Initial Publication Date: May 16, 2024
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Quantitative Activities for Earth Science Disciplines


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Nutrient Loading Module
This module was initially developed by Castendyk, D.N., T. Meixner, and C.A. Gibson. 6 June 2015. Project EDDIE: Nutrient Loading. Project EDDIE Module 7, Version 1. Module development was supported by NSF DEB 1245707.
Estimating nutrient loads is a critical concept for students studying water quality in a variety of environmental settings. Many STEM/Environmental science students will be asked to assess the impacts of a proposed anthropogenic activities on human water resources and/or ecosystems as part of their future careers. This module engages students in exploring factors contributing to the actual loads of nitrogen that are transmitted down streams. Nitrogen is a key water quality contaminant contributing to surface water quality issues in fresh, salt, and estuarine environments. Students will utilize real-time nitrate data from the US Geological Survey to calculate nitrate loads for several locations and investigate the interplay of concentration and discharge that contributes to calculated loads.

Quantitative Skills: Spreadsheets, Graphs
Software: Microsoft Excel
Subject: Geoscience: Geoscience:Geology:Environmental Geology, Geoscience:Hydrology:Surface Water:Water Quality/Chemistry , Geoscience:Hydrology, Biology:Biogeochemistry:Nutrient Limitation and Cycling, Biology:Biogeochemistry, Environmental Science:Water Quality and Quantity:Surface Water , Environmental Science:Water Quality and Quantity
Grade Level: College Lower (13-14):College Introductory, College Lower (13-14), College Upper (15-16)
On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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Spectral Seismology Module
This module was initially developed by Soule, D. S., M. Weirathmuller, G. Kroeger, and R. Darner Gougis. 20 March 2017. EDDIE: Spectral Seismology. EDDIE Module 10, Version 1. Module development was supported by NSF DEB 1245707 .
This module that is based on a conceptual presentation of waveforms and filters. "Spectral Seismology" will engage students using seismic and acoustic signals available through Incorporated Research ...

Quantitative Skills: Graphs
Software: SeismicCanvas
Subject: Geoscience: Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics:Seismology, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Earthquakes
Grade Level: College Lower (13-14):College Introductory, College Lower (13-14)
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Frequency of Large Earthquakes
Jennifer Pickering
Using the IRIS Earthquake Browser tool, students gather data to support a claim about how many large (Mw 8+) earthquakes will happen globally each year. This activity provides scaffolded experience downloading data and manipulating data within a spreadsheet.

Quantitative Skills: Arithmetic/Computation
Subject: Geoscience: Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics:Seismology, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Geoscience, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Earthquakes, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards
Grade Level: Intermediate (3-5), Middle (6-8), High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14)
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Lake Mixing Module
This module was initially developed by Carey, C.C., J.L. Klug, and R.L. Fuller. 1 August 2015. Project EDDIE: Dynamics of Lake Mixing. Project EDDIE Module 3, Version 1. cemast.illinoisstate.edu/data-for-students/modules/lake-mixing.shtml. Module development was supported by NSF DEB 1245707.
Stratified lakes exhibit vertical gradients in organisms, nutrients, and oxygen, which have important implications for ecosystem structure and functioning. Mixing disrupts these gradients by redistributing these ...

Quantitative Skills: Models and Modeling, Spreadsheets, Graphs
Software: Microsoft Excel
Subject: Geoscience: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Biology:Ecology:Habitats:Water Column, Biology:Ecology, Biogeochemistry, Environmental Science:Water Quality and Quantity:Surface Water , Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Ecosystems:Ecology
Grade Level: High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14):College Introductory, College Lower (13-14), College Upper (15-16)
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Sustainability Metrics
Natalie Hunt, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Sustainability is a complex term applied to many different contexts in a variety of ways. As a result, it can be challenging to determine how sustainable something really is. In this module, students will use an ...

Quantitative Skills: Probability and Statistics:Data Trends, Graphs
Subject: Geoscience: Geoscience, Environmental Science
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
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Episodic tremor and slip: The Case of the Mystery Earthquakes | Lessons on Plate Tectonics
Shelley E Olds, EarthScope Consortium
Earthquakes in western Washington and Oregon are to be expected—the region lies in the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Offshore, the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate subducts under the North American plate, from northern California to British Columbia. The region, however, also experiences exotic seismicity— Episodic Tremor and Slip (ETS).In this lesson, your students study seismic and GPS data from the region to recognize a pattern in which unusual tremors--with no surface earthquakes--coincide with jumps of GPS stations. This is ETS. Students model ductile and brittle behavior of the crust with lasagna noodles to understand how properties of materials depend on physical conditions. Finally, they assemble their knowledge of the data and models into an understanding of ETS in subduction zones and its relevance to the millions of residents in Cascadia.

Quantitative Skills: Vectors and Matrices, Arithmetic/Computation, Graphs
Subject: Geoscience: Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics:Geodesy, Seismology, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Geoscience:Oceanography:Marine Hazards, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Earthquakes, Coastal Hazards:Tsunami, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards
Grade Level: Middle (6-8), High School (9-12), College Lower (13-14)
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Remote Sensing of Plants and Topography in R
Kyla Dahlin, Michigan State University
This module introduces students who are already familiar with remote sensing and R to doing quantitative analyses with large spatial data sets. Students will explore different possible abiotic drivers of plant ...

Quantitative Skills: Probability and Statistics:Correlation, Spreadsheets, Graphs
Software: R
Subject: Geoscience: Geography:Geospatial, Geoscience:Biogeosciences , Biology:Ecology:Habitats:Terrestrial, Biology:Plant Biology, Environmental Science:Ecosystems:Ecology, Habitats, Environmental Science:Ecosystems
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
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Unit 3: Global Sea-Level Response to Ice Mass Loss: GRACE and InSAR data
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University-Bloomington; Susan Kaspari, Central Washington University
What is the contribution of melting ice sheets compared to other sources of sea-level rise? How much is the sea level projected to increase during the twenty-first century? In this unit, students will use Gravity ...

Quantitative Skills: Algebra, Probability and Statistics:Data Trends, Units and Unit Conversions, Problem Solving:Equations, Estimation, Spreadsheets, Geometry and Trigonometry:Cubes and Rectangular Solids, Graphs
Software: Microsoft Excel
Subject: Geoscience: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics:Geodesy, Gravity, Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics, Environmental Geology, Environmental Science:Sustainability, Natural Hazards, Global Change and Climate:Sea Level Change, Climate Change:Impacts of climate change
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
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GETSI Developed This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process.
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Unit 1: Climate Change and Sea Level: Who Are the Stakeholders?
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University-Bloomington; Susan Kaspari, Central Washington University
How are rising sea levels already influencing different regions? This unit offers case study examples for a coastal developing country (Bangladesh), a major coastal urban area (southern California), and an island ...

Quantitative Skills: Estimation
Subject: Geoscience: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climate Change, Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics:Geodesy, Geoscience:Geology:Environmental Geology, Geoscience:Hydrology, Environmental Science:Water Quality and Quantity, Sustainability, Natural Hazards, Global Change and Climate:Sea Level Change, Climate Change:Impacts of climate change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate:Climate Change, Environmental Science:Global Change and Climate, Environmental Science
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16)
On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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GETSI Developed This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process.
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Unit 4: The Magic of Geophysical Inversion
Lee Slater, Rutgers University-Newark
This unit introduces the student to the concept of geophysical inversion, which is the process of estimating the geophysical properties of the subsurface from the geophysical observations. The basic mechanics of ...

Quantitative Skills: Models and Modeling
Subject: Geoscience: Geoscience:Geology:Geophysics:Exploration Methods:Electrical Conductivity/Resistivity, Environmental Science:Water Quality and Quantity:Surface Water , Wetlands, Point Source Pollution, Environmental Science:Waste:Waste Solid :Landfills, Environmental Science:Sustainability, Ecosystems, Chemistry:Environmental Chemistry, Physics:Other Sciences:Environmental Science
Grade Level: College Lower (13-14):College Introductory
On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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