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Evolution of the Geology of Colorado
Paul Weimer, Geology
Professor Weimer proposed that ETH students create several interactive
3-D animated models showing the evolution of the geological features
of Colorado. Currently, ETH students are using Blender software
to create an animation of the movement of the shoreline belonging
to the ancient sea in eastern Colorado. Next, they plan to create
an animation of the volcanic origins of the San Juan mountain
range. Prof. Weimer would like to augment each animation by linking
them to audio clips of senior geologists explaining the complex
progression of geological events that formed the geological feature
shown in the model. Prof. Weimer will use these 3-D models in
his undergraduate class on the geography of the western United
States. He also believes such models could be employed as part
of a museum exhibit and as a basis for videos shown in K-12 classrooms.
Professor Weimer decided that the first animation should show
the changing shoreline of the Cretaceous seaway that covered Eastern
Colorado. He provided scanned color images from an oversized book
of geological maps, which show the sea at different points in
time. ETH students used Blender, a shareware 3-D modeling system,
to create the animation. This semester, Professor Weimer proposed
that an ETH student create an animation showing the volcanic origin
of the San Juan Mountains. Each volcano has a realistic appearance
because its shape is based on the topographical map of Mt. Saint
Helens, the style that the ancient San Juans were believed to
have similarities with. To show how the San Juans formed, the
student will put five similar volcanoes into a formation and have
them erupt at different points in time.
Inland sea movement through
time - Movie
Maps of the Inland seas
Volcanic Uprising -
Movie
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