Initial Publication Date: October 12, 2020

Mini short course: Teaching about Measuring Water Resources with GPS, Gravity, and Traditional Methods

Wednesday November 4, 2020

12-2 pm PT | 1-3 pm MT | 2-4 pm CT | 3-5 pm ET | 8-10 pm UTC

Capacity reached. Registration closed.

Please consider watching the webinar Addressing Water Resources and Sustainability in Upper-level Undergraduate Courses as an alternative way to learn about the module.

This course is part of the GETSI Virtual Mini Short Course Series.

Instructors

Bruce Douglas (Indiana University)
Beth Pratt-Sitaula (UNAVCO)

Mini-course Description

This mini-course will give instructors a chance to learn about the Measuring Water Resources with GPS, Gravity, and Traditional Methods majors-level GETSI module. It will include interactive opportunities for instructors to actually work through parts of student exercises, discuss ideas with peers, and work on implementation planning. $50 stipend* for completion of the course and short implementation plan. All module units are online-ready or online-adaptable.

Measuring water resources such as groundwater and snowpack is challenging, but the advent of satellite gravity measurements and hydrologic GPS applications can augment traditional methods. This module gives students the unique opportunity to learn these newer methods alongside more traditional ones of groundwater wells and SNOTEL stations. They determine the pros/cons, uncertainty, and spatial scales of different methods. Droughts in the High Plains Aquifer and California are used as case studies. In the summative assessment, students pull together what they have learned and write a report with recommendations for policy makers.

Mini-course elements

  • Watch ~7 minute video (MP4 Video 10.4MB Oct20 20) prior to the first mini-course you attend.
  • Participate in the full 2-hour session.
    (If you are unable to attend the mini-course at its scheduled time, we recommend watching the webinar related to teaching the same module: Addressing Water Resources and Sustainability in Upper-level Undergraduate Courses.)
  • Complete an Implementation Planning Form by the end of Sunday following the mini-course (expected time ~20-30 minutes; you will have some time near the end of the 2-hour session but may need to take a bit of additional time to complete your plan and feedback)
  • $50 stipend* for participants who complete the Implementation Planning Form by the deadline(Sunday November 8) . Must be US citizen or permanent resident to receive a stipend; however, others are welcome to participate without compensation.

Audience

The mini-courses are intended for undergraduate instructors: college and university faculty (including adjunct), post-docs expecting to teach soon, and graduate students with teaching or TAing responsibilities. You may attend multiple mini-courses and receive the $50 stipend for each. Maximum of 50 registrants per mini-course so please only sign up if you intend to attend.

If you attended the short course @AGU 2018: Measuring Water Resources: Undergraduate Teaching Module, this mini-course would be redundant so please leave the spot for someone else.

Goals

Participants will:

  • Learn about geodetic methods related to water resources
  • Access online teaching resources presented in the short course
  • Practice using teaching resources
  • Start implementation plan for use of teaching resources

*Must be US citizen or permanent resident to receive a stipend; however others are welcome to participate without compensation.
You may attend multiple mini-courses. Stipends will be compiled and sent out after the end of the term during which the mini-course was held.

Files for the course

All these files are available in the Measuring Water Resources with GPS, Gravity, and Traditional Methods module. However, we have bundled the specific files that we are using during the course here for simplicity.

Questions

Beth Pratt-Sitaula - prattsitaula AT unavco.org