Geography 430 is an active, creative learning community focused around understanding the …
Geography 430 is an active, creative learning community focused around understanding the changing relationships between people and their environments, the causes and consequences of environmental degradation, strategies for building a more sustainable world, and the methods and approaches that scholars have used to understand human-environment interactions. The primary course objectives are to help geographers, earth scientists, and other professionals to deepen their appreciation for the complexity of human-environment systems and to develop skills that allow them to interpret, analyze, and communicate effectively regarding human-environment interactions in their lives as students, professionals, and citizens.
Students will be required to answer a series of simple questions for …
Students will be required to answer a series of simple questions for this assignment based on material covered in lecture. This assignment also allows students the experience of searching a website for more specific information about hurricane statistics that are not covered in lecture. Hurricane Katrina will be discussed in lecture. Students will see where Katrina falls relative to other major hurricanes while answering the questions.
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In this activity, students learn how people prepared for and then dealt …
In this activity, students learn how people prepared for and then dealt during a hurricane by analyzing news headlines about Hurricane Florence (2018). Then they analyze data about the amount of damage that different categories of hurricanes cause, learning that even low category storms are able to cause damage.
This homework assignment is given in the first two weeks of class. …
This homework assignment is given in the first two weeks of class. Students receive one or two lectures that cover the topics of atmospheric layers, temperature and pressure profiles, concepts of atmospheric mass and pressure and measuring (i.e. dropsonde) instrumentation. At the beginning of each lecture I briefly show them the tropical update from the NOAA National Hurricane Center web site; if there is an active storm, I show where I go to get more info, such as the projected storm track and storm history (for example, from Intellicast Hurricane Tracking). Then, for this assignment, I reintroduce them to these hurricane information web sites and demonstrate how to find the historical data on tropical storms (such as from the Unisys Hurricane Data Archive), and how to copy and paste text data into word and/or excel, as a tab- or space-delimited file. I point out some problem areas with this data-grabbing method, such as headers that get lost from their associated data column or date information that may not format as dates. I then hand out the assignment, which asks them to:
Find data on a current or recent (this year) tropical system, provide the name and year of the storm and the reference web site, and plot the wind speed and pressure variables against time. Students should label the axes and give a descriptive title to the chart. Describe what they notice in the graphed data and if it seems believable (this allows students to decide if they have done the task correctly by using their understanding of the data). Predict what will happen if the storm a) intensifies or b) weakens. I then provide another data set (of any long-duration tropical storm that formed, weakened and later re-intensified) and ask them to go through the same process of plotting and interpretation. I tell them that some future climate predictions are for more storms with lower central pressures and ask which of the two charts best represents that future scenario, and why.
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In this activity, students use maps and data to learn about where …
In this activity, students use maps and data to learn about where and how hurricanes form and possible correlations with climate change affecting their strength.
This activity is for students to work in teams (2012) or individually …
This activity is for students to work in teams (2012) or individually (2013) to develop a project (such as a physical or numerical model), survey based research, case study, technical briefs on a remediation technology, etc. of the students' choice, based on their understanding of and interest in the subjects covered in the class. This is used in the GL 199 Hydrogeology course, which is offered through the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences at Norwich University. This is an experimental course that has not made it to the course catalogue as yet. It is currently offered to students majoring in Geology, with an acknowledgement that a course in hydrogeology is a desirable component of a Geology curriculum. Environmental Science students are encouraged to take it to deepen their understanding of subsurface processes. This course is considered a science elective for Civil and Environmental Engineering majors, and greatly complements the Hydrology, and Soils and Materials classes that are a part of the regular CE&E curriculum. Students from freshmen through seniors across these three majors are accepted into the course. With a cross section of majors and academic years in the class, it was determined that a project that has students thinking about a topic of their choice and developing fundamental research and collaboration skills is critical to meeting common workplace demands.
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Students capture and examine air particles to gain an appreciation of how …
Students capture and examine air particles to gain an appreciation of how much dust, pollen and other particulate matter is present in the air around them. Students place "pollution detectors" at various locations to determine which places have a lot of particles in the air and which places do not have as many. Quantifying and describing these particles is a first step towards engineering methods of removing contaminants from the air.
In this activity, students will simulate the equal and unequal distribution of …
In this activity, students will simulate the equal and unequal distribution of our renewable resources. Also, they will consider the impact of our increasing population upon these resources and how engineers develop technologies to create resources.
This video discusses impacts that the Eastern US is experiencing due to …
This video discusses impacts that the Eastern US is experiencing due to climate change. It describes the seasonal shifts that may affect tourism in New England, extreme heat in the Southeast, how rising sea level affects coastal areas, changes in hurricane intensity, the spread of invasive species and disease, as well as other topics.
This video features Katharine Hayhoe presenting a lively discussion of impacts that …
This video features Katharine Hayhoe presenting a lively discussion of impacts that the Midwestern US is experiencing due to climate change. It steps through evidence for how climate change is affecting agriculture, tourism, drought and flood, water cycles and freshwater availability, the spread of invasive species and disease, as well as other topics.
Students access the ice core data archived at Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory. They …
Students access the ice core data archived at Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory. They select a core (Greenland, Antarctica, Quelcaya), pose a working hypothesis regarding the data, import the data in an Excel-readable format, and examine the data to determine correlations between variables and cause/effect as recorded in leads and lags. They generate a written and graphical analysis of the data and, in the next lab period, discuss the similarities and differences among their group outputs in terms of demonstrated correlations, assumptions required, effects of latitude, and any other item that arises.
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This video features research conducted at University of Colorado's Institute of Arctic …
This video features research conducted at University of Colorado's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, which studies isotopes of hydrogen trapped in ice cores to understand climate changes in the past.
This diagram uses the metaphor of an iceberg to demonstrate the idea …
This diagram uses the metaphor of an iceberg to demonstrate the idea of visible vs hidden as it relates to Earth science phenomena. This teaching strategy helps students to see beyond the obvious and to develop their awareness of the underlying causes, relationships, and/or conditions that can contribute to phenomenological events. It also provides a framework for digging deeper into phenomena-driven lessons in Earth Science.
Idaho Springs, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary …
Idaho Springs, 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.
This collection of photos from the NASA Climate website features images of …
This collection of photos from the NASA Climate website features images of global change, such as floods, wildfires, and retreating glaciers. Not all images show change caused directly by climate change and energy use, and descriptive captions indicate causes for change in most of the images.
This is a five-activity module that explores the evidence for and impacts …
This is a five-activity module that explores the evidence for and impacts of melting glacial ice, with resources from major institutions and scientists who study glaciers -- primarily in Arctic areas. The suite of activities includes both glaciers and melting ice, as well as the impact of melt water downstream. Each activity follows the 5E model of Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation.
"In Search of GLOBE Data" contains two self-paced projects on using the …
"In Search of GLOBE Data" contains two self-paced projects on using the graphing and mapping tools available on the GLOBE Web site (www.globe.gov (more info) ). These sequential how-to guides on searching for schools with usable data include questions inquiring into what the user sees or thinks about the data presented. These questions are intended to stimulate the thinking process. An answer sheet has been provided to assist the facilitator of this activity. These student worksheets are followed by an advanced search for GLOBE data. This is a step-by-step, or click-by-click, how-to guide to help expand the list of tools when searching for GLOBE data. An Advanced Search is also included; however there are no questions associated with this part of the activity. If the user proceeds directly from the Student Worksheets they may be able to construct their own questions when visualizing the data using these advanced tools.
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