Educating undergraduates about soil sustainability is central to our agricultural future. Soil erosion outpaces soil production and soil management is key. This teaching module provides undergraduates with activities that explore controls on soil formation and soil erosion in an applied context. Undergraduates examine the differences between landscapes and soil properties in intensively managed agricultural settings (e.g. grazelands, conventional tillage) and "natural" (forested or prairie) landscapes. Using hands-on activities, students develop a working knowledge of how our agricultural management practices influence soil properties. They examine soil profiles and spatial figures to make connections. This soil teaching module culminates with a project centered on making sustainable management decisions under global climate change.

Despite humans' heavy reliance on Earth's mineral resources, few think about where the products they use come from and what it took to produce them. This module addresses that disconnect by combining learning about rocks and minerals (and how these become the products students use), methods of mineral resource discovery and extraction, and the impact of mineral resource use. This module allows important geoscience concepts to be taught in the context of important and immediate societal issues while also asking students to confront human issues such as environmental justice, economics, personal choice, and politics that may arise due to obtaining, beneficiating, transporting, trading, using, and disposing of natural resources.

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. Show more about Online Teaching suggestions HideOnline teaching: Unit 1 is online-adaptable. The rest of the module is online-ready. Some elements are best done synchronously. See unit pages for details. Webinar about teaching this module: Addressing Water Resources and Sustainability in Upper-level Undergraduate Courses For introductory-level treatment of water resources, please see Eyes on the Hydrosphere: Tracking Water Resources and Measuring the Earth with GPS - Unit 4

This two- to three-week, six-unit module introduces the importance of oceans, basic ocean processes, and impacts of human activity on ocean health. It aims to increase awareness of our dependence on and responsibility for the largest habitat on Earth. Materials encourage systems thinking by addressing physical, chemical, geological, and biological aspects of the oceans. Students study the oceans from these multiple perspectives using scientific data and engaging activities designed to support higher-level thinking.

Water is the most critical substance for the sustenance of life, but the prognosis for the quality and supply of water resources in much of the world is somewhere between troubling and dire. This module provides a framework for students to learn about how people interact with water, peer into our water future, and consider ways we might foster more sustainability in water management. After assessing our major water challenges, the module has students learn about the concepts of water sustainability, virtual water trade, and water footprints. The focus then turns to the interplay between agriculture and water resources, as agriculture has the greatest impact on freshwater consumption and quality. The module has students use several types of data to understand the patterns of crop irrigation in the United States and link this to groundwater levels in different parts of the country. The module also has students assess how agriculture impacts the quality of freshwater resources and employ systems thinking as it relates to nutrient runoff and the development of the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zones.

This nine-unit module addresses the grand challenge of water system sustainability in cities, and includes aspects of hydrologic and atmospheric processes, clean water, low-impact development, green infrastructure, flood risk, and climate variability. The module consists of nine integrated lessons spanning approximately three weeks of classroom instruction. The lessons use data-driven exercises and the flipped classroom pedagogical approach. The lessons provide a foundation in urban water systems, basic hydrologic and atmospheric processes, and sustainable and resilient infrastructure planning and decision making. Overall, the module highlights the benefits of the interconnections of geoscience, engineering, and other disciplines in the pursuit of water sustainability in cities.