High School Marine Geochemistry: An Introduction Into Marine Analysis

Environmental research encompasses many fields of science such as microbiology, climatology, marine biology, paleontology, and ecology just to name a few. Each of these fields contributes to our overall understanding of the complexities of our environment and how over time they have evolved and changed in many ways. In this class, students will be given an introduction into the field of marine geochemistry and learn about how different analysis, such as carbon dating and isotope geochemistry, have contributed to scientific research in areas of studying events altering the environment, such as understanding coastal and marine sediments and how instances such as oil spills have impacted the environment for years to come. They will also learn about some of the methods and analytical analysis used to evaluate isotope data and why it can be very challenging.

Week 1: What is isotope geochemistry and how does it contribute to research
Week 2: Nuclear waste and why it is so challenging to evaluate
Week 3: Evaluating trace metals in marine sediments and what can be learned from them
Week 4: Plate tectonics 

Students will work with Nearpod, an interactive software program that allows students to participate in discussion boards, answer short quizzes, and watch interactive videos that pertain to course material.