User:NewEnglandRocks/sandbox

Sandbox drafting of edits to Geology of New England page

Original:

Ordovician Period

During the Middle Ordovician, during the Taconic orogeny, volcanic island arcs collided with the east coast of North America causing extensive metamorphism, faulting, and uplift, the result of which was the Taconic Mountains on the border of New York and New England. After the Taconic orogeny, the Humber seaway was on its way to closure and Dashwoods microcontinent accreted to Laurentia. This then led to the accretion of oceanic terranes including the Bay of Islands in Newfoundland and Thetford Mines Ophiolites in Quebec. Additionally, the Late-Ordovician-Early Silurian Mélange was present, which consisted of blueschists and deepwater deposits, and indicates that subduction continued during this time.

New:

Ordovician Period

During the Middle Ordovician period of the Taconic orogeny, volcanic island arcs collided with the eastern coast of North America, causing extensive metamorphism, faulting, and uplift. The result of these processes were the Taconic Mountains, located along the border of New York and New England. After the Taconic orogeny, the Humber seaway was on its way to closure; at the same time, the Dashwoods microcontinent accreted to Laurentia. This then led to the accretion of oceanic terranes including the Bay of Islands in Newfoundland and Thetford Mines Ophiolites in Quebec. Additionally, the Late Ordovician-Early Silurian mélange was present, which consisted of blueschists and deepwater deposits. These blueschists and deepwater deposits indicate that subduction continued during this period of time.

Article evaluation 9/09/2018

Chosen article: Emergency medicine

• Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
  • Yes, it's a broad overview with some history of EMS and specifics of how emergency medicine is conducted around the world.
• Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
  • Yes, it seems to be a general discussion of worldwide emergency medicine.
• Are there viewpoints that are over-represented, or underrepresented?
  • Some countries' descriptions have less information than others, which could support the claim that perhaps some elements are unevenly represented.
• Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
  • Links work, citations thorough and mainly to academic journals and other sources generally regarded to be at the forefront of EMS academia: ACEP, various journals throughout America and Europe, etc.
•  Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? 
  • Most facts and statistics are referenced properly with the correct citation format, although some specifics for paragraphs describing EMS in other countries are not supported. This is likely due to a lack of published material available to American or European editors verifying facts about EMS in developing countries.
• Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
  • EMS is a constantly evolving and changing profession, but it seems as if the page is as current as it could reasonably be expected to be.
•  Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? 
  • The talk page is somewhat of a chaotic ongoing debate over certifications, techniques, and some attention being called to proper citing.
• How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
  • It appears to be a c-class, although I've forgotten how exactly to find such information.
• How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
  • It is similar to the New England page in that it offers a breakdown under larger categories in a similar way our New England page does it for different periods and eras.

Paragraph for Geology of New England

Although there are not currently any active volcanoes in New Hampshire or New England, the White Mountains region of the state contains strong evidence of volcanic activity many millions of years ago. The first known formation of volcanoes in the White Mountains has been estimated to have occurred between the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods, and would have coincided with the separation of Pangaea. As Pangaea broke apart and land masses were shifting, large features like the White Mountains were formed; at the same time, as this multitude of cracks was occurring, magma rose up and filled many of these voids. In this manner calderas were formed throughout the White Mountains as magma receded; these calderas then subsequently erupted on a scale dwarfing the eruption of Mount St. Helens. The results of these massive eruptions can be found in such places as the Ossipee Mountains, which are located proximal to the White Mountains. The Ossipee Mountains contain substantial amounts of volcanic rock, and the many ring dikes across the region indicate that there was once an active volcano on the site. Volcanic rocks can also be found throughout the White Mountains beyond the Ossipee region, further confirming that eruptions occurred across the area millions of years ago. These volcanic rocks would have been useful for making various types of tools and weapons in more modern history.

Article evaluation 9/10/2017

Chosen article: Geology of Iceland

• Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
  • Yes, everything appears to be relevant to Icelandic geology and nothing really distracted me.
• Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
  • Yes, it does not seem like any ulterior motives exist in this article; it is an objective, scientific overview of Icelandic geology.
• Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
  • Some bullets could potentially benefit from some elaboration, but not knowing more about Icelandic geology, it does seem to be a fairly thorough article.
• Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
  • Links work, sources support the claims of the article, the first source does raise a question or two given that the author of the article has the article located on his own personal website. With that said, it is very thorough and the author seems to be an established expert given his extensive list of scientific publications.
•  Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? 
  • Statistics and other facts are referenced appropriately. Information comes from a variety of scientific sources, including the University of Iceland's website. They appear to be neutral.
• Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
  • The information seems to be current; it would seem as though some bullets under "Rock types" and "Geologic history" could benefit from having a sentence or two attached.
•  Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? 
  • In 2014, a user noted that the article could benefit from extensive expansion. In 2015, another user made a request for a list of the kinds of rocks that are in Iceland. In 2016, a user noted that he updated the article to include this list, and also suggested the page's sparsity is due to specialized pages and suggested linking them in/cross-referencing.
• How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
  • The article has been rated as a stub, and is a part of WikiProject Iceland and WikiProject Geology.
• How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
  • I decided to take a bit of liberty and branch out beyond the suggested articles, but this article discusses active tectonics, volcanoes, and other features of Iceland's diverse/somewhat unique landscape that we may not have yet covered in class in relation to New England.
• Optional feedback left on article under this username.