Lane's Stable Balance Demo and Activity
Initial Publication Date: May 24, 2024
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Summary
This activity links to a 3D model of Lane's Balance that can be printed on a 3D printer and used in a demonstration and hands-on activity considering how channels respond to changes in driving and resisting forces (Lane's Balance).
Context
Audience
Could be used at Secondary through Undergraduate level. I use this activity in an upper-division Earth Science majors' Geomorphology course in the river unit.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
Covered the factors influencing alluvial river morphology.
How the activity is situated in the course
Used to practice predicting how rivers respond to changing driving and resisting forces in rivers.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity
How alluvial rivers respond to changes in driving or resisting forces
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
River management, river restoration, design
Skills goals for this activity
Description and Teaching Materials
3d Model Lane's Balance files: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6596715
Lane's Balance Practice activity after to have students work on after demonstration
Lane's Balance Practice Activity (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 325kB Apr30 24)
Teaching Notes and Tips
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Assessment
Low-stakes assessment/group discussion and comparison
References and Resources
3D model to print https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6596715
Additional resources
Guarino, Jennifer. Winooski River Stream Table Unit Companion Curriculum Guide
for the Emriver Em2 Geomodel ("The Flume") For Teachers and Students in Grades 4 to 8, Friends of the Winooski River, http://www.winooskiriver.org, December 2016, Lesson 6. Advanced Student Activity: Lane's Balance.
Pollock, Michael M., et al. "Using beaver dams to restore incised stream ecosystems." BioScience 64.4 (2014): 279-290.
Wohl, Ellen. Rivers in the Landscape. John Wiley & Sons, 2020. Section 5.1.4 Lane's Balance.
