Because there is not a lot of surface structure to map in glacial terranes of the midwest, especially in big cities, various simulations can help. This is a "big-city" simulation of making a geologic map and interpreting the structure of a small area (a cemetery) by measuring the strike and dip of gravestones. This field activity is followed by lab work, including plotting the attitudes on stereonets and interpreting the patterns.

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The purpose of this gravity/magnetic mapping project is to have the students conduct a research/consulting project from start to finish. They are expected to design the project (submit a proposal), implement (collect data) the proposal, process the data, analyze and interpret the results and report their findings. Working in teams, they have to budget their time, assign tasks and get the job done on time. The process is as important as the science, however they have make quality assessments of the data they have collected and justify their interpretation of the data using accepted scientific/geologic principles.
Uses geophysics to solve problems in other fields

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The Greater Yellowstone Science Learning Center is a portal to information about the natural and cultural resources of Yellowstone and Grand Teton (including John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway) national parks and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. By reporting on what has been learned from research and monitoring in these parks, we hope to increase public awareness of new findings and encourage studies that will help guide park management decisions. The National Park Service has set up Research Learning Centers as public-private partnerships that promote the sharing of scientific knowledge about the parks.

Runoff in urban areas is an increasingly important issue when it comes to water quality. It is a major hydrologic issue in New York City, as urban infrastructure creates excess runoff and impervious surfaces decrease the infiltration rate of land surfaces. This excess runoff, which often times carries with it pollutants and contaminants, has proven to create water quality issues. It has become ever more critical to try to mitigate the influx of runoff into our waterways. Urbanization increases runoff, and in NYC 64% of the area is impervious.
In this module students will explore green roofs as a potential solution to the environmental impacts of increased precipitation brought on by climate change. They will evaluate data collected from studies on 15 green roofs from different areas of the US and other countries, as well as historical precipitation data from Central Park in NY to illustrate how precipitation patterns are changing and if we need to use green infrastructure, such as green roofs, to combat the symptoms of climate change. Students will also use Model My Watershed , a watershed-modeling web app, to analyze real land use data, model storm-water runoff and water-quality impacts using professional-grade models, and compare how different conservation or development scenarios could modify runoff and water quality.

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This course introduces students to basic rain garden design, water cistern development, and bioretention principles. Students will also explore the uses of landform, plants, and structure to shape space. Classes will include slide-illustrated lectures, class discussions, and project critiques. Through a combination of short practicum that includes rain garden design for residential, commercial, and government locations, students will be able to analyze and create a design that applies modern theories to questions of spatial organization, order, and selection of building materials. Students will translate research and case studies by applying building, drawing, and design critiques specific for the site design and present their findings to the community.

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This green museum activity has students analyze the environmentally related nature of everyday items and publicly exhibit their findings.

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In this simple lab, students collect data to demonstrate basic atmospheric science concepts. Groups of students measure the effect of carbon dioxide on temperature using soda bottles with thermometers inserted. One bottle is filled with air and capped. The second bottle is filled with carbon dioxide using a specific procedure. To conduct the experiment, both bottles are placed under a lamp while students record the increase in temperature over five minutes. The bottle containing carbon dioxide has a greater increase in temperature than the bottle containing air. This lab demonstrates the fundamental concept that underlies climate change science by providing data that are easy for students to interpret.

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In this activity, students, working in small groups, respond to a series of questions asking them to analyze a diagram of the long-term, global average energy budgets for the atmosphere and the earth's surface (below). They then are asked to explain how the greenhouse effect works in terms of several basic physical principles applied to their analysis. Finally, they are asked to apply the same principles to the predict changes in global average atmospheric and surface temperatures as a result of adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

When the science is so clear, why is it so difficult to make agreements that will reduce our impact on climate change? This exercise is designed to help students explore that important question in an active and engaging way. Students are cast into the roles of various important players in the climate change issue, including politicians, scientists, environmentalists, and industry representatives. Working in these roles, students must take a position, debate with others, and then vote on legislation designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

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Students work in pairs to survey seafood items sold in local grocery stores or fish markets, recording whether items are farm-raised or wild caught, fresh, frozen or preserved, as well as country of origin. Students use the Seafood Watch website to research the status of each seafood item (e.g., best choice, good choice or avoid). Class data is compiled in an online or Excel spreadsheet. Students use class data to create bar graphs and pie charts of the data for the different categories. Students turn in individual analyses and answer questions based on class results.

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In spring 2020, the world was hit by a pandemic that spread globally by March, causing universities and most of the world to move to remote means. Summer field camps, long hailed as a rite of passage in the geosciences, were cancelled throughout the US. The community moved quickly, with NAGT developing remote learning tools and arranging for sharing and collaboration between instructors and institutions. As such, UNAVCO (GETSI) and University of Northern Colorado embarked on a data collection campaign for a summer field course entitled "Geoscience Field Issues Using High-Resolution Topography to Understand Earth Surface Processes" -- originally slated for in-person teaching. The team collected GNSS data, drone imagery for use in structure from motion, and terrestrial laser scanning from a site near Greeley, Colorado on the Poudre River. This assignment uses real-time kinematic GNSS methods to establish a ground control points used in Sheep Draw Structure from motion activity.
Day 3 Part 1 - This activity is part of the 2-week remote field course Geoscience Field Issues Using High-Resolution Topography to Understand Earth Surface Processes

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This activity is an interpretation of a ground penetrating radar (GPR) data set collected from a 19th century slave cemetery in North Carolina.

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In this activity, students use a seismic hazard map from the USGS to estimate the ground shaking hazard











Screenshot of seismic hazard map

Provenance: Carla Whittington, Highline Community College
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in their community. The map shows a 10% probability of ground accelerations reaching or exceeding a certain % of gravity within the next 50 years. Students then adjust the acceleration value for the soil conditions/geologic materials that their home sits on. Once the acceleration hazard is determined, students equate that hazard to the Mercalli Intensity Scale and investigate the potential damage expected at their homes. Students also take into consideration housing types and the weaknesses inherent in different types/ages of structures.

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In groups, students are given a scenario of a leaking underground storage tank. They must decide where to sample on the map while staying within budget. Students progressively collect more data and use them to make an interpretation of the direction of groundwater flow and extent of the contamination. The activity requires that students use their limited resources to solve a real-world problem.

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Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown this diagram and told, "A storm event releases chemicals stored at the farm that end up in the groundwater. Click on the well that is most likely to be contaminated."

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Working in teams, the students begin by conducting a vertical resistivty sounding to determine the depth to the water table. This can be checked because the survey is done in the middle of an existing well field. Using the depth determined, the students then conduct the equivalent of horizontal resistivity survey using a fixed "a" spacing. Instead of making a map they collect data at 10-degree intervals rotating the array around a central point. This provides them with information about how the resistivity varies with magnetic bearing and they then have to relate that to an interpretation of the local structure (fracture patterns). Each student has to submit an individual report which includes an interpretation of the data.
Uses geophysics to solve problems in other fields

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This activity allows students to understand the groundwater flow. Using a groundwater map, they will draw flow lines and determine the discharge and rate of flow.

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Students will work in groups to make observations, identify aquifers, describe aquifer properties and measure hydraulic head in a physical groundwater flow model. The information collected will be used to answer questions pertaining to the groundwater flow system. The activity serves to consolidate the key concepts covered in lecture materials. These concepts include the water cycle, hydraulic head, types of aquifers, hydraulic conductivity, permeability, Darcy's Law, hydraulic gradient, porosity and groundwater contamination.

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Students use analog models to explore the behavior of groundwater. Students calculate porosity of analog materials (cups of marbles and beads), and then observe groundwater flow using food coloring as a dye tracer. They explore the effects of pumping wells and contaminating groundwater through a leaky landfill. One portion of the model allows students to observe the behavior of an artesian aquifer.

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This is a version of the Groundwater Lab (https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/intro/activities/23416.html) previously shared as part of the Teaching Introductory Geology collection. It uses an online (https://pvw.kitware.com/sandtank/) version of an "ant farm" groundwater model to demonstrate groundwater flow and the behavior of wells. The lab is organized so that students have to predict the behavior of the model before observing it.

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