![](media/image1.png){width="0.5834645669291338in" height="0.75in"}

*High School Geology*

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="5.220138888888889in"
height="7.227777777777778in"}

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

High School Geology Curriculum

A.  **The present is the key to the past: unlocking the geologic\
    history of southeastern New Mexico and west Texas 4**

B.  **Putting the puzzle together; internal structure of the Earth\
    and Pangean geography 8**

    1.  Activity #1: Earth's internal structure

    2.  Activity #2: Earth's external disarray

    3.  Activity #3: Puzzle of Pangea

C.  **Global building blocks; rocks and mineral identification 12**

    1.  Activity #1: Minerals

    2.  Activity #2: Rocks and rock cycle

D.  **It's not your average Friday night; Relative and absolute\
    dating of geologic materials 15**

    1.  Activity #1: Relative dating

    2.  Activity #2: Absolute dating

E.  **Ocean-front property in New Mexico? Where did the oceans go? 19**

    1.  Activity #1: Climate change; its causes and effects

    2.  Activity #2: Tectonics and resulting geologic structures

F.  **Bridge over troubled waters: what is an aquifer and how\
    can we protect our groundwater? 23**

    1.  Activity #1: Groundwater models and water table gradient

    2.  Activity #2: Cave contamination

    3.  Hydrology Exercise

G.  **This is worse than Swiss cheese! What is karst and why\
    is it important? 30**

H.  **Caves... a journey to the center of the Earth 33**

I.  **Perpetually in the dark: Mapping caves 36**

    1.  Activity #1: Mapping caves and recognizing speleothems.

    2.  Activity #2: Making your own cave map.

J.  **Geology is gneiss, but isn't it outdated? Why understanding\
    geology is important today 39**

![](media/image3.png){width="0.6in" height="0.8346456692913385in"}

### The present is the key to the past; unlocking the geologic history of southeastern New Mexico and west Texas

> **9-12 grades**

## Lesson #1

> **Prerequisites:** general understanding of weathering and landscape
> evolution, topographic maps, and map attributes
>
> **Estimated time:** Labs (50 min/each) or 1 fieldtrip (about 3 hours)
>
> **Location:** in lab or in field (at the McKittrick Canyon nature
> loop)

**Learner outcomes**

The learner will:

-   Make field or lab observations of Permian marine fossils.

-   Use inquiry and geologic clues to infer paleoenvironment from
    comparisons with modern analogs.

-   Use topographic and geologic maps.

-   Learn about the geology of the Delaware Basin and Guadalupe
    Mountains during the Permian Period.

**Vocabulary:** Permian Period, geology, geologist, reef, forereef,
backreef, lagoon, paleontology, sponge, algae, brachiopods, cephalopods,
crinoids, bryozoans, flora, fauna, fossil, fossilization process,
deposits, cement, cemented, evaporites, interpretations, iterative
process, bathymetric map, bathymetry, aerial photograph, evaporite,
landscape, analog, geomorphology, marine environment, paleoenvironment,
stratigraphy, geologic formation, geologic cross-section, topographic
map, topography, topographic profile, Delaware Basin, Guadalupe
Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, limestone, bluff, corals

Background information

The Delaware Basin and Guadalupe Mountains region of southeastern New
Mexico and Western Texas is rich with unique geologic features. Once
covered by a sea approximately 250 million years ago during the Permian
Period, many of the preserved rocks, fossils, and geologic formations
are the best examples of these ancient marine environments in the world.

The Capitan Formation, a resistant limestone bluff that creates the
peaks of the Guadalupe Mountains, represents an ancient reef in this
sea. Different from modern reefs, which are composed of large branching
corals and other flora, the Capitan reef was primarily composed of
sponge and algae, containing only a few types of small corals. The
Capitan also possessed ample brachiopods, cephalopods, crinoids, and
bryozoans. These ancient fauna are preserved in the rocks as fossils
resistant to erosion after the fossilization process. Also preserved in
the area are the backreef lagoon deposits (the Seven Rivers, Yates, and
Tansill Formations), the forereef deposits composed of cemented reef
material that slid into the basin, and basin evaporites that were
deposited as the sea retreated and evaporated.

Geologists have studied and made interpretations about the area and its
ancient deposits since the early 1900s. Further understanding of this
ancient landscape, which may be viewed at Carlsbad Caverns National
Park, has been accomplished through comparisons of the preserved Permian
deposits and fossils to those found in modern reef systems. The
comparison and contrast of fossils and ancient deposits with modern
analogs is an iterative process that enables geologists to understand
the past history of a region. In this lesson students will infer the
Permian paleoenvironment of the region through investigations of
geomorphology and faunal observations of ancient and modern marine
environments.

# Pre-activity thought questions: Do landscapes change through time? What is geology/a geologist? How did the local landscape form? What can fossils tell geologists about a rock?

Materials needed

-   Photographs of the Guadalupe Mountains and Delaware Basin (slides
    #1-7)

-   Photographs of modern reefs (slides #35-37)

-   Topographic map of Carlsbad Caverns National Park (slide #80)

-   Bathymetric image of a carbonate shelf (slide #30)

-   Comparative image of Delaware Basin and Bahamas (slide #31)

-   Diagram of Delaware Basin (slide #33)

-   Science notebooks

-   Schematic of the local stratigraphy (slide #19)

-   Geologic time chart (slide #8 or 9)

-   Guide to Permian marine fossils (slides #104 -109)

-   Major Permian marine fossils (either in the rocks on the fieldtrip
    or invertebrate fossil hand samples for the lab).

Assessment

-   Field notes

-   Topographic profile

Procedure (if in the field)

The teacher will:

-   Show students the satellite image of the Guadalupe Mountains at the
    entry area of McKittrick Canyon and ask what the mountains might
    have in common with the photos and bathymetric image of a modern
    reef (explain satellite images and bathymetric maps if the students
    haven't seen them before). Give students a chance to respond and
    think about possible relationships.

-   Ask what clues would be necessary to determine a relationship
    between the two environments (what's missing?). How could the modern
    geologic configuration be explained?

-   Define the term "geology" and explain that geologists put together
    clues found in the field today to interpret the paleoenvironment of
    an area.

-   Talk about the geologic time chart and explain that life was
    different in the Permian Period in this region.

-   Lead students on the McKittrick Canyon nature trail---have the
    students look for, describe, and identify several of the fossils
    using the guide and record their findings in their science
    notebooks.

-   Return to the entry area and discuss findings---show fossil samples.

-   Have students brainstorm about the paleoenvironment. Compare
    Guadalupe Mountains fossils to reconstructed photos and contrast
    with samples (if possible) of modern reef fauna. Discuss how items
    became fossils (process of fossilization).

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Define the terms: geologic formation, geologic cross-section, and
    stratigraphy.

-   Look at the stratigraphic diagram and explain where the reef was and
    which rocks in the Guadalupe Mountains correspond to these sections
    (The reef of the Capitan formation is the massive limestone bluff;
    the horizontal layers of the Yates and Tansill behind the bluff are
    the back reef/lagoon areas; and the sloping layers in front, such as
    the Lamar Fm. are the forereef deposits, or slump. This was the last
    unit that was hiked through).

-   Back in the lab explain how to construct a topographic profile.

-   For homework, have students produce a topographic profile from A to
    A\' on the Carlsbad Caverns National Park map.

Procedure (if in the lab)

The teacher will:

-   Show the satellite image of the Guadalupe Mountains and ask what
    they might have in common with the photos and bathymetric image of a
    modern reef (explain satellite images and bathymetric maps if the
    students haven't seen them before). Give students a chance to
    respond and think about possible relationships.

-   Ask what clues would be necessary to determine a relationship
    between the two environments (what's missing?). How could the modern
    geologic configuration be explained?

-   Define the term "geology" and explain that geologists put together
    clues found in the field today to interpret the paleoenvironment of
    an area.

-   Pass out fossil samples and have students describe and identify
    several of the fossils using the guide and recording their findings
    in their science notebooks.

-   Discuss how items become fossils. Brainstorm about the environment.
    Compare to diagrams and contrast with samples (if possible) of
    modern reef fauna.

-   Define the terms: geologic formation, geologic cross-section, and
    stratigraphy.

-   Look at the stratigraphic diagram and explain where the reef was and
    which rocks in the Guadalupe Mountains correspond to these sections
    (reef is the massive limestone bluff---Capitan formation; horizontal
    layers of the Yates and Tansill behind the bluff is the back
    reef/lagoon area; and the sloping layers, such as the Lamar Fm., in
    the front are the forereef deposits, or slump).

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Back in the lab explain how to construct a topographic profile.

-   For homework, have students produce a topographic profile from A to
    A\' on the Carlsbad Caverns National Park map.

**Follow-up questions:** If the Guadalupe Mountains were a reef 250
million years ago, where did the sea go? What has happened to the
landscape between the Permian Period and the present? What other things
might geologists need to learn about an area to correctly assess the
past environment? What other tools might geologists use to determine
geology of this area (other than just fossils---additional research may
be done on pisolites, teepee structures, mudcracks)?

Alternative assessments

-   Additional research and class presentations on reefs, the Permian
    period, Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Guadalupe Mountains
    National Park, disciplines in geology, the geographical region

-   Additional exercises with topographic maps

Bibliography

Beaubouef, R.T., Rossen, C. Zelt, F.B, Sullivan, M.D., Mohrig D.C. and
D.C. Jeanette. 1999. "Deep-Water Sandstones, Brushy Canyon Formation,
West Texas." AAPG Field Guide #40.

Bebout, D.G. and C. Kerans. 1993. *Guide to the Permian Reef Geology
Trail, McKittrick Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, West Texas.
Guidebook 26.* Austin, TX: Bureau of Economic Geology.

Hill, C.A. 1996. "Geology of the Delaware Basin Guadalupe, Apache, and
Glass Mountains New Mexico and West Texas." Permian Basin Section --
SEPM. Pub. No. 96-39.

Marshak, S. 2001. *Earth Portrait of a Planet*. New York: W.W. Norton &
Co.

**Additional reading and other resources**

New Mexico School of Technology virtual fieldtrip of the Guadalupe
Mountains: *http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/staff/scholle/guadalupe.html*

USGS web page on fossils:
*http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/contents.html*

Texas A&M Oceanography class' web resource list:
*http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/ocean401/ocng401_hotlinks.html*

Berkeley's Geology homepage (Permian Period):
*http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/permian/permian.html*

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's (NOAA) web page on coral
reefs: *http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR/coralhome.html*

![](media/image3.png){width="0.6in" height="0.8346456692913385in"}

### Putting the puzzle together; internal structure of the Earth and Pangean geography

> **9-12 grades**

## Lesson #2

> **Prerequisites:** general knowledge of the geologic time chart
>
> **Estimated time:** 3 Labs (50 min/each)
>
> **Location:** in lab

**Learner outcomes**

The learner will:

-   Learn about plate tectonics and the roles of orogenic processes in
    creating the Guadalupe Mountains region.

**Vocabulary:** P-waves, S-waves, surface waves, Pangea, plates, glacial
striations, plate tectonics, orogeny, paleontology, Alfred Wegner,
continental drift, plate boundaries, divergent margin, convergent
margin, transverse (strike-slip) margin, crust, mantle, outer core,
inner core, surficial landscapes, density, earthquake, seismic waves,
lithosphere, asthenosphere, elements, convection, theory, glacier,
supercontinent, technology, shadow zone, long axis, Loma Prieta
earthquake, scale, model, eruption, schematic diagram, Mesosaurus,
Lystrosaurus, Cynognathus, Glossopteris, peer review, hypothesis,
scientific community

Background information

Movements within the interior of the Earth affect the Earth's surficial
landscapes. The Earth is composed of four basic layers of varying
densities and materials, which have been determined by careful
examination of earthquake-generated seismic waves through the Earth.
Seismic waves are energy waves generated by earthquakes or human
generation that travel through the layers of the Earth. There are three
types of seismic waves, P-waves, S-waves, and surface waves, each of
which travels through materials differently. The P-waves travel through
all mediums but move more slowly through liquids, the S-waves do not
travel through liquids (they change into other waves), and the surface
waves only travel along the surface.

By examining the characteristics of these three seismic waves it was
determined that there were four layers of the Earth. These are the inner
core, which is solid and composed of heavy metals; the outer core, which
consists of liquid, metallic elements; the mantle, the thickest layer
with a dense plastic consistency; and finally the thin, brittle and
broken crust on which we live. Convective motion in the hot upper mantle
moves the pieces of broken crust (called "plates"). This motion causes
various interactions between plates that are collectively called "plate
tectonics."

The theory of plate tectonics is a relatively recent theory (1970s);
however Alfred Wegner suggested "continental drift," a similar process,
in the early 1900s. Wegner, a well traveled meteorologist, noticed that
there were surprising similarities in fossils, geology, glacial
striations on different continents, and several of the continents such
as Africa and South America look like they fit well together. Using
these various lines of evidence, Wegner proposed that a supercontinent
called "Pangea" existed about 200 million years ago from which all the
present continents broke away.

Today, we know that Pangea did exist by using many of the same lines of
evidence as Wegner in conjunction with more evidence procured with
modern technology. Pangea was together during the Permian Period,
approximately 250 million years ago, when the sea was present in
Delaware Basin.

Pre-activity thought questions: Has the world always appeared as it does
now? If not, how has it changed?

Assessments

-   Notes in science notebooks

-   Scale diagram of the Earth's interior

-   World map with the plate boundaries and labeled plates

Procedure

> Activity #1: Earth's Internal Structure
>
> Materials needed:

-   Science notebooks

-   Hard-boiled eggs (with shell on)

-   Slinkies

-   The seismic wave and eruption programs (free download from:
    *http://www.geol.binghamton.edu/faculty/jones/jones.html*)

-   Diagram of the Earth's interior (slide #10)

-   Graph paper

> The teacher will:

-   Split students into groups and give each group a hard boiled egg
    with the shell on. Have them crack it lightly and then cut it in
    half along the long-axis.

-   Explain that the layers of the egg are similar to the internal
    structure of the Earth, where the shell represents the thin, cracked
    crust, the white of the egg is similar to the mantle, and the yolk
    represents the inner and outer core.

-   Define and diagram the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core
    explaining composition and thickness.

-   Ask the students to brainstorm on how people might have determined
    the internal structure of the earth when we have only drilled
    several km into the crust.

-   Define the three types of seismic waves, P-waves (compression
    waves), S-waves (side-to-side waves), and surface waves (up and down
    waves).

-   Have students demonstrate the different motions of these waves with
    slinkies and record their observations in their science notebooks.

-   Explain that each wave moves differently through different materials
    (solid and liquids). The P-waves move through both materials and
    therefore are detected through the inner and outer core, the S-waves
    don't move through liquids and therefore the outer core so a
    "shadow-zone" is seen directly on the other side of the world from
    the epicenter of an earthquake, and surface waves only travel along
    the surface.

-   Look at the seismic wave program (Seiswave). Run California's Loma
    Prieta earthquake and have students look at the seismic waves travel
    through the Earth. Point out that the S-waves are transformed into
    different types of waves at the mantle-outer core boundary while the
    P-waves bend through the liquid outer core and then speed back up
    through the inner core. (In general, energy waves travel more slowly
    through liquids than solids. These changes in wave speeds are
    measured using seismographs, which are located at the top of the
    screen).

-   Have students draw a "scale" model of the Earth's cross-section on
    graph paper.

> Activity #2: Earth's External Disarray
>
> Materials needed:

-   Science notebooks

-   Foam

-   The seismic wave and eruption programs (free download from:
    *http://www.geol.binghamton.edu/faculty/jones/jones.html*)

-   Blank world map (slide #28)

-   World map with plates labeled (slides \# 29 and 32)

> The teacher will:

-   Have the students run the "world" demonstration on the seismic
    eruption program (Seisvole). They should observe the locations where
    earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur- do they see a pattern?
    Pause at the end of the demonstration and have the students draw in
    the modern plate boundaries on a blank world map.

-   Ask students what happens at the plate boundaries to cause
    earthquakes and volcanoes.

-   Using two pieces of foam, have pairs of students work together to
    model the three different plate margins boundaries (convergent,
    divergent, and transform). Students should draw schematic diagrams
    of these boundaries in their science notebooks and list examples of
    each from the world.

> Activity #3: Puzzle of Pangea
>
> Materials needed:

-   Photographs of the Guadalupe Mountains and Delaware Basin (slides
    #1-7)

-   Science notebooks

-   Pangea puzzle (cut out continents and legend from slide #81)

-   Schematic of the local stratigraphy (slide #19)

-   Geologic time chart (slide #8 or 9)

-   Guide to Permian vertebrate fossils (slides #82)

-   Guadalupe Mountains Geologic history video (available from Carlsbad
    Caverns National Park)

> The teacher will:

-   Begin by asking students if the crustal plates can move. Has the
    world always looked the way it does today?

-   Have students look at the separated puzzle pieces of
    Pangea---explain Alfred Wegner's story of continental drift and have
    the students reconstruct the Permian plate configuration based on
    fossils and other clues. Students' reconstructed Pangea should be
    pasted on another piece of paper.

-   Once the students have put Pangea back together again, have them
    compare their answers to the Berkeley University animated site:
    (*http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/tectonics.html*).

-   Conclude with a discussion of evidence necessary to solidify the
    idea of plate tectonics (review last 2 sections) and discuss how
    these changes have affected the southwestern region.

-   Show the silent Guadalupe Mountains Geologic history video (8
    minutes).

-   With the photographs of the region and the stratigraphic diagram,
    explain the inland sea in the region during the Permian that
    produced the Capitan reef and associated geology in relation to the
    continental configuration.

**Follow-up questions:** If plate tectonics are still active today, how
will the continents be configured in the future? What other clues might
be used to determine the previous plate configuration? How is science
governed by peer review?

Alternative assessments

-   Student presentations on other possible hypotheses for similarities
    in fossil records, geology, etc. and supporting evidence to
    emphasize the use of peer review and alternative hypotheses in
    science. Discuss why more evidence was necessary before the
    scientific community would accept Wegner's ideas.

-   Have each student plot ten recent earthquakes on a world map and
    discuss modern movement along the plate boundaries, which should be
    outlined.

**Bibliography**

Hill, C.A. 1996. "Geology of the Delaware Basin Guadalupe, Apache, and
Glass Mountains New Mexico and West Texas." Permian Basin Section --
SEPM. Pub. No. 96-39.

Jones, A. State University of New York at Binghamton Geology Department.

Marshak, S. 2001. *Earth Portrait of a Planet*. New York: W.W. Norton &
Co.

Seismic/Eruption and Seismic Waves computer simulations:
*http://www.geol.binghamton.edu/faculty/jones/jones.html*

University of Berkeley's Plate Tectonics simulations:
*http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/tectonics.html*

**Additional reading and other resources**

University of Nevada- Reno Plate tectonics web page:
*http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/plate-tectonics.html*

USGS web page on plate tectonics:
*http://geology.er.usgs.gov/eastern/tectonic.html*

American Geological Institute's Earth Science Educational Resources
page: *http://www.agiweb.org/education/resources.html*

![](media/image3.png){width="0.6in" height="0.8346456692913385in"}

### Global building blocks; rocks and mineral identification

> **9-12**

## Lesson #3

> **Prerequisites:** knowledge of elements
>
> **Estimated time:** 2 labs (50 min/each)
>
> **Location:** in lab

**Learner outcomes**

The learner will:

-   Learn about mineral composition and identification.

-   Understand the rock cycle and identify some common rocks in each
    group.

-   Apply this knowledge to geology in the Guadalupe Mountains region.

**Vocabulary:** mineral, rock, crystal structure, chemical composition,
hardness, luster, cleavage, carbonates, rock cycle, igneous rock,
metamorphic rock, sediment, clast, chemical sedimentary rock,
biochemical sedimentary rock, siliciclastic sedimentary rock,
sedimentary rock, parent rock, metamorphism, magma, crystallization,
cementation, evaporite, metallic, nonmetallic, striations, rhombus,
transparent, translucent, physical weathering, chemical weathering,
erosion, rock cycle, basalt, granite, trona, limestone, conglomerate,
sandstone, shale, coquina, coal, gneiss, schist, marble, slate, mafic,
felsic, foliated, crystalline, texture, vesicular, ooids, pebbles, sand,
gravel, grain size, clay, organic material, ultraviolet light,
hydrochloric acid, effervescence, streak, calcite, dolomite, gypsum,
halite, sulfur, pyrite, muscovite mica, orthoclase feldspar, quartz

Background information

The Earth's building blocks are rocks and minerals. Minerals, of which
rocks are composed, are defined by standard criteria: 1) specific
chemical composition, 2) inorganic, 3) regular crystalline structure,
and 4) naturally occurring. While it is tempting to use color to
determine the type of mineral, many of the same minerals come in a
variety of colors so other characteristics must be used. Diagnostic
tests for identifying minerals are: hardness (on a scale from one being
the softest mineral, talc, to ten, a diamond, the hardest mineral
found), streak (on a porcelain plate), cleavage (the ways a mineral
naturally breaks), effervescence (reaction of mineral to weak HCl,
hydrochloric acid), magnetism (attracted to magnets or not), taste
(however some minerals are toxic, so you don't want to lick them all)
and fluorescence (fluorescence when exposed to an ultraviolet light or
not). While there are many different minerals found throughout the
world, some minerals specific to the Guadalupe Mountains, Delaware
Basin, and Carlsbad Caverns are calcite, dolomite, gypsum, halite,
sulfur, and pyrite. The majority of the Earth's surface is composed of
quartz and feldspar, two other minerals that are not as common in this
area of carbonates.

Rocks, in turn, are composed of minerals. There are three types of
rocks: 1) igneous rocks where the interlocking minerals crystallize out
of molten material, 2) sedimentary rocks composed of cemented
physically-weathered sediments derived from other rocks or chemically
precipitated from saturated solutions, and finally 3) metamorphic rocks,
which are pressure and temperature "cooked" versions of any of these
three types of rock. The most common rock in the area is limestone,
which is composed of the mineral calcite.

Identification of rocks and minerals allows geologists to produce
geologic maps. This knowledge can aid in the understanding of the
paleoenvironment and time period in which the rocks and minerals formed.
This activity will introduce common rocks and minerals found in the
Carlsbad Cavern region as well as others that are common elsewhere.
Identification of samples will also enhance students' observational and
classification skills. Once the students have identified the rocks and
minerals, they will be able to understand a geologic map.

Pre-activity thought questions: What is the Earth made of? What is the
difference between a rock and a mineral? What types of rocks and
minerals are found in your region?

Assessments

-   List of identified minerals

-   Venn Diagram of several local minerals

-   List of identified rocks

Procedure

> Activity #1: Minerals
>
> Materials needed:

-   Mineral kit including: quartz, calcite, muscovite mica, gypsum,
    dolomite, sulfur, halite, pyrite, orthoclase feldspar

-   Mineral identification kit including: penny, glass plate, porcelain
    tile, weak HCl acid (10%), hand lens

-   Mineral identification flow-chart (Slide #23)

-   Venn Diagram (Slide #24)

> The teacher will:

-   Explain that the Earth is composed of rocks, which are composed of
    minerals. Define each.

-   Define the properties of minerals and explain that these
    characteristics may be examined and tested on hand samples.

-   Pass out the mineral samples to identify with the testing kits and
    the flow chart. Explain that these are just a few of the minerals
    that are represented in the Guadalupe Mountains---emphasize that
    there are many more in the area and the world!

-   Let the students work together to identify the different minerals
    using the standard tests and have them record the names and some
    characteristics in their notebooks.

-   After checking students' answers, have students complete a Venn
    diagram for common minerals in the region (i.e. calcite, dolomite,
    and gypsum).

> Activity #2: Rocks and rock cycle
>
> Materials needed:

-   Rock cycle chart (Slide #25)

-   Rock identification flow charts (Slide #26)

-   Rock kit including: limestone (coquina and crystalline limestone),
    trona, conglomerate, sandstone, shale, coal, granite, basalt,
    gneiss, schist, and marble

-   Carlsbad Caverns National Park geologic map (Slide #110)

-   Carlsbad Caverns National Park geologic formation descriptions
    (Slide #111)

> The teacher will:

-   Explain the rock cycle and that rocks are composed of different
    minerals. While there are three different types of rocks, for the
    Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Cavern story, we are mainly
    interested in sedimentary rocks so these will be the majority of the
    rocks the students will identify.

-   Once the rock samples are passed out and the students are divided
    into groups, help the class separate the different rock types.

-   Pass out the three different rock flow charts and have students use
    the charts to identify the different rock samples. They should write
    descriptions and identifications in their science notebooks. The
    students may also look for their minerals in the rocks, but keep the
    samples separate to avoid confusion.

-   Using the Carlsbad Caverns National Park geology map and formation
    descriptions, have students link the geologic formations with their
    rock and mineral characterizations. Students should record these
    descriptions of each unit in their science notebooks.

**Follow-up questions:** What are some diagnostic properties of each
mineral? Is color a reliable characteristic to use when trying to
identify minerals? How can the different rock types be deciphered? What
does the type of rock say about the environment in which it formed?

Alternative assessments

-   Have students draw a schematic diagram of the backreef, reef, and
    forereef area. Label the different units and minerals found in each
    environment (similar to the schematic cross-section used in Lesson
    1).

-   Students should list different environments where each type of
    sedimentary rock is found (i.e. sandstone may be formed in rivers,
    beaches, mountains, deltas, etc.) to show the complexity of
    paleoenvironmental reconstructions using only rock types.

-   Have students identify minerals used in everyday products (i.e.
    drywall, toothpaste, lipstick, milkshakes, vitamins, etc.).

**Bibliography**

Beaubouef, R.T., Rossen, C, Zelt, F.B, Sullivan, M.D., Mohrig D.C. and
D.C. Jeanette. 1999. "Deep-Water Sandstones, Brushy Canyon Formation,
West Texas." AAPG Field Guide #40.

Marshak, S. 2001. *Earth Portrait of a Planet.* New York: W.W. Norton &
Co.

USGS Learning Web, Rocks and minerals web page:
*http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/explorer/topic_rocks.htm*

Additional reading and other resources:

Amethyst Galleries Inc. Mineral Gallery web page:
*http://mineral.galleries.com/*

USGS Rocks and Minerals web page:
*http://geology.er.usgs.gov/eastern/rocks.html*

![](media/image3.png){width="0.6in" height="0.8346456692913385in"}

### It's not your average Friday night; relative and absolute dating of geologic materials

**9-12**

## Lesson #4

> **Prerequisites:** some knowledge of elements

**Estimated time:** 2 Labs (50 min/ each)

**Location:** in lab

Learner outcomes

The learner will:

-   Understand the difference between relative dating and absolute
    dating techniques used to determine the age of geologic deposits.

-   Recognize some of the ways each dating technique may be used in the
    Carlsbad Caverns National Park area or local National Park.

**Vocabulary:** radiometric dating, half-life, geologic laws,
cross-cutting relationships, billions of years, Uranium/Thorium dating,
Potassium/ Argon dating, luminescence dating, electron-spin resonance
dating, absolute dating, cultural materials, Law of Horizontality, Law
of Superposition, Law of Uniformitarianism, crosscutting relationships,
biomarkers, volcanic ash, parent material, daughter product, elements,
radioactive decay, half-life, radiocarbon, biomarkers, ash, timeline,
schematic diagram, cross-section, exponential decay, x-y graph, results,
constant decay curve, average, unconformity

Background information

Geologists determine the age of rocks through two different methods:
relative dating and absolute dating. Relative dates of rocks are
determined using standard geologic laws (Law of Horizontality, Law of
Superposition, and Law of Uniformitarianism), crosscutting
relationships, fossils, and cultural materials to tell "relative ages"
from one geologic unit relative to another. The Law of Horizontality
suggests that layers of rock are deposited horizontally and those that
are not horizontal have been subjected to later movement. The Law of
Superposition states that the lower layers of rock are older than those
deposited above them. And the Law of Uniformitarianism suggests that
Earth processes that occur today occurred in the past and produced
similar geologic features. Crosscutting relationships look at how rocks
and sediments are deposited in relation to each other (if a river erodes
a previous river deposit and then the new river deposits sediment, the
younger deposit versus older layer may be deciphered. As organisms and
humans have evolved through time, fossils and archaeological sites may
also give a relative age to the rock in which they are found. Any of
these relative dating techniques or a combination of several of them
enable geologists to determine that "rock layer X is older than the
layer below it, rock layer Y," but they do not allow geologists to
attach an age number to the rocks.

For determining the age of a rock in more specific numbers, geologists
need to absolutely date the rocks. While there are different methods of
absolute dating techniques that cover different time spans (it is hard
to determine the age of rocks that are billions of years old!), the most
common way of determining absolute ages is with radiometric dating.
Radiometric dating can be performed on minerals within the rocks because
certain elements within the minerals decay through time at a known rate.
Radiocarbon dating, a form of radiometric dating that is performed on
carbon materials, may date carbon material grown the last 40,000 years.
Radiocarbon dating is useful in determining the age of archaeological
material as well as other carbon and carbon dioxide, such as that found
in carbonates and groundwater. Most cave decorations or speleothems are
dated with Uranium series (U-Th dating) techniques, another radiometric
dating technique however. In this lesson, students will learn the
difference between relative and absolute dating techniques through
hand-on activities.

**Pre-activity thought questions:** How can you tell the age of objects?
Rocks? Landscapes?

Assessments

-   Relative age timeline for schematic cross section

-   Relative age timeline for the Delaware Basin and Carlsbad Caverns
    National Park region

-   Graph of exponential decay

Procedure

> Activity #1: Relative dating
>
> Materials needed:

-   "Geologic" layers of cake

-   Containers of frosting

-   Candy "fossils" (M&Ms, sprinkles, etc.)

-   Schematic cross-sections (slide #19)

-   Relative dating sheets and overheads (slides #87-103)

> The teacher will:

-   Define relative dating, Law of Horizontality, Law of Superposition,
    crosscutting relationships, and Law of Uniformitarianism.

-   Demonstrate the law of horizontality, superposition, crosscutting
    relationships, and Uniformitarianism with a geologic cake of your
    area or the Guadalupe Mountains, the Delaware Basin, and Carlsbad
    Cavern.

-   Students should be given the schematic geologic cross-section to
    determine the relative ages of the rock units. Timelines for the
    successive geologic layers should be written in their science
    notebooks.

-   After they have tried to sort out the relative ages of the layers
    and written out their timeline, they should be given the matching
    set of the key handouts to crosscheck their work (students should
    cut off the lower, black part of the key handouts; this may also be
    demonstrated with the associated overhead transparencies).

-   Students should create a relative timeline for the Guadalupe
    Mountains using the cross-section for homework.

> Activity #2: Absolute dating
>
> Materials needed:

-   M&Ms or pennies (100 each group)

-   Plastic containers with lids

-   Graph paper

> The teacher will:

-   Define absolute dating and discuss several types.

-   Give students, separated in groups, a plastic container filled with
    100 pennies or M&Ms.

-   Have them turn the pennies or M&Ms face up (either heads up or with
    the Ms showing, respectively). X-Y graphs should be discussed
    because this experiment should be plotted on the graph paper with
    number of shakes on the x-axis and the number of heads/Ms remaining
    face-up on the y-axis.

-   The students should shake the plastic container (with the lid on)
    just once and remove the pennies or Ms facing downward and count the
    number of remaining heads or Ms face up. Again, students should plot
    results after each shake.

-   Continue the process until all the pennies or M&Ms have faced down
    and have been removed from the container. Students should produce
    exponential decay curves representing the exponential decay of
    elements, which is measured in the laboratory to produce a "constant
    decay rate" that is used in absolute dating.

**Follow-up questions:** In what instances would you use relative
dating? Where would you use absolute dating? How do you think the ages
of the Delaware Basin and Carlsbad Cavern were determined?

Alternative assessments

-   Have students research specific radiometric dating techniques (i.e.
    radiocarbon, electron spin resonance, luminescence dating,
    Uranium-Thorium dating, Potassium-argon dating, etc.)---be sure they
    include the type of material that is dated, the half-life of the
    element, and the time span applicable.

-   Research the specific dating controls used in the Delaware Basin and
    Carlsbad Caverns National Park or your local National Park.

**Bibliography**

Marshak, S. *Earth Portrait of a Planet*. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
2001.

USGS geologic time web page: *http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/*

**Additional reading and other resources**

Minnesota State University Archaeology Department web page:
*http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/archaeology/dating/index.shtml*

Montana State University Dating Vocabulary:
*http://btc.montana.edu/nten/trc/lesson5/vocab5_text.shtml*

Suggestions for constructing a geologic cake

1)  Be sure to have ample cake mix (different types of cake mixes help
    to visualize different formations), frosting, and pans (cookie
    sheets work well if filled).

2)  Construct the cake with student participation in class while
    explaining the geology through time.

3)  Guadalupe Mountains offers a nice way to demonstrate the
    accumulation of sediment through time and the cake may be modeled
    after the cross section (slide #19). It may be done just with the
    backreef Seven Rivers, Yates, and Tansill Formations, the reef
    Capitan Formation, and the forereef and basinward Bell Canyon
    Formation. Be sure to add fossils in the reefs!

4)  Other good props for geologic cakes in other areas are: whipped
    cream, pudding, and use of knives for erosion.

5)  If possible, cut the cake and show the students the inner cross
    section of the "geologic layers."

6)  Be creative, have fun, and *bon appetite*!

![](media/image3.png){width="0.6in" height="0.8346456692913385in"}

### Ocean-front property in New Mexico? Where did the oceans go?

> **9-12**

## Lesson #5

> **Prerequisites:** understanding of Permian geography in the southwest
>
> **Estimated time:** 2 Labs (50 min/ each)
>
> **Location:** in lab

**Learner outcomes**

The learner will:

-   Understand the external forces that aid landscape evolution.

-   Apply this understanding to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the
    Delaware basin area, or your local geography.

**Vocabulary:** internal mechanisms, external mechanisms, external
forces, lithology, feedbacks, landscape evolution, mineralogy,
lithology, fractures, feedbacks, climate change, tectonics, carbon
dioxide, water vapor, methane, eccentricity, sea level, glacier,
convection, ecology, hydrologic cycle, oceanic cycle, gas cycle, tilt,
precession, obliquity, climate, evaporation/condensation rates, ocean
bottom water, ocean surface water, precipitation, climate change,
Milankovitch cycles, conveyor belt, greenhouse gas, solar energy, El
Niňo, uplift, orogeny, structure, fold, fault, compressional stress,
extensional stress, syncline, anticline, hanging wall, foot wall, normal
fault, reverse fault, evaporite, extinction, extinct, ice cores, ocean
cores, tree rings, pollen records, paleontological records, speleothems,
archaeological records, glacier, speleothems, Pleistocene Epoch,
groundwater, sulfuric acid, volcanics, uplift, Cretaceous Period,
physiographic provinces

Background information

While landscape evolution is dependent upon internal mechanisms to
control the ways in which it changes (mineralogy, lithology, fractures,
etc.), external driving mechanisms are responsible for causing landscape
changes. While there are many geologic responses to external forces and
feedbacks associated with each, the primary external mechanisms for
landscape change are climate change and tectonics.

Climate change is driven by changes in incoming solar energy, which
affects the global hydrologic, oceanic and gas cycles. Levels of solar
energy fluctuate regularly over various time spans. The most
recognizable fluctuations in solar energy, or solar cycles, are the
Milankovitch cycles that occur approximately every 21,000 years, 41,000
years, and 100,000 years due to alterations in the Earth's precession
(the wobbly path traced out by Earth's spinning axis which varies),
tilt, and eccentricity around the sun, respectively. These cycles alter
the Earth's climate by increasing or reducing the energy that drives
global cycles such as some atmospheric cycles (by increasing or
decreasing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor,
methane, etc.), the hydrologic cycle (through increasing temperature and
changing evaporation/ condensation rates which in turn change the global
cloud and ice coverage and thus lead to a rise or fall in sea level),
and the ocean cycle, or ocean conveyor belt (a global circulation of the
oceans that mixes the warm water with the cold water). An example of a
climate change due to a change in the oceanic cycle is El Niňo, which
occurs every 3 to 7 years due to shifting of the warm surface water in
the Pacific Ocean.

Each of these cycles affects the global climate and in turn alters
regional ecology and geology. Thus, geological and ecological records
are excellent measures of past climate changes. Records that are
reliable measures of past climate changes are rock records (geology),
ice cores, ocean cores, tree rings, pollen records, paleontological
records, speleothems, and archaeological records.

Tectonics also plays a major role in shaping the global landscape. While
plate tectonics is a major force in forming and shaping the global
landmasses, small scale structural changes in regional geology also play
a large role in the evolution of landscapes. Plate tectonics affects
landscapes through either compressional or extensional stresses. These
stresses create folds, bends, or wrinkles in rock layers, and/or faults,
fractures in rocks where one body of rock slides past another, in the
rocks they are acting upon. Folds may be simply divided into two major
types: those where rocks are buckled up into a hump, called anticlines,
and those where layers of rock are folded into a U-shape, called
synclines. There are also several different types of faults, however all
faults are described by the relative motion of the upper side of the
break, called the headwall or hanging wall, in respect to the lower side
or the footwall. A normal fault is a fault in which the hanging-wall
block moves down the fault slope in relation to the footwall whereas a
reverse, or thrust fault, is a steeply dipping fault on which the
hanging wall slides up relative to the footwall.

Both climate change and tectonics have affected the geology and ecology
of the Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Park area since
the Permian Period. At the end of the Permian Period, the sea level in
the area dropped leaving behind thick evaporite deposits. At this time,
a massive global extinction also occurred and nearly 90% of all life on
the Earth, such as most of those fossils seen at Carlsbad Caverns
National Park, became extinct. Millions of years later, in the
Cretaceous, a shallow sea returned to North America leaving marine
deposits in mid-continent America once again. During the last million
years, in the Pleistocene Period, North America has been subjected to
glacial advances---the most recent of which occurred a mere 18,000 years
ago. While the glaciers did not advance as far south as New Mexico and
Texas, the climate in the region is believed to have been considerably
cooler and wetter. It was at this time that many of the cave
decorations, or speleothems at Carlsbad Caverns National Park were
probably formed.

Tectonics also played a large role in the formation of the Guadalupe
Mountains and Carlsbad Cavern. After the Capitan Reef was formed in the
Permian Period, the basin filled with evaporites and other sediments.
However, during the Tertiary Period, regional uplift began to raise the
sturdy Permian deposits and the overlying material was eroded off. This
increasing uplift allowed the groundwater, rich in sulfuric acid from
the mixing of H~2~S gas with the oxygen in the water to lower in level
and carve out the lower caves. Therefore, caves deepest in the mountains
are those most recently formed. These caves are later believed to have
been decorated during the more moist Pleistocene Epoch when the abundant
water flowed through the rocks, dissolved some of the limestone, and
redeposited the calcite as cave decorations or speleothems.

In this lesson, students will examine two common external factors that
control geologic landscapes: climate and tectonics. When complete,
students should understand the role of each in the geology of the
Guadalupe Mountains and in modern geologic events.

Pre-activity thought questions: Do landscapes change through time? What
are possible causes for changes in landscapes? How have changing
climates and tectonics affected Carlsbad Cavern and Guadalupe Mountains?
Have changing climates and tectonics affected our area?

Assessments

-   Presentations

-   Structure diagrams

Procedure

> Activity #1: Climate change; its causes and effects:
>
> Materials needed:

-   Global Geography slides (slides #11-18)

> The teacher will:

-   Define climate change.

-   Discuss different mechanisms for climate change (solar flux and
    Milankovitch cycles, ocean conveyor belt, greenhouse gases, etc.)
    and show the paleogeography changes through time.

-   Divide class into four groups with the following headings and have
    each person in the group research a topic under the heading (these
    topics may be modified depending on the size of the class and the
    resources available):

-   Causes for past climate changes

-   Solar fluctuations

-   Ocean fluctuations

-   Tectonics (mountain building and volcanics)

-   Greenhouse gases

-   Records of climate change

-   Ice cores

-   Marine cores

-   Tree-rings

-   Speleothems

-   Environments in the Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns
    National Park through time

-   Permian Period

-   Cretaceous Period

-   Pleistocene Epoch

-   Future Climate Change

-   Potential causes

-   Possible effects

-   Potential cures

-   Have each group present research and then individual students should
    write a summary/thought paper on what past climate change may tell
    us about the future climate.

> Activity #2: Tectonics and resulting geologic structures
>
> Materials needed:

-   Clay (3 sticks for each pair of students)

-   Structure slides (slides #112 -- 115)

-   Science notebooks

> The teacher will:

-   Review plate tectonics. Discuss how this might have affected the
    southwest and Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

-   Talk about converging physiographic provinces.

-   Discuss the smaller scale effects this has on a local region (define
    types of folds and faults---these may be demonstrated in front of
    the class with the foam used in lesson #2).

-   Split students up into pairs and have them model each of the folds
    and faults in three layers of rock made out of clay. Have them draw
    the cross-sections of these features in their science notebooks.

-   Look at the present configuration of the Guadalupe Mountains and
    Carlsbad Cavern---discuss the role of tectonics in the formation of
    these features.

**Follow-up questions:** What might the landscape of southeastern New
Mexico and west Texas look like had there not been the uplift and
erosion since the Permian? Which climate record do you think is the most
reliable? What might be other climate records? What do you believe the
climate will be like in the future? How do you think humans might
prepare for future climate and tectonic changes?

Alternative assessments

-   Have students construct paper fault models from the USGS
    (*http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/parks/deform/7modelsa.html*)

-   Have students research some of the famous faults and folds (San
    Andreas Fault in California, the Black Hills dome, etc.).

-   Research the tectonic activity in your area---are there faults? Are
    there folds?

Bibliography

Bebout, D.G. and C. Kerans. 1993. *Guide to the Permian Reef Geology
Trail, McKittrick Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, West Texas.
Guidebook 26.* Austin, TX: Bureau of Economic Geology.

Caves Reveal Climates Project Proposal:
*http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ogp/papers/gonzale.html*

Hill, C.A. 1996. "Geology of the Delaware Basin Guadalupe, Apache, and
Glass Mountains New Mexico and West Texas." Permian Basin Section --
SEPM. Pub. No. 96-39.

Marshak, S. 2001. *Earth Portrait of a Planet*. New York: W.W. Norton &
Co.

NOAA's "Paleo-perspective" webpage:
*http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/home.html*

**Additional reading and other resources**

Climate Internet links: *http://www.istl.org/01-fall/internet.html*

![](media/image3.png){width="0.6in" height="0.8346456692913385in"}

### Bridge over troubled waters: What is an aquifer and how can we protect our groundwater?

> **9-12**

## Lesson #6

> **Prerequisites:** knowledge of sedimentary layers
>
> **Estimated time:** 2 Labs (50 min/ each)
>
> **Location:** in lab

**Learner outcomes**

The learner will:

-   learn about the water cycle, siliciclastic and karst aquifers,
    groundwater movement, and groundwater contamination through the use
    of models.

-   learn that both surface and groundwater follow laws of gravity.

-   learn that contaminants in the groundwater and surface water may
    affect the aquifer used for drinking water.

**Vocabulary:** hydrologic cycle, impermeable, permeability, porosity,
aquifer, aquitard, aquiclude, groundwater, confining layer, confined
aquifer, permeable, impermeable, unconfined aquifer, contamination,
wells, recharge, emergence, siliciclastic, karst, potentiometric,
alluvial, evaporite, models, surface water, fresh water, saline water,
brine, confining layer, springs, pore spaces, cracks, fissures,
connectivity, interlocking crystals, sediments, caverns, water table,
precipitation, artesian wells, wells, Ogallala Aquifer, Capitan Aquifer,
Great Plains, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), volume, discharge,
injection well, infiltration, runoff, ecology

Background information

Water, an integral component to life on Earth, is found in many forms
all of which participate in the hydrological cycle. About 80% of the
Earth is covered with water, however only 3% of this abundant supply is
freshwater, 2% of which is locked up in glaciers, making only 1% of the
global water available for human consumption. This freshwater is divided
into surface water, water found on the surface of the Earth (rivers,
lakes, springs, etc.), and groundwater, water that is found below the
surface of the Earth.

Groundwater, unlike a river or other surface waters, does not move
quickly. Instead, groundwater moves through the pore spaces between
sediment grains (sand, gravel, silt) or in cracks and fissures of
impermeable rocks (granite, limestone, basalt, evaporites, etc.). The
sediment or rock that easily stores, conducts, and transmits large flows
of groundwater is called an aquifer. The rate of groundwater movement is
dependent on the sediment or rock porosity, the amount of empty space
between the sediment or in the rocks, and permeability, the connectivity
of these empty spaces allowing water to flow through. Some rocks have a
higher permeability and porosity making them good aquifers (i.e.
sandstone or gravel), whereas others contain interlocking crystals
(igneous rocks) or are so compact (metamorphic rocks and mudstones) that
water is unable to pass through them at all. These rocks that act as
barriers to groundwater flow are called aquicludes or aquitards. The
larger the porosity and permeability, the more water the aquifer can
hold and the faster it is able to travel through. Variations in
permeability and porosity may also be found between aquifers in
siliciclastic sediments such as sand or gravel and karst aquifers. In
general, the large fissures and caverns found in karst landscapes are
excellent aquifers when below the water table.

Aquitards often separate different aquifers making some confined (those
below the aquiclude and not in contact with water from precipitation on
the surface) or unconfined (those above any aquiclude and in direct
communication with the surface waters). Both types of aquifers need to
have some input of water however to maintain water levels if being
pumped by humans. These areas are called recharge areas where water is
able to enter the aquifer. Water in aquifers moves very slowly. Some
water in aquifers may be thousands of years old!

Wells for cities and housing are placed into aquifers and contamination,
either from wells or from surface water connected to groundwater, will
affect all those wells in the area. Clean up of such contamination is a
very difficult and slow process since the water is below the surface.

In Carlsbad Caverns National Park, water comes from the local Capitan
Aquifer in the Capitan Formation and seeps off of it at the natural
artesian wells at Rattlesnake Springs. Much of New Mexico and Texas use
water from the large Ogallala Aquifer, which is in the Ogallala
Formation's sands and gravels that extend along the Great Plains from
Texas to north of Nebraska.

**Pre-activity thought questions:** How much fresh water is there in the
world? Where does the water we drink come from? Can human activities
affect our drinking water?

Assessments

-   Groundwater models

-   Definitions in science notebooks

Procedure

> Activity #1: Groundwater models and water table gradient
>
> Materials needed:

-   64 oz. Glad container (or any other larger sized clear container)

-   coarse sand or fine gravel

-   clay-based modeling clay

-   straws

-   coffee filters

-   water

-   food coloring

-   Groundwater slides (slides #40-48)

-   Science notebooks

-   Potentiometric map (slide #83)

> The teacher will:

-   Discuss the water cycle and where local drinking water comes from.

-   Define the terms permeability and porosity.

-   Demonstrate permeability and porosity with fine sand, gravel, and
    simulated karst (Styrofoam with holes carved out) in two beakers
    filled with water (see supplement #).

-   Define the terms aquifer, groundwater, confining layer, permeable
    layer, confined aquifer, unconfined aquifer, and well.

-   Have groups of three or four students build the two groundwater
    models.

-   Once the models are constructed, the students should sketch them in
    their notebooks labeling each layer correctly. Students should also
    compare and contrast the confined and unconfined aquifers, the
    siliciclastic and the karst models, recharge and emergence areas,
    etc.

-   Have students look at the "Potentiometric Map of the
    alluvial-evaporite aquifer.

-   On graph paper, students should map the groundwater gradient from A
    to A\' along the Black River on the map and compare to surface
    topography (how are the surface topography and groundwater table
    levels related?).

> Directions for constructing and experimenting with the siliciclastic
> ground water model:

1.  On one end of the Glad container, pile up some sand (this will be
    your confined aquifer).

2.  On the end of the tub with the sand, insert 2 straws covered with
    pieces of coffee filter on the bottom end (so as not to suck up
    sand)---make sure the straws are visible along the back so the level
    of the water table is determinable (it may be attached with clear
    plastic tape to ensure no movement) and that they don't touch the
    bottom so water can be inserted or withdrawn.

3.  Over this sand, place a clay layer (this is the aquitard or
    impermeable layer). Be sure not to poke any holes in the clay and
    plaster it tightly up against the straw and the walls of the
    container---not high up the sides though as the object of this model
    is to look at the sides of the model as well

4.  One of the straws in this layer should be designated the injection
    well---in this straw, inject enough water with green food coloring
    to saturate the sand. If this water is seen outside of the clay
    layer, you have sprung a leak---repair before continuing.

5.  On top of the clay, pour more sand at an angle to about 2/3 of the
    way up the sides. In this sand layer, place another two straws with
    coffee filters in the ends along the side (be sure not to poke
    through the lower clay layer).

6.  Over this layer of sand, place a strip of coffee filter over the
    upper end (the recharge area) and after making a depression at the
    lower end (a lake) cover it with coffee filter paper as well.

7.  Hold the coffee filters in place with colored clay along the sides
    (white for the recharge area and blue near the lake) and then cover
    the rest of the exposed sand with the heavy fabric (stuck to the
    sides with clay again) to demonstrate infiltration. This is the
    ground surface and the fabric weight may be changed to demonstrate
    changes in runoff.

8.  To demonstrate the experiment, slowly begin adding blue water in the
    higher end. Watch as the water moves with gravity to the lower end
    in the lake. Discuss the movement of groundwater with gravity and
    the interactions between groundwater and surface water.

9.  Discuss the groundwater table and observe the level in the
    wells---discuss the differences between confined and unconfined
    aquifers (this can be seen by "pumping" water out of the wells in
    each with a syringe or by sucking---if the sand has been cleaned).
    Which color water comes from which layer? Is there mixing?

10. Introduce a "contamination spill" into the recharge area differently
    colored dyed water). Which aquifer is affected? Which house would
    still have clean water? Would the ecology of the lake be affected?

> **Directions for constructing and experimenting with the karst ground
> water model:**

1.  Find a chunk of Styrofoam that fits snugly within the glad
    containers.

2.  Construct a 3\" tall and sloping to about ½ the length of the
    container cave out of Styrofoam by carving out holes and connecting
    passages in the Styrofoam to simulate caverns (be sure that the cave
    will remain snug in the container once carved and also have caverns
    on the side so the water flow may be viewed from the side.

3.  On the end of the tub with the cave, insert two straws, covered with
    pieces of coffee filter on the bottom end, along the side (so as to
    not suck up sand)---make sure the straws are visible along the back
    so the level of the water table is determinable (they may be
    attached with clear plastic tape to ensure no movement) and that
    they don't touch the bottom so water can be inserted or withdrawn.

4.  Over the cave place and attach a layer of pre-moistened coffee
    filters.

5.  On top of the filters, pour in some sand to the other end, still
    maintaining the slope.

6.  In the sand, place two straws along the end opposite the caves so
    they are visible along the end of the container.

7.  Over this layer of sand, place a narrow strip of coffee filter over
    the upper end and hold in place with tape or clay (the recharge area
    over the cave).

8.  Over this sand, place a clay layer (this is the impermeable surface
    layer). Be sure to only poke one hole in the clay at the lower end
    of the model to represent a seep. Also plaster the clay tightly up
    against the straws and the walls of the container---but not too high
    up the sides as the object of this model is to look at the sides of
    the model as well.

9.  One of the straws in the cave should be designated the injection
    well---in this straw, inject enough water with green food coloring
    to saturate the sand. If this water is seen outside of the clay
    layer, you have sprung a leak---repair before continuing.

10. To demonstrate the experiment, slowly begin adding blue water in the
    higher end. Watch as the water moves with gravity to the seep in the
    lower end. Discuss the movement of groundwater with gravity and the
    interactions between groundwater and surface water.

11. Discuss the groundwater table and observe the level in the
    wells---discuss the differences between siliciclastic and karst
    aquifers. Which holds a greater volume of water? Which has a higher
    porosity? Permeability?

12. Introduce a "contamination spill" into the recharge area differently
    colored dyed water). Is the cave contaminated? Does the
    contamination spread to the seep (surface water)?

> Activity #2: Cave Contamination
>
> Materials needed:

-   Hydrology exercise

-   Science notebooks

-   Calculators

> The teacher will:

-   Discuss ground water contamination problems and potential effects
    upon the cave.

-   Have students brainstorm about potential contamination from surface
    water to ground water and water within Carlsbad Cavern.

-   After explanation of the Hydrology exercise, assign the exercise to
    the students.

-   Discuss the results of the exercise and lead an in-class discussion
    on the "Things to Consider" section.

**Follow-up questions:** In which aquifer would contamination be the
least of a threat? How is it possible to clean a contaminated aquifer?
Which aquifer could support the most people without being affected?

Alternative assessments

-   Have students research actual groundwater contamination cases and
    analyze the results and the effects upon people (one well known case
    is depicted in the movie "Erin Brockovich").

-   Research your local aquifer and the chemicals detected within the
    water

-   Research contamination cases found in other caves and discuss
    potential management policies to reduce the problems

**Bibliography**

Hill, C.A. 1996. "Geology of the Delaware Basin Guadalupe, Apache, and
Glass Mountains New Mexico and West Texas." Permian Basin Section --
SEPM. Pub. No. 96-39.

Marshak, S. 2001. *Earth Portrait of a Planet*. New York: W.W. Norton &
Co.

Environmental Protection Agency:
*http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/edresources/water_5.html*

United States Geological Society:
*http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html*

NSS Geology Fieldtrip guidebook. 1986.

**Hydrology Exercise**

**By Paul Burger, Carlsbad Caverns National Park Hydrologist**

**Objectives:** To calculate how much contaminated water runs off the
parking lots at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. To determine the mass of
some contaminants being carried into the cave on a yearly basis.

**Important Conversion Factors**

> **[Multiply]{.underline} [by]{.underline} [to get]{.underline}**
>
> Cubic feet 7.48 gallons
>
> Liters 0.264 gallons
>
> Milligrams 2.2 x 10^-6^ pounds

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="6.495138888888889in"
height="4.404861111111111in"}

**Part I: Water flow from the parking lots**

> **Paved Area**
>
> Bat Cave Draw Parking Lot: 100,290ft^2^
>
> Visitor Center East: 188,280 ft^2^
>
> Visitor Center West: 169,200 ft^2^
>
> **Rainfall**
>
> 0.5 inches of rain carry most of the contaminants
>
> 10 storms of 0.5 inches of rain/year

What is the total flow off of each parking lot per 0.5-inch storm, in
gallons? What is the total flow per year?

**Part II: Amount of contamination entering the cave**

> **Chemistry of Runoff**
>
> Aluminum 4.3 ppm (mg/l)
>
> Zinc 0.391 ppm (mg/l)
>
> Total Dissolved Solids 215 ppm (mg/l)

How much aluminum is washed into the cave from the parking lots each
year, in pounds? Zinc? Total solids? How much for each of these in ten
years?

**Part III: Things to Consider**

What non-geologic controls are there on infiltration?

Why would the chemistry of the pools be different than the chemistry of
the parking lot runoff?

What would be some ways to stop this contamination?

![](media/image3.png){width="0.6in" height="0.8346456692913385in"}

> **This is worse than Swiss cheese! What is karst why is it
> important?**

**9-12**

## Lesson #7

> **Prerequisites:** knowledge of carbonate minerals and groundwater

**Estimated time:** 1 Lab (50 min)

**Location:** in lab

**Learner outcomes**

The learner will:

-   Learn about karst and some karst features.

**Vocabulary:** karst, dolines, soluble, sinkholes, sinking stream,
resurgence, recharge, dissolution, disappearing streams, ephemeral
stream, perennial stream, limestone, dolomite, marble, gypsum, halite,
caves, chemical reactions, acid, carbonate, carbon dioxide (CO~2~),
water (H~2~O), carbonic acid (HCO~3~^-^), calcite (Ca^2+^), solution,
permeate, evaporate, speleothem, sulfuric acid (H~2~SO~4~), Parks Ranch,
Black River, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, National
Speleological Society

Background information

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Guadalupe Mountains, and Delaware Basin
are noted for their exquisite karst landforms. A karst landscape is one
that is produced primarily through the dissolving of soluble rocks, such
as limestone, dolomite, marble, gypsum, and halite. The dissolution of
rock to create features such as caves, sinkholes, and disappearing
rivers is accomplished through several different chemical reactions
which involve the incorporation of other chemicals into groundwater or
surface water that then create acids capable of dissolving rocks.

Karst is primarily formed in limestone or other carbonate rocks. This is
most commonly done when carbon dioxide (CO~2~) from the atmosphere or
from soil organics is incorporated with water (H~2~O) creating a mild
carbonic acid (HCO~3~^-^). As this acid flows through carbonate rocks,
the rocks are dissolved and the calcite (Ca^2+^) is taken up into
solution.

CaCO~3~ + H~2~O + CO~2~  Ca^2+^ + 2 HCO~3~^-^

When this solution permeates into a pre-dissolved cave, the drops come
down from the roof or along the walls of the cave, the water evaporates,
and limestone cave decorations are produced.

Ca^2+^ + 2 HCO~3~^-^  CaCO~3~ + H~2~O + CO~2~

This is typically how limestone caves are formed and how Carlsbad Cavern
was decorated. The initial dissolution of the limestone in the caves of
Carlsbad Caverns National Park was uniquely due to sulfuric acid
instead.

The sulfuric acid (H~2~SO~4~) was formed when hydrogen sulfide gas
(H~2~S) from the hydrocarbons in the basin migrated upwards into the
Capitan Formation. In the Permian Reef deposits, the H~2~S mixed with
dissolved oxygen (O~2~) in the groundwater (H~2~O) and formed a strong
sulfuric acid.

H~2~S + O~2~  H~2~SO~4~

Sulfuric acid is much stronger than the carbonic acid that forms most
caves thus the dissolution resulted in larger caverns than most carbonic
acid caves. With such great amounts of sulfur in the water and dissolved
limestone, deposition of gypsum, CaSO~4~-2(H~2~O), occurred in the cave
and may be seen as massive blocks within Carlsbad Cavern's Big Room.
Native Sulfur may also be found at some locations within the cave. As
the Guadalupe Mountains were uplifted, the groundwater level dropped
creating a series of downward-stepping large rooms, believed to have
formed at water table level, connected by steep, smaller passages.

In the basin, karst formations are found in gypsum, CaSO~4~-2(H~2~O),
and halite, NaCl, layers rather than the limestone in the uplands. In
the Delaware Basin, karst features such as sinkholes, caves such as
Parks Ranch, and sinking rivers such as the Black River may be seen. In
this lesson, students will learn about karst and understand that
Carlsbad Cavern and other caves are just one karst feature.

**Pre-activity thought questions:** Are all aquifers the same? How do
caves form? If caves can form in limestone and other carbonates, what
other features might also be found in those rocks due to
erosion/deposition by water?

Materials needed

-   AGI "Living with Karst" booklet (available from the AGI publication
    office: *http://www.agiweb.org/pubs/pubdetail.html?item=630601*)

-   USGS Karst paper model
    (*http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/parks/cave/karstmodel.html*)

-   Glue

-   Scissors

-   Science notebooks

-   Delaware Basin hydrology maps (slide #83 and 84)

Assessments

-   Definitions in science notebooks

-   Karst model

-   Labeled maps

Procedure

The teacher will:

-   Assign chapters 1-4 from the AGI "Living with Karst" booklet and
    have students define the bold terms in their science notebooks.

-   Discuss these terms and the AGI material with the class.

-   Discuss the chemical reactions that occur to cause dissolution of
    karst and formation of cave decorations, or speleothems.

-   Have individual or pairs of students construct a karst paper model
    from the USGS Report.

-   Students should compare features in this model and terms they
    learned from the AGI paper to maps of the region.

-   Have the students locate and label karst features on the maps (i.e.
    sinking rivers, dolines, etc.).

**Follow-up questions:** What are potential problems with such a large
karst area? What potential effects might use of this region have on
groundwater supplies? How should this area be managed?

Alternative assessments

-   Have students research karst remediation practices.

-   Have students research local land use practices of the area (contact
    the Bureau of Land Management).

-   Contrast this region and the karst caves formed in the gypsum to
    Carlsbad Cavern and other karst areas around the country (Florida,
    Mammoth Cave, etc.).

**Bibliography**

Veni, G., DuChene, H., Crawford, N.C., Groves, C.G., Huppert, G.N.,
Kastning, E.H., Olson, R., and B.J. Wheeler. 2001. *Living with Karst -
A Fragile Foundation.* American Geological Institute.

Jagnow, D.H. and H.R. DuChene. 1986. *NSS Geology Field Trip Guidebook.*

Hill, C. A. 1996. "Geology of the Delaware Basin Guadalupe, Apache, and
Glass Mountains New Mexico and West Texas." Permian Basin Section --
SEPM. Pub. No. 96-39.

Marshak, S. 2001. *Earth Portrait of a Planet*. New York: W.W. Norton &
Co.

![](media/image3.png){width="0.6in" height="0.8346456692913385in"}

> **Caves... a journey to the center of the Earth**
>
> **9-12**

## Lesson #8

> **Prerequisites:** knowledge of carbonate minerals and groundwater
>
> **Estimated time:** 1 Lab (50 min)
>
> **Location:** in lab

Learner outcomes

The learner will:

-   Understand that there are different types of caves which are formed
    differently.

-   Learn about the unique caves at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

-   Learn and recognize various cave decorations, or speleothems.

-   Learn how to read a plan view cave map.

**Vocabulary:** cave, speleothem, dissolution, plan view map, map
symbols, legend, ammonite, balloon, brachiopods, carbonic acid,
cementation, columns, deflected stalactites, dolomite, draperies,
flowstone, geochronology, gypsum, guano, helictites, hydromagnesite,
limestone, moonmilk, National Park Service, paleokarst, pearls, popcorn,
soda straw, stalactite, stalagmite, speleogenesis

Background information

There are many different caves found throughout the world. Common types
of caves are: lava tube caves, glacier caves, sea caves, and solution
caves. Lava tube caves are formed when the outer layer of a lava flow
cools and solidifies forming a lava tube, a conduit for lava flow below
the surface. Glaciers form glacier caves when meltwater flows under
glaciers and erodes passages in the ice. And sea caves are created along
coastlines when waves crash into the shore and erode the coastal
material. Dissolution caves, which form when acidic waters flow into
soluble rocks (limestone, gypsum, etc.), are of primary interest to this
lesson however.

Two types of dissolution caves are found in karst environments.
Dissolution caves similar to Mammoth Cave and many others in the
southeastern United States are formed by acidic running water through a
karst landscape which eventually creates flow patterns below the surface
of the ground. Other dissolution caves, such as Carlsbad Cavern and
other caves in the Guadalupe Mountains, were formed by acidic
groundwater in carbonate rocks rather than flowing water. This
dissolution of the ancient reef occurred when the groundwater, laden
with sulfuric acid formed from the mixture of hydrogen sulfide and
dissolved oxygen in the water, preferentially flowed along joints and
fractures dissolving out cave passages.

In the first type of dissolution caves, as the acidic water (usually
carbonic acid) flows through the carbonate rocks it carries the
dissolved calcite. This saturated solution deposits the calcite in the
form of cave decorations, or speleothems, once it hits the air and the
water evaporates. In the second dissolution cave, the speleothems are a
formed during a second time of deposition rather than simultaneous with
the sulfuric acid dissolution. In Carlsbad Cavern, after the initial
sulfuric acid dissolution of the large caverns, a second period of
decoration occurred as carbonic acid, flowing through the rocks during a
wet period, became saturated with calcite and deposited speleothems.

Common speleothems seen in Carlsbad Cavern and other dissolution caves
are: stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, columns, draperies, popcorn,
flowstone, and pearls.

Speleothems, each type forming differently, create the decorations seen
in many of the show-caves that may be visited today. Stalactites and
stalagmites, two common speleothems, are often confused. Stalactites are
conical speleothems that begin as a plugged soda straw on the ceiling
and grow with precipitation from carbonate-rich water flowing down with
gravity (stalactites hang "tite" to the ceiling) whereas stalagmites are
speleothems composed of massive calcite mounds deposited from dripping
water that grow upwards (stalagmites "mite" reach the ceiling). Soda
straws and columns represent the birth and maturity of stalactites and
stalagmites. Soda straws are hollow, elongate, and generally translucent
tubes representing the earliest growth of stalactites, while columns are
joined stalagmites and stalactites or the union of a stalactite or a
stalagmite with the floor or the ceiling, respectively. Draperies are
speleothems that resemble curtains along an overhung surface and pearls
are concentric spherical, cylindrical, elliptical, and even cubical
concretions found in shallow cave pools. Cave popcorn is a knob-shaped
speleothem in contrast to the smooth flowstone, which forms in thin
layers, taking the shape of the underlying floor.

These speleothems are used as landmarks when people create maps of
caves. In this lesson, students will learn about common types of
speleothems and be able to recognize them.

**Pre-activity thought questions:** How do caves form? Are all caves
formed in the same way? What processes form the delicate cave
structures? How do people explore and map caves? How are cave resources
protected?

Assessments

-   Science notebook notes

-   Speleothem quiz

Materials needed

-   March 1991 issue of National Geographic magazine featuring
    Lechuguilla Cave

-   "Caves & Caverns" video (available through Carlsbad Caverns National
    Park)

-   "Spirit of Exploration" video (available through Carlsbad Caverns
    National Park)

-   National Geographic Society "Mysteries Underground" video (available
    through National Geographic Society or *www.amazon.com*)

-   Photographs of Lechuguilla Cave at Carlsbad Caverns National Park
    (slides #53-78)

Procedure

> Cavern formation and speleogenesis
>
> The teacher will:

-   Assign the National Geographic article to students to read at home;
    be sure to have students note the different types of speleothems
    mentioned in the article.

-   Show the "Caves & Caverns" video (12minutes), the beginning of the
    "Spirit of Exploration" video, and National Geographic's "Mysteries
    Underground" in class and have students take notes on the cavern
    formation process.

-   Lead an in-class discussion comparing and contrasting the Guadalupe
    Mountains caverns and other caves.

-   Discuss speleogenesis and speleothems.

-   Show slides of Lechuguilla Cave to point out various types of
    speleothems; students should take notes on speleothem names and
    formation.

-   Administer a quiz on speleothem identification using several of the
    Lechuguilla slides.

**Follow-up questions:** How would map-making be different outside of a
cave? Does biology play a role in the formation of speleothems?

Alternative assessments

-   Have each student research the formation of a specific speleothem.
    They should present their research in a paper or a presentation to
    the class.

-   Research the role of biology in speleothem formation.

-   Examine other caves and compare and contrast their speleothems with
    Carlsbad Cavern.

**Bibliography**

Gillieson, D. 1996. *Caves: Processes, Development, Management.* MA:
Blackwell Publishers.

Cahill, T. 1991. "Charting the Splendors of Lechuguilla Cave." National
Geographic Society Magazine, vol. 179, no. 3.

Hill, C.A. 1996. "Geology of the Delaware Basin Guadalupe, Apache, and
Glass Mountains New Mexico and West Texas." Permian Basin Section --
SEPM. Pub. No. 96-39.

Marshak, S. 2001. *Earth Portrait of a Planet*. NY: W.W. Norton & Co.

"Caves & Caverns" video

"Spirit of Exploration" video

"Mysteries Underground" video, National Geographic Society

**Additional reading and other resources**

NSS News, October 1988, Special Issue: The exploration of Lechuguilla
Cave Part I.

NSS News November 1988, Special Issue: The exploration of Lechuguilla
Cave Part II.

![](media/image3.png){width="0.6in" height="0.8346456692913385in"}

> **Perpetually in the dark: Mapping caves**
>
> **9-12**

## Lesson #9

> **Prerequisites:** knowledge of carbonate minerals and groundwater,
> knowledge of basic geometry and trigonometry
>
> **Estimated time:** 2 Labs (50 min/ each)
>
> **Location:** in lab or in a cave

**Learner outcomes**

The learner will:

-   Understand the purpose of mapping caves.

-   Learn how caves are mapped.

-   Be able to read existing cave maps.

-   Learn how to map a cave with a compass, clinometer, and a measuring
    tape.

**Vocabulary:** Cave, surveying, compass, clinometer, compass
directions, azimuth scale, metric units, map scale, right triangle

Background information

Mapping caves is tricky business since modern technology such as Global
Positioning Systems (GPS) that use satellites to determine location may
not be used underground. Commonly cave mapping is done with survey teams
of at least three people using instruments such as a compass, a
clinometer, and a measuring tape. With these instruments, surveyors
determine the length, width, height, and slope of one section of cave
passage at a time. The length is measured with a measuring tape between
two people, as is the width when possible. If the cave is too wide or
the entire width is impassable then a triangulation is performed using
right triangles between two people. This triangulation is determined by
locating the length with the measuring tape between person 1 and person
2, X, and angles 1 and 2 with a compass. Lengths A and B can then be
determined by taking the tangent of the angle: tan 1= A/X and tan 2=
B/X. Then the width is equal to A + B. A similar triangulation is used
to determine the height of tall passages.

Once collected, the individual map sections are compiled to create a
plan view map, a map from above with landmarks drawn in, and a profile
map, a map slice through the cave to show elevation changes. This map
must be accurate because future visitors will use it to navigate the
cave. In addition, sketch artists usually draw cross-sections of the
cave passage at the measurement points and sketch other possible side
passages off the mapped path. In this lesson, students will learn how to
read existing plan view and profile maps. Students will also map their
own cave passage to compile a plan view and profile map.

**Pre-activity thought questions:** How are geological features mapped
today? How could caves be mapped if they are below ground? How could you
measure the height of a cave if it is too high to reach?

Materials needed

-   Maps of Carlsbad Cavern (slides 85 and 86)

-   Jim Nieland's "Cave Surveying" paper (supplement #1)

-   compass

-   measuring tape

-   clinometer (pre-made one or a protractor, straw, string, tape, and a
    weight)

-   science notebooks

-   if mapping a pseudo-cave in hall, need objects to represent
    stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and other speleothems.

Assessments

-   Speleothem notes in science notebooks

-   Annotated Carlsbad Cavern map

-   Survey notes in science notebooks

-   Final plan view and profile maps

Procedure

> Activity #1: Mapping caves and recognizing speleothems
>
> The teacher will:

-   Discuss map making in caves and explain the planview Carlsbad
    Caverns map and the map symbols.

-   Lead students on fieldtrip to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

-   In teams of two, have the students use the Carlsbad Caverns map to
    examine and describe speleothems in their notebooks and look for
    other formations not depicted on the map. All findings and
    descriptions should be marked as stations on the map and well
    described in their notes.

> Activity #2: Making your own cave map
>
> The teacher will:

-   Assign Jim Nieland's "Cave Surveying" paper.

-   Discuss the ways caves are mapped and the purpose of mapping caves.

-   Arrange students in groups of 3-4 for "surveying teams."

-   If in Carlsbad Caverns National Park or another cave, orient the
    students with a ranger and begin mapping the section assigned by the
    ranger.

-   If at the school, once a makeshift cavern has been established with
    "speleothems" in a hallway or several rooms, have surveying teams of
    3-4 students map the "cave" as they would a real cave passage.
    Symbols as those in Nieland's paper should be used on each map.

-   The teams of students should produce a plan-view and a
    cross-sectional map of their cave.

**Follow-up questions:** How easy is it to map a cave? In what ways
might your map be inaccurate? What might happen if a real cave is
inaccurately mapped?

Alternative assessments

-   Compare other cave maps to Carlsbad Cavern maps.

-   Visit other caverns in your area and attempt to map them as well.

**Bibliography:**

Nieland, J. *Cave Surveying*. SCS 7801 (available from Carlsbad Caverns
National Park).

Gillieson, D. 1996. *Caves: Processes, Development, Management.* MA:
Blackwell Publishers.

![](media/image3.png){width="0.6in" height="0.8346456692913385in"}

> **Geology is gneiss, but isn't it outdated? Why understanding geology
> is important today.**
>
> **9-12**

## Lesson #10

> **Prerequisites:** knowledge of basic geology concepts
>
> **Estimated time:** 1 Lab (50 min)
>
> **Location:** in lab

**Learner outcomes**

The learner will:

-   Understand the importance of geology today.

-   Learn about some of the geological fields that people are working in
    today.

**Vocabulary:** hydrocarbon, oil, natural gas, seismic profile, National
Park Service, United States Geological Survey

Background information

While geology is the study of the Earth and Earth processes over the
last 4.6 billion years, geological research is being conducted today. As
seen in this curriculum, there are many aspects of the Earth that still
need to be investigated and there are internal divisions within the
field of geology that focus specifically on the topics discussed here in
much greater detail.

Examples of careers in geology are: petroleum geologists,
geochronologists, geomorphologists, stratigraphers, and environmental
geologists. Petroleum geologists are involved in exploration for and
production of oil and natural gas resources. As most of own motor
vehicles for transportation and many of us use natural gas to heat our
homes, a petroleum geologist is imperative to find and maximize
retrieval of hydrocarbons. Geochronologists use the rates of radioactive
decay of certain elements in rocks to determine their age and the time
sequence of events in the history of the Earth. Absolute ages of
geologic deposits are necessary to help geomorphologists, those
geologists who study how the Earth's landscapes responds to specific
geologic events such as climate changes, tectonic events, or human
activity in hopes of predicting landscape changes in the future.
Stratigraphers also use geochronology to investigate the time and space
relationships of rocks, on a local, regional, and global scale
throughout geologic time. And environmental geologists study the
interaction between the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere,
and human activities. These environmental studies may be used to solve
problems associated with pollution, waste management, urbanization, and
natural hazards, such as flooding and erosion.

These geologists may work in the lab or in the field and are employed in
governmental agencies, industry, private companies, and universities.
Common workplaces in the government for geologists are: 1) the United
States Geological Survey, 2) the US Forest Service, 3) the Bureau of
Land Management, and 4) in many of the state Geological Surveys. In
these positions, geologists are often conducting research and helping to
determine resource management practices and policies. The oil industry
is a major employer of geologists as well as petroleum geologists
searching for hydrocarbons and environmental geologists ensuring that
minimal environmental damage is incurred when drilling for hydrocarbons.
In private companies, geologists are often on contracted, short-term
projects for other companies or the government. These positions may
require the geologist to take samples in the field, work in the lab, and
write technical reports summarizing the results. Universities also
employ geologists as educators and to conduct fieldwork and lab work on
large research projects.

Geologists at Carlsbad Caverns National Park are in hydrology and
interpretation. The role of the hydrologist in the park is varied---on a
given day, the park hydrologist may be collecting water samples from the
Carlsbad Cavern, mapping passages in new caves or making more accurate
measurements on existing maps, determining the best way to manage and
protect the cave resources, talking with visitors to the cave about the
geology of the area, or teaching a class on caving. As an interpretive
ranger, a geologist's primary responsibility is to teach the visitors to
the cave about the geological resources within the park. This may be
accomplished through tours, presentations at the park and in the
community, and developing written literature to hand out to visitors.

This lesson should be used to summarize the geologic concepts discussed
throughout the curriculum and give students an idea about the everyday
applications of and employment opportunities within geology.

**Pre-activity thought questions:** Why is geology important? How many
geological things do we use each day? What are they?

Assessments

-   Science notebooks

-   Student presentations

Materials needed

-   Science notebooks

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   AGI's web page brochure on geological careers:
    *http://www.earthscienceworld.org/careers/brochure.html*

Procedure

> How does geology affect our lives?
>
> The teacher will:

-   Lead a summary discussion on the lessons within this curriculum.

-   Brainstorm with students about the different ways in which we uses
    geology everyday:

    -   Oil

    -   Gas

    -   Metal

    -   Plasterboard (sheetrock is made out of gypsum)

    -   Salt

    -   Water

        -   Have students research different occupations within geology
            on the American Geological Institute's web page and present
            their findings.

        -   Invite a geologist into the classroom to discuss their
            career choices and responsibilities.

**Follow-up questions:** Could we live without geology? Can anyone be a
geologist?

**Bibliography**

Marshak, S. 2001. *Earth Portrait of a Planet*. NY: W.W. Norton & Co.

AGI's "Careers in the Geosciences" brochure:
*http://www.earthscienceworld.org/careers/brochure.html*

USGS webpage: *http://geology.usgs.gov/index.shtml*

Association for Women Geoscientists: *http://www.awg.org/*

The National Association for Black Geologists and Geophysicists (NABGG):
*www.nabgg.org*