Exploring Tectonics & Seamounts with OOI Data

Through these Data Explorations, you can dive deeper into properties of seawater. The properties of seamounts and tectonics explored include: tectonic features and patterns found at divergent and transform boundaries, growth and decay of hydrothermal vents, and tectonic features and patterns of change at seamounts over time.


Data Explorations in this Collection

The Data Explorations are divided into 4 concepts, as outlined below. Each concept has 2-3 Data Exploration activities that can be used with students to augment your teaching of the concept through different phases of the Learning Cycle, based on what works best with your teaching.

Plate Boundary Features

Help students understand features of transform and divergent plate boundaries by working with earthquake data along the intersection of the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates.

Geologic Features of a Seamount

Help students understand how seamounts are actively changing at mid-ocean ridges by working with seafloor and oceanic data at the Axial Seamount, North Pacific Ocean.

Seamount Diking-Eruption Event Science

Help students understand how scientists use data and knowledge of processes at mid-ocean ridges to make predictions of future seismic and eruption events at the Axial Seamount, North Pacific Ocean.

Seismic Features at a Seamount

Help students understand features of seamounts by working with earthquake data at the Axial Seamount, North Pacific Ocean.

Vent Video Frames

Help students understand how hydrothermal vents evolve using a timeseries of snapshots from an HD Camera at Axial Seamount.


If you are a professor and are interested in more information about ways to utilize these Data Explorations, check out the Instructor's Guide for these activities.