In this module, students calculate the pressure at the depth of compensation …
In this module, students calculate the pressure at the depth of compensation along a cross section of North America.
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Students learn how to use and graph real-world stream gage data to …
Students learn how to use and graph real-world stream gage data to create event and annual hydrographs and calculate flood frequency statistics. Using an Excel spreadsheet of real-world event, annual and peak streamflow data, they manipulate the data (converting units, sorting, ranking, plotting), solve problems using equations, and calculate return periods and probabilities. Prompted by worksheet questions, they analyze the runoff data as engineers would. Students learn how hydrographs help engineers make decisions and recommendations to community stakeholders concerning water resources and flooding.
This Lecture Tutorial worksheet guides students through thinking about the effects humans …
This Lecture Tutorial worksheet guides students through thinking about the effects humans have on infiltration, and how that effects the duration and severity of floods. It is designed to be used in groups after a brief lecture introducing surface and ground water flow into a stream.
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SSAC Geology of National Parks module/Geology of National Parks course. Students calculate …
SSAC Geology of National Parks module/Geology of National Parks course. Students calculate probabilities using USGS hydrograph data, a spreadsheet of daily stage heights, and the COUNTIF function.
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This assignment asks students to do a flood frequency analysis to determine …
This assignment asks students to do a flood frequency analysis to determine the size and stage of various floods and determine if the town of Crawford, OH is likely to be flooded or not. Outcomes: learn to work with quantitative data, learn to use Excel, be able to use USGS data.
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This lab activity has students use stream discharge data obtained from the …
This lab activity has students use stream discharge data obtained from the USGS Water Resources Division web site in order to calculate recurrence intervals for a local stream. Using the recurrence data generated, the students then make recommendations to the residents of a local town as to what they might do to reduce their loss from the effects of frequent flooding in their community.
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Students explore the impact of changing river volumes and different floodplain terrain …
Students explore the impact of changing river volumes and different floodplain terrain in experimental trials with table top-sized riverbed models. The models are made using modeling clay in aluminum baking pans placed on a slight incline. Water added "upstream" at different flow rates and to different riverbed configurations simulates different potential flood conditions. Students study flood dynamics as they modify the riverbed with blockages or levees to simulate real-world scenarios.
In this lab, students measure a topographic and geologic cross-section across a …
In this lab, students measure a topographic and geologic cross-section across a floodplain by simple surveying and auguring techniques.
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Students explore the USGS water website to identify the location of stream …
Students explore the USGS water website to identify the location of stream gauges on the Minnesota River and the types of data that can be retrieved from the website. They determine which data to download based on the area of interest in the exercise (St. Peter, MN) and import historical flood data into MS Excel. The students use a spreadsheet to rank each flood and calculate a recurrence interval for a given flood, then estimate the discharge and stage of the 100-year flood in St. Peter, MN. The final task is to establish a flood hazard zone on a topographic map of the city of St. Peter. Note: this exercise can be applied to almost any non-dammed river with two or more USGS gaging stations on it. Go to http://water.usgs.gov and select your state from the pull-down menu to view an interactive map of your state's rivers and gaging station locations.
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This exercise looks at the dollar losses and deaths caused by flooding …
This exercise looks at the dollar losses and deaths caused by flooding in the US, and at the causes of, and relationships between the two trends.
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This is the data collection portion of a semester-long project. Before this …
This is the data collection portion of a semester-long project. Before this lab, students will have graphed discharge data for one previous water year, graphed similar data collected by classes during a previous year, written one-page explanations of the techniques that they will be using, and speculated about the results they expect to get. After this lab, their data will be shared with other lab sections, which will have collected similar data at other sites along the same river. Each research group will present their preliminary data to the class during a later lab meeting, and the class will discuss how the different types of data relate to one another. The project culminates in a final paper (one per research group).
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This is a homework assignment used as preparation for a group research …
This is a homework assignment used as preparation for a group research project. Students graph annual discharge data from a local river by hand, and compare the discharge patterns from the stream above a reservoir with those below the dam. This exercise gives students practice graphing a small amount of data by hand, and gets them thinking about ways graphs can be used to help interpret data.
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This group research project serves as the focus for our introductory Earth …
This group research project serves as the focus for our introductory Earth Systems Science classes. Each of four to six lab sections of 15-25 students collect discharge, sediment load, and water chemistry data from a different site along a local river, and compare their data to that collected in previous years and at other sites along the river. The project incorporates topographic map reading and graphing as well as collecting and analyzing data, and presenting the results in oral and written form. Labs on rocks and minerals use samples from the project area to encourage students to make connections between the solid Earth and surface processes.
Each component of the Florida River Project is described below, with a link to the activity sheet and related files.
Topographic Maps: Integrated Florida River project Florida River Project: Minerals in the field Florida River Project: Sedimentary and metamorphic rocks lab Florida River Project: Plotting discharge data Plotting Florida River Data Using Excel Florida River Project: Measuring discharge, sediment, and water chemistry
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The Florida River Project is a semester-long project involving (1) an individual …
The Florida River Project is a semester-long project involving (1) an individual project in which students pose a scientific question and use existing data to test their hypothesis, and (2) a group project in which students collect and present data associated with stream monitoring.
Outcomes of the individual project include: - Practice applying the process of science - Graphing and interpreting data - Making an argument supported by quantitative evidence. - Communicating a scientific argument in writing. - Supporting a scientific argument using appropriate formats (especially graphs and tables)
Outcomes of the group project include: - Collecting field data (discharge, sediment load, water chemistry) - Presenting data orally. - Discussing preliminary interpretations of data.
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This activity is a field investigation where students make observations, formulate a …
This activity is a field investigation where students make observations, formulate a question, construct and collect data on that question on stream flow on the Crow River in Central Minnesota
This video introduces viewers to oceanic thermohaline circulation - the system of …
This video introduces viewers to oceanic thermohaline circulation - the system of global ocean currents that cycle warm and cold water across the planet.
The lab starts with a short lecture on the scientific method, after …
The lab starts with a short lecture on the scientific method, after which students observe the results of a flume run that includes skeletal clasts. They form hypotheses about how bone clasts (or any clast for that matter) move and are deposited by a flow, then the students test their hypotheses by running a flume trial. The hypothesis tests take place in small groups (3-5 students), and the lab ends with homework where students use the information they learned from their hypothesis tests to interpret a fossil assemblage. As such, this is a wonderful activity for introductory geology classes, could be used effectively with minor adjustments for advanced paleontology, taphonomy, and forensic physical anthropology classes.
Students should download Google Earth and the kmz file prior to class …
Students should download Google Earth and the kmz file prior to class if using personal computers, otherwise both should be downloaded on class computers. In class time is one lab period, with some out of class time; ~6 hrs total.
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