OCEANIC LIFE CYCLE OF TECTONIC PLATES:
Core Model Kits
We loan core models and interactive kits to educators for use in formal and informal education settings. Below is a list of items currently available. Please note: Contact Sharon (scooper@ldeo.columbia.edu) for information and to reserve a core model for loan.
The core models and kits listed in this section will help students develop an understanding of plate tectonics through hands-on investigation of ocean rocks and sediments.
Grades 9-12
- This model is a replica of a core retrieved in the Antarctic Peninsula on ODP Leg 178. It shows seasonal layers (laminae) composed of different diatom species that were deposited during the late Holocene and provides evidence for the changing climate and glacial retreat that took place in the region after the last ice age. This core section also contains a drop stone.
Tahitian Sea Level Change Core (IODP 310)
- Expedition 310 collected evidence of changes in sea level during the last deglaciation, including a record of temperature and salinity changes in the southern Pacific. The two 60cm replicas of 310-20A-22R-2 display coral sandstone and massive coral (Porites) in growth position with interbedded microbiolites (organosedimentary deposits). Cavities are filled with Halimeda (calcareous algae) segments, gastropods, bivalves and microbiolites.