Stream Surveying

Karen Williams
,
Montana State University
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Summary

This is a multi-week field activity to teach basic stream surveying using FS methods, and using the collected data to calculate basic hydrologic and hydraulic parameters.

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Context

Audience

Undergrad water resources

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

basic math

How the activity is situated in the course

Multi-week activity, building aupon previous field activities.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

measuring and characterizing basic channel morphology

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

collection and analysis of data

Other skills goals for this activity

basic surveying

Description of the activity/assignment

The class breaks into groups of 3-4. Each week we go out to the same stream channel, and perform the stream survey activities in the USFS Harrelson document, one chapter per week. After the snow flies, collected data are used to calculate channel hydrologic and hydraulic data such as bankfull flow and critical shear stress.
Designed for a geomorphology course

Determining whether students have met the goals

Each group turns in a field book of the collected data, and uses collected data to answer questions.

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