OUTREACH INTERESTS

In collaboration with Tobias Wiethoff (Planetarium Bochum) and with some help from Takashi Nakagawa (JAMSTEC), I have been making first steps towards designing a geoscience full-dome planetarium show for outreach purposes. Download the movie below to check out our progress. In April 2015, I presented a preliminary version, as a combination of a traditional PowerPoint presentation with some full-dome science visualizations (and other full-dome sequences), at the Planetarium Bochum (check this out). I talked about the role of mantle convection and plate tectonics in sustaining life-friendly conditions on our planet. About a hundred interested lay people showed up and got interested into solid-Earth science. Another updated show is planned for May 2018. In the future, we inted to apply for funds to be able to develope a full-grown show that can reach a much greater audience.

Geosciences in the Fulldome Planetarium
The movie linked above gives a 3D perspective view of full-dome projections of plate-tectonic reconstructions and geodynamic simulations. In the first first part of the movie, plate-tectonic reconstructions using data from GPlates is shown with seafloor age in colors and continental lithosphere in black. The results of thermochemical whole-mantle convection simulations are represented in the second (colors: temperature), and third (colors: composition) parts. The simulation shown is similar to those described in detail Nakagawa & Tackley (EPSL, 2014).

MEDIA APPEARANCE

Wright, M (2015): Twin studies provide first explanations for boundary within Earth's mantle [(link)]

Witze, A. (2013): Under The Volcano, Nature (News) , 504, 206-207 [(link)]

Morton, M. C. (2013): East Pacific Rise volcanoes finally line up, Earth Magazine , June, 17-18 [(pdf)]

Koppers, A. A. P. (2011): Mantle Plume Persevere, Nature Geosciences (Focus) , 4, 12, 816-817 [(pdf)]



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