The Water Planet
Natalie Bursztyn, Geology
University of Montana-Missoula, The
Summary
This is a lower division majors course that introduces Earth surface processes with an emphasis on hydrology and geomorphology. The course is a 4 credit class that meets twice a week in 2-hour class periods. Students complete labs that supplement lecture material and serve to practice skills that are critical in environmental consulting and field geoscience tech careers.
Course URL: []
Course Size:
15-30
Course Format:
Lecture and lab
Institution Type:
University with graduate programs, including doctoral programs
Course Context:
This is a majors course with an intro Earth science or geology pre-requisite (including an intro lab). It is a required course for the geoscience degree. Rarely non geoscience majors take the course. It is more demanding than most 200-level classes in similar fields at our university, however, it serves as a critical curricular stop along the way before students tackle the higher-level courses in the major.
Course Content:
This course introduces surface water and surface processes to introduce topics of snow science, groundwater flow, stream flow, hillslope hydrology, climate, and the anthropocene. Students measure and model data using excel to improve quantitative literacy and introduce numerical modeling.
Course Goals:
-Practice applying fundamental concepts in physical systems
-Make connections between climate, hydrology, landscape, and chemical processes
-Develop observational skills
-Collect and analyze surface-processes data
-Develop scientific writing skills
-Develop physical and conceptual models, and use data, and logical reasoning to critically evaluate and connect information about Earth-surface processes
-Communicate understanding of the interrelationships among Earth science concepts and theories to peers and others
-Work as members of productive, collaborative teams.
-Make connections between climate, hydrology, landscape, and chemical processes
-Develop observational skills
-Collect and analyze surface-processes data
-Develop scientific writing skills
-Develop physical and conceptual models, and use data, and logical reasoning to critically evaluate and connect information about Earth-surface processes
-Communicate understanding of the interrelationships among Earth science concepts and theories to peers and others
-Work as members of productive, collaborative teams.
Course Features:
The labs in this course are scaffolded such that field science skills, software skills, and numerical modeling skills are introduced and then intergrated into more challenging work throughout the semester. Through repeated exposure and practice in increasingly complex tasks, students gain skills in asking researchable questions in geomorphology and hydrology as well as what data are needed to address them and how to approach answering them.
Course Philosophy:
This course was developed with the idea of having a second year curriculum for geoscience majors tha broadly addressed the two areas of geoscience that can be explored in our upper division curriculum: solid Earth and the Critical Zone. The name "The Water Planet" came from the counterpart to "The Rocky Planet" and because there was concern that students wouldn't know what the Critical Zone was. The curriculum in this "Water Planet/Critical Zone" was designed to introduce the major players in these systems, how they operate, how they are observed and measured, and how we can use those data to model them. As a prerequisite to upper division hydrogeology, modeling, and geomorphology courses, this class prepares students with both content and data analysis.
Assessment:
Assessment is 50% projects and labs and 50% homework readings, exams, and in-class assignments. Projects include a presentation and three field trip (data collection and analysis) write ups. Exams are all short answer questions, non-cumulative.
Syllabus:
Syllabus for The Water Planet (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 311kB Jul16 24)
Teaching Materials:
References and Notes:
We use published literature to supplement the lecture material.