Thursday, September 22, 2011

Accretionary Wedge #38 - call for posts

In her call for posts for Accretionary Wedge #38, Anne Jefferson picks the theme "Back to School" and asks (among other questions):

If you are a geology enthusiast but not professional… what do you wish you could get in additional formal and informal education? What would you like from geosciences students, faculty, and professionals that would make your enthusiasm more informed and more fun?

And I enthusiastically reply:

I am such a “geology enthusiast but not professional”, so Anne, thanks very much for asking.  What stokes my enthusiasm? -- locations with photos, maps and explanations, the more the better.  Whenever I find information about an intriguing geologic feature in western North America, I make note, and I design my vacation road trips around these places!  One of the most memorable was in northern New Mexico where I visited volcanic features during the day, mainly using online virtual tours from the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, and then read about them in the scientific literature at night at my campsite.  My travels ranged from the Precambrian (the Jemez lineament is thought to be based on a Precambrian terrane suture) to the Holocene (the most recent flows of the Malpais happened 3000 to 4000 years ago).  I was totally happy -- and that’s the way vacations should be.  Many thanks to the professionals that took the time to put together those materials.

PS  Dana Hunter (En Tequila es Verdad) mentioned online classes ... totally! that would be awesome!!

Zuni-Bandera Volcanic Field near Grants, NM - Satellite Image