InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Water Science and Society > Student Materials > Sharing the Waters > The United States and Mexico—Sharing the Flow? > Systems Thinking: Rio Grande River Flow
InTeGrate's Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
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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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These student materials complement the Water Science and Society Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.

Systems Thinking: Rio Grande River Flow

Systems Thinking: Controls on Rio Grande River Flow to the Sea

Consider the water supplied by the Rio Grande River. In many years there is a trickle of water, or less, that reaches the sea. Why? Obviously, the water inputs are less than or equal to the outputs.

Activate Your Learning

Construct a simple system diagram that represents the interplay between the "forces" that influence the flow of the Rio Grande River. Think about aspects of climate, population growth, and water demand as they influence Rio Grande River flow to the sea. Treat the Rio Grande flow/storage as a "reservoir" (total annual water availability in that system) and consider the most important inputs and outputs and the factors that drive them (refer to Module 1 for a background on systems thinking and systems diagrams). When you complete your system diagram on paper, click on the link to see what we expected you to include.

Once you have studied the diagram, construct the "equations" for Annual Runoff and Annual Water Demand. Do the units match? How do you think this system would behave if the changes in inputs and outputs were large on a yearly basis?

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 »