Geosciences in Alaska(page 1 of 2) |
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“Under a gray, brooding sky, at a prolific
dinosaur fossil site on the Colville River more than 200 miles above the
Arctic Circle, they kneel in front of their quarries or sprawl on mats
to give their aching knees a break.” These were the words of reporter
Amy Mayer, as she
 The team treads carefully down the Matanuska glacier. (Alaska photos courtesy of Phelana Pang and Chris Tolentino) |
described the adventures of nine science teachers from
West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) involved in a unique
summer field and research project in Alaska. The teachers themselves described
their summer adventure as “the trip of a lifetime!” For four weeks,
these teachers were immersed in a new learning experience, focusing on
the geologic processes at work in Alaska. This was followed by participation
in a dinosaur research program—all part of Geosciences in Alaska,
a joint project of UCMP and the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks,
in collaboration with WCCUSD.The project began in April with a trip to
Pt. Reyes as a kind of warm-up primer to field geology. The next meeting
of the team took place in early July in Anchorage, where teachers stayed
on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus, meeting with Judy Scotchmoor
(UCMP) and Drs. Ann Pasch (UAA) and Roland Gangloff (UA Fairbanks), who
introduced them to a bit of “Geology 101.” Following a few days on seismology,
glaciology, and paleontology, the group headed toward Fairbanks, taking
time to visit the Matanuska glacier and several other sites. This gave
them the chance to apply what they had learned: recognizing depositional
environments, determining the sequence of geologic events, and taking
strike and dip, which would prove useful during the quarry work yet to
come.Several days on the UAF campus helped to prepare the teachers for
the upcoming field research along the Colville River. To get there, the
group traveled by van along the partially paved Dalton Highway to Alaska’s
North Slope. They camped for three nights, making stops to dip their feet
in the Yukon River, to mark their crossing into the Arctic Circle, and
to explore additional sites of geologic interest. After heading over Atigun
Pass, the campsite near Castle Rock proved popular for
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