For nearly 100 years, the site that is now High Cliff State Park near Sherwood, WI was the site of a quicklime kiln. Local Silurian dolomite from the Niagara Escarpment was quarried and baked in large kilns before being shipped by boat on Lake Winnebago at the base of the escarpment. Rejected quicklime spoils are still present near the site of the kiln ruins, resting on the slope leading to the Lake Winnebago shoreline. This project is designed to use basic, low-cost field techniques to determine if any quicklime is moving downslope and into Lake Winnebago. Methods of analysis will include: 1) Placing survey stakes on the quicklime slope to see if they slope is moving, 2) Take several water samples from various points along the lakeshore to test the dissolved mineral content, and 3) Take several water samples from various points along the lakeshore to test the pH. Students will be asked to return to the site several times over the course of a semester in order take samples (particularly after precipitation events) and check the position of the stakes. Students will then use to data to project how far out into the lake the effects of the quicklime extend.

Key words: Quicklime, mass wasting, Niagara Escarpment, water pollution, dissolved minerals

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In this activity the students calculate recurrence intervals for some historical crests on the Chippewa River and identify the 100-year flood plain in downtown Eau Claire. The students also evaluate the effect of a 20ft high stage event along the whole Chippewa River with the goal of showing how topography influences the size of the area affected by flooding events. The students also evaluate the effectiveness of a flood gate system located on campus.

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Gravels deposited as a result of continental glaciation are used to teach introductory-level earth-science students the application of the scientific method in a cooperative learning mode which utilizes hands-on, minds-on analyses. Processes that involve erosion, transportation, and deposition of pebble- and cobble-sized clasts are considered by students in formulating and testing hypotheses.

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This activity is a two-part (three week) lab in which students initially develop a claim (non-scientific) and learn how to use evidence to support a claim. They then are provided with a scientific research question for which they need to make a claim supported with evidence from their own models (river/stream tables). Based on their results, they then ask a new research question, design the model, carry out their tests and report their results.

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As a culminating assignment in Natural Hazards Planning, students work in teams to create 15-year mitigation strategy for a selected jurisdiction using the FEMA 386 methodology for prioritizing mitigation options.

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The lesson content focuses on designing investigations concerning the notion of scale through a series of investigations on their campus. The overarching goal is to foster a connection to the earth through an investigation of the local environment.

Through this activity, students in a liberal arts mathematics class will develop experience with real-world statistical concepts through the context of sustainability: estimation, survey writing, sampling techniques, and data analysis.

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This activity is a multi-part lab designed to allow students to develop their ability to visualize folds in 3-dimensions using Visible Geology and stereonets.

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Students spend the semester developing a stream restoration proposal for a local watershed. Students are asked to collect geomorphic field data and use these data to design a restoration plan.

This case study is intended to develop an awareness of the ethical and privacy implications for the creation, sharing, interpretation, and use of geocoded data, that is, data with locational content. It provides a set of relevant ethical and legal standards, along with a fact-rich hypothetical. By applying those standards to the hypothetical, learners from a variety of backgrounds are offered the opportunity to develop an awareness of the potential for unintended and negative consequences to result from geocoded data practices that appear, in isolation, to be unproblematic.

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In this guided research and critical thinking activity, students prepare a research paper comprised of two parts: 1) a "state-of-the-science" review and synthesis of selected literature from risk and resilience research (provided) and 2) a brief critical appraisal of how current knowledge is (or could be) applied to building disaster resilience in a real-world scenario. Part 2 will be set in a student-selected hazard context (coastal hazards, flooding, or earthquake), employment sector (academia, government, private industry, services, non-profit), and geopolitical sphere of influence (e.g., Resilience to earthquake disaster in the student population at Universidad de Lima, Peru).

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We introduced a new required course "EnSc 210: Issues in Environmental Science" for our majors about three years ago. When I was assigned to teach this course for the first time, I struggled with developing a syllabus and recommending a text for the course. Since we also offer classes in "Environmental Geology" and an introductory course "EnSc 110 Understanding the Earth," the challenge was to avoid duplication while developing an appropriate syllabus. What I finally decided to do was to have students provide ideas. So, on the first day of class I announced that we don't have a syllabus for this course (many sighs of disappointment) and, after a brief remark on some current environmental issues, invited each student to suggest at least one topic for inclusion in the course. After some hesitation (as expected) hands went up and I began writing each topic on the white board. Pretty soon we had 20-25 topics with some overlapping themes. Some of these included: population problem, global climate change, air and water pollution, waste management, environmental health, species decline, environmental impact of large dams, and sustainability. After some discussions about relative importance of various topics and the time available to cover each during the semester, we narrowed it down to about 10 topics for detailed study. I prepared my syllabus (linked below) based on this list which worked very well because: we were able to include key topics and, very importantly, students felt a sense of 'ownership' which led to a very interesting and interactive class experience throughout the semester.

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This site from the National Park Service briefly addresses the geology of Devil's Tower. The evolution of various theories on the formation of the tower are discussed. A slide show of the emplacement of the tower is also available.

To complete this assignement student have to work in groups to answer a series of questions on the evolution of land plants. They need to combine material previously covered in lecture and information from the WWW to determine how the evolution of land plants changed the lithosphere, atmophere, and biosphere.

After completing the attached exercise the students participate in a guided discussion. There are several way to divide students up into groups.

Different groups are asked to summarize: the link between the spread of land plants and

1) atmospheric carbon levels and climatic conditions,

2) organic carbon and dissolved oxygen levels in the ocean

3) the abundance of corals and other marine animals: shallow vs. deep ocean

4) Erosion rates on land and rates of organic matter burial in the oceans.

5) General patterns in diversity and biomass of marine and terrestrial fauna

Then each group is asked to discuss how the aspect they considered about the Devonian Extinction fits into and differs from conditions we see in the modern carbon cycle.

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Landslide between Highway 7 and the Susquehanna River (42.4947�� N, 74.98212�� W). Although, this exercise may be adapted elsewhere. An active, large active hillslope is required, preferably one close to infrastructure, and one which students can access safely. The following features are not uncommon, and make the problem richer: a river bend at the toe of the hillslope; a gas or water line routed through the slide; a hillslope exhibiting numerous scales of movements, from small debris flows a few cm wide to large rotational slides; and nearby infrastructure, such as buildings or roads.

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The overarching goal of this exercise is for students to explore the early anthropogenic hypothesis, which claims that early agriculture had a substantial impact on greenhouse gases and global climate thousands of years ago (Ruddiman, 2003). Students compare changes in greenhouse gas concentrations that occurred thousands of years ago to more recent changes that occurred over hundreds of years. Students also relate changes in greenhouse gas concentrations to warming. The exercise is completed over a 1.5- to 2-week period as the class covers a chapter on climate change.

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Did you have an earthquake where you live and want to participate in Community Science? Would you like students to better understand how earthquake intensity is determined? This guide provides ideas about how you can incorporate the online USGS tool: Did You Feel It? into your classroom.

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Some of the Viking images sent back from Mars in the 1970s show tantalizing evidence of dendritic valley networks in some of the oldest terrains on the planet. One of the big questions ever since has been whether it might have rained early in Mars history.

One of the ways of deciding whether the Mars valley networks might have been produced by rainfall is to find out how similar they are to valley networks on Earth, which we know are produced by rainfall. The standard method for analyzing drainage basins is comparison of the number of drainage segments per square kilometer (drainage density) and how extensively branched the network is (stream order).

In this exercise, students calculate stream order for valley segments mapped by Hynek and Phillips (2003) using MOC/MOLA data. Students then use data on valley segment length and drainage basin area from Hynek and Phillips (2003) to calculate drainage density. They compare stream order and drainage density for the Mars site with similar calculations for areas on Earth and evaluate the question of whether valley networks on Mars might be consistent with rainfall on an early Mars, and what the uncertainties and limitations are in their conclusions.

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This is a several week activity in which students evaluate the differential taphonomy of shells tumbled in carbonate sand as compared to silica sand.

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"Digging for Fossils": A student laboratory activity

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