Students will utilize the desert Southwest region of the United States and …
Students will utilize the desert Southwest region of the United States and the Ogallala Aquifer in a case study to evaluate issues regarding groundwater and its scarcity. Groundwater is often seen as a limitless resource in the Southwest since there is little regulation controlling the amount that is withdrawn (Rule of Capture). This mentality has led to overuse and to the dwindling supply of groundwater in many parts of the Ogallala Aquifer. This module will help students connect groundwater's role in the hydrological cycle to issues of inequity that can occur when groundwater is not properly regulated.
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In this two-day activity, students monitor a simulated evolving volcanic crisis at …
In this two-day activity, students monitor a simulated evolving volcanic crisis at a convergent plate boundary (Cascadia). Using monitoring data and geologic hazard maps, students make a series of forecasts for the impending eruption and associated risks. By the end of the activity, students will have learned the outcome of the eruption and assess the impacts of the eruption of Mount Rainier on specific locations around the volcano. This unit is a continuation of Unit 5, in which students analyzed simulated pre-eruption seismic, tilt, and gas emission data. In this, the second day of the simulation, students update their eruption forecasts based on new data (in the prework) and then (in groups in class) by combining information from multiple data sets. In class, each group assesses the vulnerability of one or more assigned locations near Mount Rainier. The exercise culminates with students assessing the impacts of the simulated eruption at their assigned locations.
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In this unit, students will review mock proposals that deal with some …
In this unit, students will review mock proposals that deal with some aspect of the role of carbon in the environment. Each proposal is based on actual actions proposed to mitigate some aspect of carbon consumption and/or climate change, and as such are considered "real world" scenarios (although somewhat generalized for this exercise). Students will review each proposal for the possible societal, economic, and moral implications if the proposal was pursued on a large scale -- for instance, by a single nation or collection of countries. Additionally, students will make recommendations to a fictitious governmental panel on the merits and pitfalls of each proposal and provide well-supported recommendations about whether that government panel should pursue or reject the proposal. Instructors can use this unit as a stand-alone activity, or as a summary activity to comprehensively review, discuss, and assess material presented in this module's earlier units.
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Students are introduced to the concept of geoengineering, "the deliberate large-scale intervention …
Students are introduced to the concept of geoengineering, "the deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system, in order to moderate global warming" (The Royal Society). The goal is for them to leverage their acquired knowledge from previous units in physical oceanography, ocean chemistry, biodiversity, and ecosystem ecology to evaluate the validity and/or the risk of geoengineering (systems thinking). Current and future generations will be required to make informed decisions on whether they support strategies that result in irreversible changes in Earth's carbon cycle.
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Unit 6 covers the preliminary design of a rainwater harvesting unit. Pre-class …
Unit 6 covers the preliminary design of a rainwater harvesting unit. Pre-class assignments provide background on rainwater harvesting. An active learning exercise steps student teams through the process of sizing a rainwater harvesting cistern, using water demand estimates from Units 4 and 5. The activity leads into a revision of the water system mind map developed in previous units.
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This in-class exercise is an alternative to standard review sessions and models …
This in-class exercise is an alternative to standard review sessions and models the systems thinking students need to do when working on complex, interdisciplinary issues. Students quiz each other on course material and then find authentic (and often creative) connections between seemingly disparate topics in the course. This approach challenges students to use holistic thinking when reviewing, and can be readily customized for any course.
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Unit 7 continues the use of the CME Building Case Study to …
Unit 7 continues the use of the CME Building Case Study to explore water sustainability in the context of a building. The activity is extended to the catchment level, and a new tool for catchment level storm water management is introduced. Students are exposed in the pre-class assignments to low impact development (LID) and green infrastructure and the EPA National Stormwater Calculator. In class, the central activity is applying the EPA National Stormwater Calculator to evaluate an LID control plan for the CME building case study. The unit brings together concepts from previous units through the use of the calculator. The impact of landscapes, buildings, and other features on storm water runoff is illustrated. And the potential benefit of LID controls is analyzed. The homework assignment engages students in the search for a local green infrastructure site to take a picture and summarize the site in the context of a sustainable site.
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Picture of urban flooding Provenance: Timothy Swinson https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trapped_woman_on_a_car_roof_during_flash_flooding_in_Toowoomba_2.jpg Reuse: This item is …
Picture of urban flooding
Provenance: Timothy Swinson https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trapped_woman_on_a_car_roof_during_flash_flooding_in_Toowoomba_2.jpg Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
Unit 8 covers the basics of hydroclimatic extreme events with a focus on floods and droughts. Topics include introduction to floods and droughts, impact of urbanization on extremes, how to understand and predict extremes, how to tackle them (management strategies), and elements of urban climate resilience. The teaching strategy is designed with short and divided lectures filled with discussion questions and a group activity. Students will be working with time series flow data for statistical analysis of extreme events.
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Unit 9 is a group activity that requires students to apply the …
Unit 9 is a group activity that requires students to apply the material they have learned in Units 1 -- 8 in an urban water system design project. Students are presented with a scenario and are required to select options to design a feasible and sustainable urban water system that considers the triple bottom line in their design. The design project requires that students consider hydrologic processes (e.g., evapotranspiration, runoff) in designing outdoor landscaping and amount of pervious and impervious area. Students also consider indoor water use efficiency and other methods (e.g., rain barrels) to reduce water consumption. Students are also asked to consider the connection between urban development and atmospheric processes. Students apply systems thinking by connecting hydrologic and atmospheric processes with the human built system. Student groups present their design to the class and assess each other's designs. These activities can be used as a summative assessment for the entire module.
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Environmental geology is applied geology and being applied requires an understanding of …
Environmental geology is applied geology and being applied requires an understanding of all of the pieces of the puzzle. This activity is a culmination of many ideas learned in environmental geology: discussing the issue of population growth as well as a driving force, plate tectonics, behind a changing climate and many hazards, and then the hazards themselves, discussing anthropogenic climate change and the implications globally. An understanding of each of these and their interconnectedness provides a great context for decision-making and earth science literacy. This activity attempts to take all of the knowledge mentioned here and make judgements and decisions based on a real-world scenario
This introductory geology field exercise asks students to make individual observations about …
This introductory geology field exercise asks students to make individual observations about parts of an outcrop, then combine their observations in larger teams to interpret the overall geological history of the exposure. Content learning includes stratigraphy, faulting, and local geologic history; process learning includes data gathering and recording, hypothesis formation, and outlining helpful evidence that could be gathered in the future.
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The Uranium Boom: Stop 9 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch …
The Uranium Boom: Stop 9 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch this short video to learn about a Museum of the West exhibit or collection to preview your field trip or for a virtual field trip if you are unable to attend in person. The Museum of the West is part of the Museums of Westen Colorado. The Uranium boom made Grand Junction famous. Its nickname became “The City That Glows.” David Bailey explains the effect the Uranium boom had on Grand Junction.
The student compiles oil field well data, including spatial locations and digital …
The student compiles oil field well data, including spatial locations and digital well logs, for analysis of subsurface, oil reservoir stratigraphy and lithology using computer spatial technologies software, Geoplus Petra. The students create well log cross sections, make lithologic picks, construct structure and isopach maps, and evaluate lithologic properties, including gross reservoir quality from petrophysical logs. These data are used to interpret depositional environment of the subject formation and make predictions for well bore perforations for oil production. The key value of the exercise is an introduction to the use of computer software to analyze geological data, guided by sedimentologic and stratigraphic insights, and make predictions for resource exploitation.
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In this classroom activity, students watch the movie "Dante's Peak" up to …
In this classroom activity, students watch the movie "Dante's Peak" up to the point where Harry Dalton's supervisor arrives and talks to the town council. Students then compare and contrast Harry's assessment and advice to that of his supervisor, discuss the reaction of the town council members, and develop their own recommendations for how the scientists and town should proceed.
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The use of dendrochronology in determining the geologic history of a location. …
The use of dendrochronology in determining the geologic history of a location. The development of an understanding how tree growth can indicate the relationships between climate, geomorphology, ecology and archeology.
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These assignments are adaptations of field labs to incorporate writing. For each …
These assignments are adaptations of field labs to incorporate writing. For each field lab, students write a partial geologic report, consisting of a description (or "Structural Data") section, an interpretation section, and appropriate supporting figures (potentially including stereonets, field sketches, maps, cross-sections, etc.). Handouts given at the beginning of lab list: the goals to be accomplished in the field (measurement of foliations and lineations, measurement of bedding around a fold, description of structures, field sketches, etc.), the figures expected in the write-up (stereonets, field sketches, etc.), a list of information to include in the description section, and a list of questions to address in the interpretation section. Depending on the field area, students may be given two or more competing models to test in the field or may be asked to relate descriptive analysis to kinematic or mechanical analysis. This adaptation can be used for field labs at all levels, from labs designed to review field techniques and identify basic types of secondary structures to labs that simulate research experience. This type of write-up improves student writing by giving students practice using terminology and describing spatial relationships, and improves critical thinking skills by requiring written interpretation of structural data.
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This activity highlights the value of gesture in communicating spatial information. It …
This activity highlights the value of gesture in communicating spatial information. It consists of two short exercises. In the first, students are asked to pair up and describe to their partner how to navigate from one place to another in their home town. In the second, a volunteer is asked to sit on his or her hands and describe how to tie a bow with a piece of ribbon. In the first exercise, students spontaneously gesture; in the second, the volunteer will very much want to gesture and may be unable to complete the task under the restriction given (sitting on hands).
Short sets of multiple choice questions that require students to apply course …
Short sets of multiple choice questions that require students to apply course concepts to new situations or circumstances are used as an active learning exercise in lecture settings. Answer keys in the form of IF-AT scratch-off sheets are provided so students have instant feedback once their group has decided on an answer.
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Students are challenged to a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery in which they construct …
Students are challenged to a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery in which they construct their own decay curves of melting ice to determine time-zero.
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