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Unit 3: Monitoring groundwater storage with GPS vertical position

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Unit 3: Monitoring groundwater storage with GPS vertical position

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This unit shows how GPS records of surface elevation can be used to monitor groundwater changes. Students calculate secular trends in the GPS time series and then use the original and detrended records to identify sites that are dominated by the elastic response to regional groundwater changes versus those dominated by local subsidence. They then compare the magnitude and timescales of fluctuations in Earth's surface elevation that result from sediment compaction, regional groundwater extraction, and natural climatic variability. This unit provides students with hands-on experience of the challenges and advantages of using geodetic data to study the terrestrial water cycle. The case study area is in California and the GPS records include the period of the profound 2012 -- 2016 drought.

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Note: Although the term GPS (Global Positioning System) is more commonly used in everyday language, it officially refers only to the USA's constellation of satellites. GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is a universal term that refers to all satellite navigation systems including those from the USA (GPS), Russia (GLONASS), European Union (Galileo), China (BeiDou), and others. In this module, we use the term GPS even though, technically, some of the data may be coming from satellites in other systems.

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Online-ready: The exercise is electronic and could be done individually or in small online groups. Lecture is best done synchronously due to the technical nature. Discussion would be better that way too.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:: Biology; Business and Communication; Career and Technical Education; Environmental Studies; Geology; Hydrology; Life Science; Management; Mathematics; Measurement and Data; Physical Science; Political Science; Social Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Case Study; Module
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Author:: Bruce Douglas; Eric Small
Date Added:: 09/26/2022

Unit 4: Groundwater, GPS, and Water Resources

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Unit 4: Groundwater, GPS, and Water Resources

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GPS data can measure ground elevation change in response to the changing amount of groundwater in valleys and snow cover in mountains. In this module, students will learn how to read GPS data to interpret how the amount of groundwater in the Central Valley of California is changing, in particular in reaction to the 2012 -- 2015 drought. They will then apply the skills they develop and knowledge they gain to demonstrate their understanding of how GPS data has implications for the future of groundwater resources in California.

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Online-ready: All exercises are electronic and could be done individually or in small online groups. Lecture as currently provided is best done in synchronous format to retain interactive components.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:: Biology; Hydrology; Life Science; Physical Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Module
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Author:: Karen M. Kortz (Community College of Rhode Island) Jessica J. Smay (San Jose City College)
Date Added:: 01/04/2022

Unit 4: Irrigation and Groundwater Mining

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Unit 4: Irrigation and Groundwater Mining

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Is groundwater mining sustainable? In Unit 4 students compare and contrast long-term (decades) groundwater well levels in six states representing the East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest Plains states. Satellite imagery maps of the well locations will give students an idea of the land cover, specifically the presence of irrigated crops. Using groundwater well data from the USGS, students will recognize the depletion of aquifers in the western United States (e.g., the Ogallala/High Plains Aquifer), or groundwater mining, as an unsustainable practice.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:: Agriculture; Biology; Career and Technical Education; Hydrology; Life Science; Mathematics; Measurement and Data; Physical Science; Statistics and Probability
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Module
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Author:: Chris Sinton
Date Added:: 03/30/2022

Unit 4: Water budget assessment of a California drought

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Unit 4: Water budget assessment of a California drought

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The California Drought of 2012 -- 2016 had significant social and economic consequences. This final unit focuses on this drought as a case study for measuring the hydrologic system so that we can better understand fluxes, variability, uncertainties, and methods to measure them. Students analyze a variety of data that are relevant to basin-scale water budget: precipitation, terrestrial water storage, and snow pack. Traditional monitoring systems used are precipitation and snow pillow sensors. The newer geodetic methods are GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellite) and Reflection GPS. The students then use these data to consider water storage changes during the drought and how these changes compare in magnitude to human consumption. The work can start during a lab period and carry over into work outside of the lab time. The student exercise takes the form of responses to questions and tasks that tests a student's abilities to synthesize information and identify challenges in monitoring the terrestrial water cycle. Students then take the step-by-step exercise results and synthesize it into a report for California water policy makers to highlight the findings and pro/cons/uncertainties for the different methods. Unit 4 is the summative assessment for the module.

Show more information on GPS versus GNSS
Hide
Note: Although the term GPS (Global Positioning System) is more commonly used in everyday language, it officially refers only to the USA's constellation of satellites. GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is a universal term that refers to all satellite navigation systems including those from the USA (GPS), Russia (GLONASS), European Union (Galileo), China (BeiDou), and others. In this module, we use the term GPS even though, technically, some of the data may be coming from satellites in other systems.

Show more about Online Teaching suggestions
Hide
Online-ready: The exercise is electronic and could be done individually or in small online groups. Lecture is best done synchronously due to the technical nature.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:: Biology; Career and Technical Education; Environmental Studies; Geology; Hydrology; Life Science; Mathematics; Measurement and Data; Physical Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Case Study; Module
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Author:: Bruce Douglas; Eric Small
Date Added:: 03/01/2022

Unit 6: Groundwater Availability and Resources

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Unit 6: Groundwater Availability and Resources

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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.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:: Biology; Career and Technical Education; Environmental Studies; Geology; Hydrology; Life Science; Mathematics; Measurement and Data; Physical Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Case Study; Module
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Author:: Adriana Perez; Joshua Villalobos
Date Added:: 09/25/2022

Unit 6: Groundwater Availability and Resources

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Unit 6: Groundwater Availability and Resources

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In this unit, students address the issue of groundwater demands and environmental justice in the arid Southwest, a region with some of the largest percentages of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. Students discuss the Rule of Capture, the overuse of water resources, and the dwindling supply of groundwater in many parts of the Ogallala Aquifer. Students connect groundwater's role to the hydrological cycle and consider how issues of inequity can occur when groundwater is not properly regulated.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:: Agriculture; Biology; Career and Technical Education; Hydrology; Life Science; Mathematics; Measurement and Data; Physical Science; Statistics and Probability
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Module
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Author:: Ruth Hoff
Date Added:: 11/23/2021

Use of geophysical techniques in groundwater exploration Problem (PBL) task Based Learning

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Use of geophysical techniques in groundwater exploration Problem (PBL) task Based Learning

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Use of geophysical techniques in groundwater exploration Problem Based Learning (PBL) Task

Subject:: Hydrology
Material Type:: Case Study
Author:: milton Kataka
Date Added:: 11/30/2022

Using the EXCEL Woburn Flow and Transport Model to Teach Modeling Concepts

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Using the EXCEL Woburn Flow and Transport Model to Teach Modeling Concepts

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To prepare for this project / assignment, students could view the 'A Civil Action' movie, the instructor could read to them excerpts from the book and/or the trial testimony, and show them images from Woburn, wells G and H, the subsurface geologic materials, geologic cross sections, the trial participants, and the federal courtroom in Boston (see below). The materials in Bair (2001) about scientists in the courtroom, specific (excerpted) testimony presented by the three expert witnesses in the 'A Civil Action' trial, a chart summarizing the differences in their testimony, and the views of a federal judge on the goal of science versus the goal of a civil trial may also be worthwhile reading by the class prior to the assignment.

The instructor could show students the large plates included in the USGS report by Myette and others (1987) that display potentiometric data and contours before and after the critically important aquifer test performed in December 1985 and January 1986, just before the trial, and discuss the significance of the stream discharge measurement made by the USGS upstream and downstream of municipal wells G and H to the experts' testimony and the outcome of the trial.

The instructor could also show the animations of TCE movement from 1960 to 1986 from the five known sources of TCE contamination at the Woburn Wells G & H Superfund Site (W.R. Grace, UniFirst dry cleaners, Olympia Trucking, Beatrice Foods, and New England Plastics) and the animation showing temporal changes in induced infiltration from the Aberjona River to wells G and H that were created by Martin van Oort (M.S., 2005) based on the research of Maura Metheny (M.S., 1998; Ph.D., 2004) at Ohio State University.

The article by Bair and Metheny (2002) concerning the remediation activities subsequent to the famous trial at the Wells G & H Superfund Site could be used to show how groundwater contamination is cleaned up, why different remediation schemes needed to be used in different hydrogeologic settings, and why cleanup to U.S. EPA standards can take decades.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:: Biology; Business and Communication; Hydrology; Life Science; Management; Mathematics; Measurement and Data; Physical Science; Political Science; Social Science; Statistics and Probability
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Author:: Scott Bair
Date Added:: 08/10/2019

Water Remediation Lab

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Water Remediation Lab

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Students measure the effectiveness of water filters in purifying contaminated water. They prepare test water by creating different concentrations of bleach (chlorine-contaminated) water. After passing the contaminated water through commercially available Brita® water filters designed to purify drinking water, students determine the chlorine concentration of the purified water using chlorine test strips and measure the adsorption of chlorine onto activated carbon over time. They graph and analyze their results to determine the effectiveness of the filters. The household active carbon filters used are one example of engineer-designed water purification systems.

Subject:: Applied Science; Chemistry; Engineering; Physical Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: TeachEngineering
Provider Set:: TeachEngineering
Author:: Barry Williams; Jessica Ray; Phyllis Balcerzak
Date Added:: 09/18/2014

Watershed Balance

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Watershed Balance

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Students learn about the water cycle and its key components. First, they learn about the concept of a watershed and why it is important in the context of engineering hydrology. Then they learn how we can use the theory of conservation of mass to estimate the amount of water that enters a watershed (precipitation, groundwater flowing in) and exits a watershed (evaporation, runoff, groundwater out). Finally, students learn about runoff and how we visualize runoff in the form of hydrographs.

Subject:: Applied Science; Engineering; Hydrology; Physical Science
Material Type:: Lesson Plan
Provider:: TeachEngineering
Provider Set:: TeachEngineering
Author:: Emily Gill; Malinda Schaefer Zarske
Date Added:: 09/18/2014

Western water law project

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Western water law project

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Students read one of two articles (the "cases") from High Country News, a bi-weekly periodical that covers environmental issues in the western North America. Both articles are about situations in which the use of ground water by irrigators has decreased the amount of surface water available for users with senior water rights. I divide the class into groups representing 1) surface water users, 2) ground water users, and 3) a regulatory board. The groups read and discuss each article and prepare a case to present to the regulatory board. After each group has prepared their case, we gather for a hearing, where groups of consultants present their cases and are questioned by the regulatory board. At the end, the regulatory board makes "decisions" on each "case". The decision isn't the focus of the exercise. The most valuable part is the subsequent discussion about the cases and the common issues in them that get the students to recognize the connection between surface and ground water and how humans have come up with confusing and sometimes scientifically conflicting sets of laws to regulate each.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:: Biology; Business and Communication; Hydrology; Life Science; Management; Physical Science; Political Science; Social Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Homework/Assignment
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Author:: Todd Rayne
Date Added:: 11/04/2021

What's Down the Well?

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What's Down the Well?

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Students learn about physical models of groundwater and how environmental engineers determine possible sites for drinking water wells. During the activity, students create their own groundwater well models using coffee cans and wire screening. They add red food coloring to their models to see how pollutants can migrate through the groundwater into a drinking water resource.

Subject:: Applied Science; Engineering; Hydrology; Physical Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: TeachEngineering
Provider Set:: TeachEngineering
Author:: Janet Yowell; Malinda Schaefer Zarske; Melissa Straten
Date Added:: 10/14/2015

Where Does All the Water Go?

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Where Does All the Water Go?

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The best way for students to understand how groundwater flows is to actually see it. In this activity, students will learn the vocabulary associated with groundwater and see a demonstration of groundwater flow. Students will learn about the measurements that environmental engineers need when creating a groundwater model of a chemical plume.

Subject:: Applied Science; Engineering; Hydrology; Physical Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: TeachEngineering
Provider Set:: TeachEngineering
Date Added:: 10/14/2015

Where Has All the Water Gone?

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Where Has All the Water Gone?

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Students learn about the Earth's water cycle, especially about evaporation. Once a dam is constructed, its reservoir becomes a part of the region's natural hydrologic cycle by receiving precipitation, storing runoff water and evaporating water. Although almost impossible to see, and not as familiar to most people as precipitation, evaporation plays a critical role in the hydrologic cycle, and is especially of interest to engineers designing new dams and reservoirs, such as those that Splash Engineering is designing for Thirsty County.

Subject:: Applied Science; Engineering; Hydrology; Physical Science
Material Type:: Lesson Plan
Provider:: TeachEngineering
Provider Set:: TeachEngineering
Author:: Denise W. Carlson; Jeff Lyng; Kristin Field
Date Added:: 09/18/2014

Who Polluted Surface and Groundwater in This Place?

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Who Polluted Surface and Groundwater in This Place?

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Students are provided with a 3D perspective of a virtual place, descriptions of geologic and cultural aspects, and a table with water-table elevations in groundwater and contaminant levels in water wells, springs, and rivers. Students use these data to contour water-table elevations, determine the direction of groundwater flow, and identify industrial sites that are likely sources of contamination. They then propose a remediation plan and identify water wells that are likely to remain uncontaminated in the future.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:: Chemistry; Hydrology; Mathematics; Measurement and Data; Physical Science; Statistics and Probability
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Author:: Steve Reynolds
Date Added:: 09/16/2020

Who's Down the Well?

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Who's Down the Well?

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Drinking water comes from many different sources, including surface water and groundwater. Environmental engineers analyze the physical properties of groundwater to predict how and where surface contaminants will travel. In this lesson, students will learn about several possible scenarios of contamination to drinking water. They will analyze the movement of example contaminants through groundwater such as environmental engineers must do (i.e., engineers identify and analyze existing contamination of water sources in order to produce high quality drinking water for consumers).

Subject:: Applied Science; Engineering; Hydrology; Physical Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Lesson Plan
Provider:: TeachEngineering
Provider Set:: TeachEngineering
Author:: Janet Yowell; Malinda Schaefer Zarske; Melissa Straten
Date Added:: 09/18/2014