Neuroscientist Patricia Churchland explores how the human mind functions in guiding one's decisions. (55 minutes)
In this edition of "Grey Matters," Aniruddh Patel, of the Neurosciences Institute, discusses what music can teach us about the brain, and what brain science, in turn, can reveal about music. (51 minutes)
Join Stuart Lipton of The Burnham Institute and discover important anti-aging strategies, the latest drugs for degenerative disorders such as AlzheimerŐs disease and the potential use of human stem cells for neurological conditions. (57 minutes)
Students work in pairs to survey seafood items sold in local grocery stores or fish markets, recording whether items are farm-raised or wild caught, fresh, frozen or preserved, as well as country of origin. Students use the Seafood Watch website to research the status of each seafood item (e.g., best choice, good choice or avoid). Class data is compiled in an online or Excel spreadsheet. Students use class data to create bar graphs and pie charts of the data for the different categories. Students turn in individual analyses and answer questions based on class results.
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In spring 2020, the world was hit by a pandemic that spread globally by March, causing universities and most of the world to move to remote means. Summer field camps, long hailed as a rite of passage in the geosciences, were cancelled throughout the US. The community moved quickly, with NAGT developing remote learning tools and arranging for sharing and collaboration between instructors and institutions. As such, UNAVCO (GETSI) and University of Northern Colorado embarked on a data collection campaign for a summer field course entitled "Geoscience Field Issues Using High-Resolution Topography to Understand Earth Surface Processes" -- originally slated for in-person teaching. The team collected GNSS data, drone imagery for use in structure from motion, and terrestrial laser scanning from a site near Greeley, Colorado on the Poudre River. This assignment uses real-time kinematic GNSS methods to establish a ground control points used in Sheep Draw Structure from motion activity.
Day 3 Part 1 - This activity is part of the 2-week remote field course Geoscience Field Issues Using High-Resolution Topography to Understand Earth Surface Processes
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This activity is an interpretation of a ground penetrating radar (GPR) data set collected from a 19th century slave cemetery in North Carolina.
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In this activity, students use a seismic hazard map from the USGS to estimate the ground shaking hazard
Screenshot of seismic hazard map
Provenance: Carla Whittington, Highline Community College
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in their community. The map shows a 10% probability of ground accelerations reaching or exceeding a certain % of gravity within the next 50 years. Students then adjust the acceleration value for the soil conditions/geologic materials that their home sits on. Once the acceleration hazard is determined, students equate that hazard to the Mercalli Intensity Scale and investigate the potential damage expected at their homes. Students also take into consideration housing types and the weaknesses inherent in different types/ages of structures.
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In groups, students are given a scenario of a leaking underground storage tank. They must decide where to sample on the map while staying within budget. Students progressively collect more data and use them to make an interpretation of the direction of groundwater flow and extent of the contamination. The activity requires that students use their limited resources to solve a real-world problem.
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Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown this diagram and told, "A storm event releases chemicals stored at the farm that end up in the groundwater. Click on the well that is most likely to be contaminated."
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Working in teams, the students begin by conducting a vertical resistivty sounding to determine the depth to the water table. This can be checked because the survey is done in the middle of an existing well field. Using the depth determined, the students then conduct the equivalent of horizontal resistivity survey using a fixed "a" spacing. Instead of making a map they collect data at 10-degree intervals rotating the array around a central point. This provides them with information about how the resistivity varies with magnetic bearing and they then have to relate that to an interpretation of the local structure (fracture patterns). Each student has to submit an individual report which includes an interpretation of the data.
Uses geophysics to solve problems in other fields
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This activity allows students to understand the groundwater flow. Using a groundwater map, they will draw flow lines and determine the discharge and rate of flow.
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Students will work in groups to make observations, identify aquifers, describe aquifer properties and measure hydraulic head in a physical groundwater flow model. The information collected will be used to answer questions pertaining to the groundwater flow system. The activity serves to consolidate the key concepts covered in lecture materials. These concepts include the water cycle, hydraulic head, types of aquifers, hydraulic conductivity, permeability, Darcy's Law, hydraulic gradient, porosity and groundwater contamination.
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Students use analog models to explore the behavior of groundwater. Students calculate porosity of analog materials (cups of marbles and beads), and then observe groundwater flow using food coloring as a dye tracer. They explore the effects of pumping wells and contaminating groundwater through a leaky landfill. One portion of the model allows students to observe the behavior of an artesian aquifer.
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This is a version of the Groundwater Lab (https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/intro/activities/23416.html) previously shared as part of the Teaching Introductory Geology collection. It uses an online (https://pvw.kitware.com/sandtank/) version of an "ant farm" groundwater model to demonstrate groundwater flow and the behavior of wells. The lab is organized so that students have to predict the behavior of the model before observing it.
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In class, instructor provides background on groundwater-surface water interactions, defines the hyporheic zone, and describes why knowledge of the HZ is important for both hydrology and ecology.
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Average inquiry level: Guided inquiry
This activity introduces students to the basic concepts of Groundwater and its movement. The lab format includes hands-on activities that allow students to construct their own aquifers, manipulate these physical models, and evaluate the behavior of the system. Students move through a series of steps to develop a basic groundwater system, assess the behavior of water and contaminants within that system, and then consider the implications of those behaviors in a natural setting including in their own water sources.
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Groundwater accounts for only 0.75% of all water on Earth, yet it is a precious resource for the biosphere. In the United States, about one-fifth of the population taps into the groundwater reservoir of the hydrologic cycle as their main source of drinking water. However, worldwide, about 40% of all irrigation water comes from groundwater, and up to 80% of groundwater withdrawals are used for agriculture. Groundwater is also at risk and vulnerable to pollution, especially in areas with karst topography such as Tampa FL. Thus, the more people who understand the potential and the problems associated with groundwater, the better are the prospects for this resource.
Student materials for this exercise include a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with with data for dye tests and elevations, a .zip archive with two versions of the topographic map (PDF and JPG), as well as the instruction sheet. The exercise is divided into three parts.
In Part I, students study the Sulphur Springs topographic quadrangle and identify features of karst topography on the map. This part of the exercise also reviews basic groundwater terminology.
Part II involves transferring hydraulic head information from Microsoft Excel to a simplified sketch map of the quadrange and drawing contour lines on the potentiometric surface. Next, students use the contour lines to add arrows indicating the direction of groundwater flow. Finally, students apply their knowledge to determine which lakes could be affected by a toxic spill within the quadrangle.
In Part III, students study the results of dye tests in the Sulphur Springs quadrangle to analyze the flow of groundwater. They also use elevation data to construct a vertical cross section that illustrates the ground surface, the water table, and the potentiometric surface for the Floridan aquifer, and they relate the cross section to features on the topographic map.
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One topic I suggest to students is under the umbrella topic of Tectonics and Igneous Activity: Mt. Vesuvius. I expect the student group to research the area, explain WHY Mt. Vesuvius is there, what's gone on in the past, and evaluate whether or not they think the threat still exists. Once the physical world is addressed, I also enjoy when students discuss cultural aspects of the area. With this particular topic, we always hear about the 79AD eruption, and this adds a richness to each presentation.
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In a Global Environmental Politics class, I devoted several weeks to the different issues concerning the nature of contemporary global food systems. As part of their study of these systems, students partnered with Parsons Family Farm, an urban organic farm in Olympia, Washington. They spent 15-20 hours during the semester helping them grow food, which we subsequently donated to community food banks. This community-based activity provided a useful window into alternative agro-ecological food systems and helped them examine the different ways local farms are addressing environmental issues and hunger in their community.
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This activity is an indoor lab investigation where students compare and contrast different growing environments for a lima bean seed and discover the optimal conditions needed for growth.