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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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Initial Publication Date: December 7, 2016
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University Park ONLY: Formative Assessment 3

Calculating erosion using Google Earth

Assignment:

The objective here is to learn to measure short-term, and long-term erosion rates using Google earth, and detect trends in eroding coastlines. Also part of this assessment is to track beach width changes over time.

Follow the instructions in the video below to learn how to use Google Earth to measure erosion rates at a single location on the coast, or average erosion across a barrier island (attached written example to be converted by video)

Note: You will need to download the files below to complete and turn in your assignment.

Files

Download the Worksheet (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 60kB Sep7 16)

Download Bay Champagne KMZ file (KMZ File 5kB Sep7 16)

Bay Champagne along the Caminada headland, in South Louisiana

For this exercise you will calculate the erosion rate along the beach near Bay Champagne using the image dates provided below. Use the coordinates provided to create pins and navigate to the locations where you will carry the activity. Do this in Google Earth (or a similar environment).

Dates for calculation are: November 1989, October 2007, January 2004, and November 2012

Pin Locations: Start in 1989

  1. 29 °6'52.6N , 90 °9'58.52W
  2. 29 °7'48.30N , 90 °8'26.88W
  3. 29 °8'35.06N , 90 °7'11.16W

Questions:

  1. What is the average erosion at each site?
  2. Which period has the highest erosion for each site?
  3. Which site has the highest average erosion?
  4. Using the average erosion rate for site 2, how many years would it take to erode the headland by 1 kilometer?

Submitting your Assignment

Please submit your assignment using the tools in your CMS.

Written Instructions (just in case)

Example

Below is an example on how to perform the calculation for one location, in this case pin location 2.

Step 1. Measure a perpendicular line from the shore line to where the beach sands end.

These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »