From death and decay to database and display: a remote learning exploration of taphonomic processes in the astoria formation, oregon

In the Earth sciences, the need for virtual field experiences (VFEs) is rapidly expanding. Not only has the pandemic increased the need for VFEs for use in Earth science courses that had to be adapted for remote teaching, but ongoing accessibility challenges also necessitate the development of alternative options to in-person field experiences. Towards that end, the EPICC (Eastern Pacific Invertebrate Communities of the Cenozoic) TCN (Thematic Collections Network) produced a series of virtual field experiences that explore various aspects of the Astoria Formation, a Miocene-aged unit located on the scenic central Oregon Coast. The Astoria Formation VFE can help educators and their students explore the ecological, geological, and scientific forces that shape the fossil record along the Oregon Coast. As one module of the project, the EPICC VFE outreach team created a taphonomy-focused VFE, From death and decay to database and display: the journey of a fossil through time and space, designed to explore the process by which dead organisms become fossils. Place-based learning features heavily in this module through extensive use of photographs of modern faunal assemblages from Oregon Coast tidepools and beaches as well as in situ fossils of similar ecosystems preserved in the Astoria Formation. To help instructors implement this activity, a student guide was developed with active learning activities that can be modified for either classroom or lab activities. This learning tool is appropriate for a wide range of educational levels, from instructors of grades 7-12 to college instruction, in which ready-made VFEs can be integrated into physical and historical geology courses.