Unit 1: Foundational Concepts part of Major Storms and Community Resilience
Lisa Doner, Plymouth State University; Lorraine Motola, Metropolitan College of New York; Patricia Stapleton, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Unit 1 introduces foundational concepts in geoscience, emergency management, and political science that are critical for developing a systems thinking approach and for achieving the learning objectives in the storm ...

Unit 2: Application of Concepts to Case Studies part of Major Storms and Community Resilience
Patricia Stapleton, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Lisa Doner, Plymouth State University; Lorraine Motola, Metropolitan College of New York
In Unit 2, students apply and evaluate foundational concepts about storm hazards and risk in the context of two cases studies: Superstorm Sandy (2012) and the Storm of the Century (1993). Through different ...

Unit 2: Causes of Mass Extinction part of Changing Biosphere
Rebecca Teed, Wright State University-Main Campus
During Unit 2, students will learn about the causes of two past mass extinctions and discuss the controversies surrounding these causes and the evidence upon which the theories in the debates are based. Before ...

Unit 2.1: Hydrologic Impact of Land-Use Change part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
John Ritter, Wittenberg University; Meghann Jarchow, University of South Dakota; Ed Barbanell, University of Utah
In this activity, students model the impact of land-cover changes on stormwater runoff using the EPA's National Stormwater Calculator (Calculator). The students are introduced to the Calculator through a ...

Unit 6: Capstone: A modern catastrophic volcanic eruption? part of Earths Thermostat
Bob Mackay, Clark College; Phil Resor, Wesleyan University; Allison Dunn, Worcester State University
This unit is the module's capstone project: developing a conceptual model of the climatic and societal effects of a catastrophic volcanic eruption occurring in modern times. Through independent research and ...

Unit 8. Impacts of Extreme Hydroclimatic Events part of Water Sustainability in Cities
Manoj Jha, North Carolina A & T State University
Unit 8 covers the basics of hydroclimatic extreme events with a focus on floods and droughts. Topics include introduction to floods and droughts, impact of urbanization on extremes, how to understand and predict ...

Unit 3: Culmination of Module in Town Hall Meeting part of Major Storms and Community Resilience
Patricia Stapleton, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Lorraine Motola, Metropolitan College of New York; Lisa Doner, Plymouth State University
Over the course of one week, students will apply and evaluate concepts in the context of their local community, culminating in the formulation and evaluation of Hazard Mitigation Plan recommendations presented in ...

Unit 3 Hazards at Divergent Plate Boundaries part of Living on the Edge
Rachel Teasdale, California State University-Chico; Laurel Goodell, Princeton University; Peter Selkin, University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Students work in small groups to examine data and videos of earthquakes, submarine volcanic eruptions, and black smokers at submarine divergent plate boundaries, and then predict similar processes at subaerial ...

Unit 1 Hazards at Transform Plate Boundaries part of Living on the Edge
Laurel Goodell, Princeton University; Peter Selkin, University of Washington-Tacoma Campus; Rachel Teasdale, California State University-Chico
This unit uses scientific data to quantify the geologic hazard that earthquakes represent along transform plate boundaries. Students will document the characteristics of the Pacific/North American plate boundary in ...

Unit 4 Risk at Divergent Plate Boundaries part of Living on the Edge
Laurel Goodell, Princeton University; Rachel Teasdale, California State University-Chico; Peter Selkin, University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Volcanoes typically give warning that they are coming out of dormancy and entering an eruptive phase. Being able to recognize those warning signs and take appropriate actions (e.g. evacuations) are important ...