Anthropogenic Effects on Erosion

Karen Gran

University of Minnesota Duluth

This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection and has been reviewed by 1 other review process (view details)

This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Collection

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Initial Publication Date: April 30, 2008 | Reviewed: November 3, 2013 (see revision history: 2 events)

Summary

This exercise investigates anthropogenic effects on erosion in two parts. The first is a discussion of a paper by Roger Hooke (2000) "On the history of humans as geomorphic agents." The second half expands on the concept of back of the envelope calculations to calculate volumes and costs of various human earth-moving activities.

Coastal-zone, Fluvial, Hillslopes | College Lower (13-14), College Upper (15-16)

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Context

Audience

This activity was designed for an undergraduate course in geology.

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

Students should have a basic grasp of fluvial, coastal, and hillslope processes.

How the activity is situated in the course

This was used as a lab exercise. However, it could easily be broken into sections and used as a classroom discussion, a problem set, and/or an in-class activity.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

Calculating volumes, rates, and costs
Estimating volumes, rates, and costs from sparse data

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

Setting up quantitative problems
Critical evaluation of paper from literature

Other skills goals for this activity

Searching the internet for useful data
Working in groups
Using Google Earth

Description of the activity/assignment

This exercise focuses on anthropogenic effects on erosion. It could be run as a single lab or as a series of in-class exercises or problem sets. We discussed an article by Hooke and used it as a launching pad for a discussion of back of the envelope calculations. Students then estimate the volume moved by mountain-top removal and how long it might take a river to mobilize that sediment. They estimate the cost for beach nourishment along Florida beaches. They estimate the contribution of local construction projects and road gravel to stream sediment loads. This activity gives students a chance to formulate a problem, make simple measurements, estimate unknowns, and calculate volumes, rates, and costs of various human earth-moving activities.
Designed for a geomorphology course
Addresses student fear of quantitative aspect and/or inadequate quantitative skills
Uses geomorphology to solve problems in other fields