To get you up to speed with what to expect on the Hartley trip go to this website:

https://sites.google.com/view/sydney-chinatown/home

Here you will find a wealth of useful information and some sites you can visit to look at rock 'outcrops'. These are actually building stones used in Sydney. Go to two of these of your choice and make entries in your field notebook for each site. Make a sketch of the rocks and jot down any interesting observations about them. If you're not sure about a feature, note that down too (it is very common to see something in the field that you don't understand and which requires further investigation, it is one of the main reasons we go to the field!).

On the 'skills' page, there are a couple of short YouTube clips about how to keep a field notebook and make a good sketch of an outcrop. These are vital skills in geology, but also highly important in any area of science where you will be in a field environment.

For this task we are asking you to head out into your local area (following COVID rules) and find a rock outcrop that you can sketch. Sydney is blessed with an abundance of sandstone and shale outcrops in parklands, headlands, and along the roadside. Find a safe place to have a go at sketching one of these.

Remember to review the YouTube videos and include important features as well as things like GPS location (from your phone), time and date and direction of view.

When you get back, you can find out the name of the rock unit you were sketching by looking at the Sydney 1:100,000 geology map here: https://gmaps.geoscience.nsw.gov.au/100K/Sydney/ add that to your notebook.

Remember, this is not an art exercise, so do not worry if you are not the most artistic. It is about recording the relevant information. An pretty and artistic sketch that misses important features will never be as valuable as a basic sketch that records all the details!

If you are really struggling to find an outcrop near you, sketch part of one of the following models or choose your own from https://sketchfab.com/: Myrtle Beach unconformity or North Pebbles

In the field, we would take measurements of the orientation of layering in the rocks called 'Strike and Dip'. this tells us about the structure of the geology and the relationship of one rock unit to another. Typically we would use instruments called a compass and a clinometer (clino). You probably don't have these at hand, but luckily your smart phone is equipped as an able substitute! You can download a clinometer application (clino is a great one) or use the compass and level features most iPhone and Android phones have inbuilt.

Have a go on the outcrop you sketched for Task 2 or any tilted flat surface. You may find that there is not much dip on your outcrop (Sydney sandstone is pretty flat in most places). If that's the case you can try at home by placing a folder (or anything flat) at an inclined angle. This guide may help you when using a smart phone: Download these instructions for taking a strike and dip measurement.

Spend half an hour going through the mineral properties and features table from EESC1150 Practical 4. Knowing these are crucial to help you identify minerals and rocks in the field. There may be some questions on these in task 5 and your tutor will be picking your brains on these at the start of the quiz so be prepared.

Explore the Hartley introduction page here. There will be a short quiz on the EESC1150 iLearn site with a little bit about this and also asking you about some field safety basics which you can find on the skills page. Safety is a vital part of any field trip and should never be taken lightly. Knowing what to do if something goes wrong can save your life!

Once you have done everything, collate your work into a blog for your weekly post. Follow the usual instructions in iLearn about reflection and blog posting to demonstrate participation in the activities.