The Teaching Quantitative Skills in the Geosciences website has not been significantly updated since 2011. We are preserving the web pages here because they still contain useful ideas and content. But be aware that the site may have out of date information.
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Can we know the presence of Global Warming via the Scientific Method part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Data:Examples
Using the Scientific Method, can we know of the existence of Global Warming? Students will research the question: "Does global warming exit" using and summarizing Scholarly Journals.

Modeling the carbon cycle of the anthropocene part of Activity Collection
Students use an Excel sheet to complete forward and inverse models of changes in carbon distribution between atmosphere, ocean and the biosphere from 1751 to the present and several centuries into the future. The model is given as a mostly complete package, into which students input emissions data in various sensitivity tests.

An Assessment of Hillslope Stability Using the Factor of Safety part of Activity Collection
In this homework assignment students are asked to consider the balance of forces on a hill slope using the Factor of Safety.

The Changing Geographic Distribution of Malaria with Global Climate Warming part of Activity Collection
In this exercise, students analyze climate data to find areas in the southern United States that are now close to having conditions in which the malaria parasite and its mosquito hosts thrive and then attempt to forecast when areas might become climatically suitable.

Mid-level spreadsheeting and complex modeling of real-world scarp evolution part of Activity Collection
This exercise is a second or familiarization exercise in spreadsheeting, but is also a mathematical model for slope evolution. It uses the concept of "erosivity" (generally, the relative ratio of driving and resisting forces) and slope angle to reshape an initial topography. Finally, it asks the students themselves to come up with a real-world situation worth modeling.

What is the fate of CO2 produced by fossil fuel combustion? part of Activity Collection
A box model is used to simulate the build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during the industrial era and predict the future increase in atmospheric CO2 levels during the next century.

Kohler Curves part of Activity Collection
An assignment teaching students about Kohler curves that enhances their quantitative skills.

Using a Mass Balance Model to Understand Carbon Dioxide and its Connection to Global Warming part of Activity Collection
Students explore the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the past 40 years with an interactive on-line model.

Estimating Exchange Rates of Water in Embayments using Simple Budget Equations. part of Activity Collection
Simple budgets may be used to estimate the exchange of water in embayments that capitalize on the concept of steady state and conservation principals. This is especially true for bays that experience a significant exchange of freshwater. This exchange of freshwater may reduce the average salt concentration in the bay compared to seawater if it involves addition of freshwater from rivers, R, and/or precipitation, P. Alternatively, it may increase the average salt concentration in the bay compared to seawater if there is relatively little river input and high evaporation, E. Since freshwater input changes the salt concentration in the bay, and salt is a conservative material, it is possible to combine two steady state budgets for a bay, one for salt and one for water, to solve for the magnitude of the water flows that enter and exit the bay mouth. Students will make actual calculations for the inflow and outflow of water to Puget Sound, Washington and the Mediterranean Sea and compare them to actual measured values.

Estimating Primary Production in the Oceans from Satellite Data part of Teaching Methods:Teaching with Data:Examples