246 Best Practices for Developing International Collaborations in the Geosciences

This session invites presentations on successful scientist to scientist international collaborations in the geosciences in research and educational activities, focussing on how they developed and keys to their success. It will also explore how organizations can help foster international collaborations/engagements.

Wednesday, 22 October 2025
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
HBGCC, 301A

International Outreach Through the Co-Creation and Translation of Educational Materials: The Geology of Plate Tectonics, 3rd Edition

Paper number: 246-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:05 AM – 8:25 AM

Authors

Abstract

 

In 1986, the GSA published “The Geology of Plate Margins” (MCH059), a chart that summarized plate tectonic features on a global scale. A second edition in 2005 was retitled “The Geology of Plate Tectonics” (MCH059REV). In one form or another, that chart has been in print for 39 years. Recently, we weighed printing it in other languages, in part because it has remained popular for so long. One of us (Wessel) asked Dr. Ricardo Barragán Manzo, then President of the Sociedad Geológica Mexicana (SGM), about this at a meeting in Mexico City, and he was immediately supportive. This led to a working agreement between the GSA and the SGM to translate and market the chart. 

After 40 years, even generalized science needs updating, so we assembled a team of experts to review and modify the text and illustrations prior to translation. Those experts included co-authors from the United States, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. Each was asked to review and update those portions of the chart for which they had the most knowledge. Some concentrated on oceanic features, some on collisional settings, others on geologic hazards or mineral resources, and so on. We collectively edited the English text and figures, learning from each other as we went, and then translated the finished copy. Working through emails and a series of Zoom meetings, our goal was to craft a chart that would last another 40 years and that would be relevant to students throughout our hemisphere. The new edition (in both languages) is scheduled to be released at the 2025 Annual Meeting.

Our path was guided by several observed realities of contemporary geoscience education: 1) geoscience education worldwide has declined in volume and substance at a time when, 2) societies are faced with challenges that are geologic in nature, making the need for geoscience education even more important, but 3) educators at all levels lack resources to teach geoscience, and we realized that 4) working together, we could gain economies of scale by sharing educational resources and co-creating innovative approaches to teaching geoscience. By making those products available in multiple languages, we can expand our connections with students and the public and create a network that will, through education, help facilitate local resilience and sustainability.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-412250

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