Students learn about the water cycle and hydrology through a series of …
Students learn about the water cycle and hydrology through a series of three lessons, two coloring book pages, and an e-Book. The themes covered in this resource tie into Climate Science and fundamental climate principles, as well as, engages students in scientific methods.
Elkton, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of …
Elkton, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.
Working in groups, students learn to navigate a virtual globe, read geophysical …
Working in groups, students learn to navigate a virtual globe, read geophysical data, and assess plate tectonic models. They prepare by studying about plate tectonics from their notes or from the text, and then apply that knowledge to real tectonic settings on the virtual globe. Students drag 3D models out of the subsurface and compare real data to model interpretations. They can also substitute their own sketches for our images.
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Empire, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of …
Empire, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.
In order to pass the paleobiology class, students must pass a critter …
In order to pass the paleobiology class, students must pass a critter test, which contains 25 different fossils. Students are asked to identify the fossils in as detailed a manner as possible.
EME 801 provides a broad introduction to global markets for crude oil …
EME 801 provides a broad introduction to global markets for crude oil and refined petroleum products, natural gas, and electric power. A major goal of the course is to help students understand how market design, market institutions, and regulatory structures affect firm-level decision-making in the energy industries and ultimately, how these decisions affect the functioning of energy markets and the prospects for alternative technologies.
An activity focusing on black carbon. This activity explores the impacts of …
An activity focusing on black carbon. This activity explores the impacts of the use of black carbon generating wood, dung, and charcoal for fuel in developing countries.
Western Mining History presents a history of the hanging flume built over …
Western Mining History presents a history of the hanging flume built over the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers in Western Colorado. The flume was meant to bring water to mining venture at great cost. It was built into the sheer cliff face.The resources shows Photos of miner's cabins and living conditions. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides databases, information on mining, mining towns, gold and Photos and maps of the western United States. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate the importance of rocks, …
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate the importance of rocks, soils and minerals in engineering and how using the right material for the right job is important. The students build three different sand castles and test them for strength and resistance to weathering. Then, they discuss how the buildings are different and what engineers need to think about when using rocks, soils and minerals for construction.
This is a lengthy glossary of highly technical terms focused on finance. …
This is a lengthy glossary of highly technical terms focused on finance. Its contents include words dealing with taxes, inheritance, interest rates, retirement plans, and every other aspect of personal finance, as well as many generic legal terms that are also used in the finance world.
Increasingly volatile climate and weather; vulnerable drinking water supplies; shrinking wildlife habitats; …
Increasingly volatile climate and weather; vulnerable drinking water supplies; shrinking wildlife habitats; widespread deforestation due to energy and food production. These are examples of environmental challenges that are of critical importance in our world, both in far away places and close to home, and are particularly well suited to inquiry using geographic information systems. In GEOG 487 you will explore topics like these and learn about data and spatial analysis techniques commonly employed in environmental applications. After taking this course you will be equipped with relevant analytical approaches and tools that you can readily apply to your own environmental contexts.
In this unit, students explore the various roles of environmental engineers, including: …
In this unit, students explore the various roles of environmental engineers, including: environmental cleanup, water quality, groundwater resources, surface water and groundwater flow, water contamination, waste disposal and air pollution. Specifically, students learn about the factors that affect water quality and the conditions that enable different animals and plants to survive in their environments. Next, students learn about groundwater and how environmental engineers study groundwater to predict the distribution of surface pollution. Students also learn how water flows through the ground, what an aquifer is and what soil properties are used to predict groundwater flow. Additionally, students discover that the water they drink everyday comes from many different sources, including surface water and groundwater. They investigate possible scenarios of drinking water contamination and how contaminants can negatively affect the organisms that come in contact with them. Students learn about the three most common methods of waste disposal and how environmental engineers continue to develop technologies to dispose of trash. Lastly, students learn what causes air pollution and how to investigate the different pollutants that exist, such as toxic gases and particulate matter. Also, they investigate the technologies developed by engineers to reduce air pollution.
This is a inquiry-driven class research project on a local environmental geochemistry …
This is a inquiry-driven class research project on a local environmental geochemistry question that is accomplished during three-hour laboratory sessions each week. Students are divided into groups that will share the responsibilities of collecting samples and data. Once the data is collected, it is shared among the entire class so that all students have the same data set. The class works on data presentation, preliminary analysis, and statistics together Then each student writes his/her own report separately.
Outcomes:
Laboratory skills -- Students have basic laboratory skills necessary to carry out a supervised geochemical study (e.g. can perform Gram titration of waters in field, can collect water samples using clean methods).
Quantitative methods -- Students can manipulate, sort, and transfer data in Excel and can create simple x-y plots and histograms to bring out trends in data.
Critical thinking -- Students can develop multiple hypotheses to explain trends in data and can design tests of these hypotheses.
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This is an independent case study project completed in pairs. The students …
This is an independent case study project completed in pairs. The students should investigate an example of natural geochemistry and then use a poster format to share their findings with the class.
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Students collect data for this term project starting with the first lab …
Students collect data for this term project starting with the first lab exercise and continuing throughout the semester. As each unit is covered in the text, class, and lab, students are directed to collect data relevant to their term project. For example: Topographic maps are covered at the start of the semester and students must locate their home; describe its location using the Public Land Survey, Universal Transverse Mercator, and Longitude-Latitude Systems; and describe the local topography. When natural hazards (flooding, slopes, earthquakes, volcanoes, and radon gas) are covered, students must use web resources (some of which are provided by the instructor at http://www2.ivcc.edu/phillips/geology/environmental_research.htm), local resources (such as the local fire chief, library, mayor, relatives, and neighbors), and personal observation to identify hazards and assess the risk they pose; these hazards are submitted as part of a lab assignment. The information collected is analyzed using the principles discussed in class and feedback is provided on pieces that are submitted throughout the semester. At the conclusion of the semester, students organize the collected information, add illustrations (maps and photos), analyze and evaluate the materials collected, and conclude the report with a discussion of how the area should be developed in the future based on the principles learned in the class.
The activity shows the students the immediate relevance of the material as it is covered, shows the students the types of information publicly available, and helps them develop critical analysis skills. The activity introducers students to basic geologic knowledge and shows them how to make use of it.
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This is a field and computer laboratory exercise that introduces undergraduate students, …
This is a field and computer laboratory exercise that introduces undergraduate students, advanced high school students, and members of the general public to using Google Earth, GPS, aerial imagery, and an online illustrated vegetation and tidal marsh environment identification guide to distinguish and map vegetational and physical environmental zones within a salt marsh. They also learn about the physical and ecological relationships between these environments.
Students use GPS devices to collect field data as waypoints and tracks, and upload the data to computers in GPX format. They learn to open the data in Google Earth along with infrared and color aerial imagery, and use the GPS data to interpret the aerial imagery. Using Google Earth tools, they draw polygons to demarcate the boundaries of environmental zones in the wetlands that they recognize on the imagery.
The students and instructors also take photographs of the students in each of these environmental zones and embed the photographs into information balloons of placemarks in Google Earth.
The exercise was originally designed for use at Flax Pond, a salt marsh on the North Shore of Long Island. However, it can easily be adapted for use in other tidal marshes, and can serve as a template for developing similar activities to be conducted at other locations in which aerial imagery can be used to distinguish various forms of land cover.
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Students cooperatively conduct original research in Marine Geology utilizing marine practices on …
Students cooperatively conduct original research in Marine Geology utilizing marine practices on Lake Champlain, NY - Vermont. The lab section of the course is used to develop and implement a research project. The students are given a research question to solve. To proceed, they must first review all available literature and then design a research program. They then implement that program using marine and laboratory equipment that is available to them and report on their outcomes after a semester-long investigation.
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The Environment and the Earth class at the University of South Carolina …
The Environment and the Earth class at the University of South Carolina participated in a campus environmental service-learning project where students collected data lighting, water fixtures, recycling bins, and trash in five academic buildings.
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A great variety of processes affect the surface of the Earth. Topics …
A great variety of processes affect the surface of the Earth. Topics to be covered are production and movement of surficial materials; soils and soil erosion; precipitation; streams and lakes; groundwater flow; glaciers and their deposits. The course combines aspects of geology, climatology, hydrology, and soil science to present a coherent introduction to the surface of the Earth, with emphasis on both fundamental concepts and practical applications, as a basis for understanding and intelligent management of the Earth's physical and chemical environment.
The forests of North America have seen plenty of change in a …
The forests of North America have seen plenty of change in a pretty short period of time, at least geologically speaking. Up until about 18,000 years ago, the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered Canada and much of the eastern United States. When temperatures climbed and the ice sheet retreated, forests gradually reemerged. But how? Did pockets of trees find refuge in sheltered areas during the Ice Age? Or were all tree species pushed to the southern tier of the United States, only to spread north again after the ice disappeared? Scientists still debate the topic, but one thing is clear: today’s forests in the eastern United States bear little resemblance to post-glacial forests. Starting with European colonial settlers and marching through four centuries of development, drought, and fire, the tree cover of North America became fragmented.
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