth’s interior in a manner similar to CT scanning of the human body. Seismic tomography is useful for assessing natural hazards, locating explosions and characterizing plate tectonics. Routine calculations for earthquake magnitudes and early warning systems also need these models. This seminar will discuss how the iterative nature of this scientific method involves using observed data to develop quantitative models of physical properties (e.g. density). We will further consider implications for the current state of the Earth’s interior (e.g. temperature, composition) and its dynamic evolution into the future. Seminar activities will explore how tomographic models are used to determine interior structure and how these features manifest as observed waves. We will end by brainstorming ways to effectively integrate solid Earth topics in the classroom.

What Teachers Had to Say:

These comments have not been edited although only a selection appears.

• "Professional, I feel “refreshed” and inspired  from this Techers as Scholars seminar. Personally, it’s nice to feel surrounded by other curious teachers and reminds me of why I got into science teaching"
• "Seeing the seismometer, all the information, playing with the data models"
• "I’m most taken by the analysis of seismic waves at the end of the workshop…It was great that the patterns weren’t cleaned up and extracted for us"
• "Encouraged me to think about the ways in which I can incorporate real-world data and earth systems in secondary science"
• "I feel like I have a solid intro to the field and many ways I could integrate it into questions with my classes"
• "It showed me many areas in which topics that I thought of as dry are incredibly relevant to modern science"

Some Facilitator Shout-Outs:

• "Raj is an exceptional thinker and explainer"
• "Pritwiraj is at his best when he is fielding questions and inspiring the teachers with answers that inspire curiosity and further questions"
• "Prof. Moulik was so passionate about the material and eager to answer questions and help us out"
• "The presenter was very approachable and made the difficult parts of the material accessible without being condescending"

Schedule:

• Welcome and Introductions (15 min)
• History of Geophysics at Princeton (15 min)
• Geophysics and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1 hr)
• Coffee Break (30 min, 10:30 - 11:00 AM)
• Why Seismology Rocks? (45 min)
• Live demo of the Princeton seismometer! (15 min)
• Lunch Break (1 hr, noon - 1 PM)
• Interactive Group Activity on Seismic Data and Models (1 hr)
• Group Discussion and Conclusion (1 hr)

Required Reading:

Please download and read the following selected text from Earth: Portrait of a Planet 7^th Edition by Stephen Marshak before the seminar:

• Chapter 2: Journey to the Center of the Earth [Download PDF]
• Interlude D: Earth's Interior Revisited [Download PDF]

General Interest:

Two books of general interest can help contextualize geosciences and seismology. No prior readings from these books are needed. Copies of both books will be distributed to the teachers on the day of the seminar.

• Timefulness by Marcia Bjornerud
• Geopedia by Marcia Bjornerud