Unit 3: Simple Climate Models part of Modeling Earth Systems
Louisa Bradtmiller, Macalester College
Students will explore Earth's radiation budget using several versions of a simple climate model often referred to as a "layer model." Earth receives energy from the sun, some of which is reflected ...

Unit 5: The Sixth Extinction part of Changing Biosphere
Camille Holmgren, SUNY Buffalo State University
In this unit, students will prepare by reading a couple of articles describing the causes and rates of mass extinctions, including the current "Sixth Extinction," and why conservation is important to ...

Module 6: Groundwater Hydrology part of Water Science and Society
Demian Saffer and Michael Arthur, Pennsylvania State University
In this two-part module, we focus on the occurrence and movement of groundwater. Key topics will include an overview of aquifer types and nomenclature, and the physical properties and processes that govern the ...

Unit 3: Glaciers, GPS, and Sea Level Rise part of Measuring the Earth with GPS
Karen M. Kortz (Community College of Rhode Island) Jessica J. Smay (San Jose City College)
GPS data can measure bedrock elevation change in response to the changing mass of glaciers. In this module, students will learn how to read GPS data to interpret how the mass of glaciers in Alaska and Greenland is ...

Unit 1: Collecting GPS Data part of Measuring the Earth with GPS
Karen M. Kortz (Community College of Rhode Island) Jessica J. Smay (San Jose City College)
GPS data can measure vertical and horizontal bedrock motion caused by a variety of geologic processes, such as plate movement and the changing amount of water and ice on Earth's surface. In this unit, students ...

Unit 4: Daisyworld part of Modeling Earth Systems
Louisa Bradtmiller, Macalester College
Students explore Daisyworld, a model of a self-regulating system incorporating positive and negative feedbacks. Daisyworld is a planet on which black and white daisies are the only things growing. The model ...

Unit 1: Introduction to Modeling Dynamic Systems part of Modeling Earth Systems
Kirsten Menking, Vassar College; Louisa Bradtmiller, Macalester College; David Bice, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
In this unit we introduce students to the reasons why Earth and environmental scientists use numerical modeling as a tool for understanding complex systems and then teach them how to use the STELLA software that ...

Capstone Project: Urban Water Portfolio part of Water Science and Society
Students will use the skills and knowledge they have developed throughout the course to develop a water portfolio for the future for a given water-critical city. They will need to estimate the city's water ...

Unit 1: Evidence and Impacts of Climate Change part of Regulating Carbon Emissions
Sandra Penny, Russell Sage College; Eric Leibensperger, Ithaca College
This unit introduces students to the geoscience behind the challenge of anthropogenic climate change. Upon completion, students will be able to explain the many impacts of climate change on society and summarize ...

Unit 2: Kinematic GPS/GNSS Methods part of High Precision Positioning with Static and Kinematic GPS
Ben Crosby, Idaho State University
The application of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) in the earth sciences has become commonplace. GNSS data can be collected rapidly and compared in common reference frames. Real-time kinematic (RTK) GNSS ...