T215 Engaging the Public in Science: Promoting a Deeper Understanding of Our World and Beyond

Wednesday, 18 October 2023
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
328

GROWING PUBLIC INTEREST IN GEOSCIENCE: NON-TECHNICAL FIELD GUIDES CONCERNING THE GALICE FORMATION, KLAMATH MOUNTAINS, CA AND OR

Paper number: T215-14
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 11:05 AM – 11:20 AM

Authors

Abstract

Most geology field guides online or linked in an app like Flyover Country are highly technical and aimed at trained geologists. Book series like Roadside Geology partially address this situation, but at present, there are few easily accessible, online geology field guides intended for the general public. Freely available online field guides written for the lay public are needed to provide information for the curious, and also to generate interest in the geosciences. Geoscience as a field is critically important in helping solve current dire problems such as climate change and sustainability, yet Geosciences is the least understood and most dismissed science. Earth Science is rarely a high school graduation requirement, and is not even an option in most U.S. high schools. To help make geoscience accessible and understandable to the public, we distilled highly technical information about the Galice Formation in the Klamath Mountains into four field guides, without simplifying the concepts to the point of inaccuracy. Removing the jargon and explaining terminology required that multiple annotated photos and illustrations were included in the field guide to allow people who have not studied geology to understand the concepts. Many of these images are modified diagrams from introductory textbooks, but most important to these guides was the development of original figures specific to the research sites, such as the pillow basalts within ophiolites and the process for how bedding and foliation become parallel. Finally, we created these field guides to be living documents stored at Trinity University that can be easily updated as new information becomes available, and that provide resources and contact information for readers who have questions. The field guides are in pdf format and will be linked to the Flyover Country app and also made available in the Klamath and Six Rivers National Forest Offices. These field guides will be a good starting point for those interested in learning about the geology of the western Klamath Mountains, and may help spur future interest in and support of the geosciences.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-389516

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