BCC Bioscience Image Library is a media file repository of images and video clips made freely available to the public, with special attention to the needs of educators and students in the biological sciences. The resources are licensed under Creative Commons 0. This means all content is free, with no restrictions on how the material may be used, reused, adapted or modified for any purposes, without restriction under copyright or database law.

This project was partially funded by a $20,000,000 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, Grant # TC-26450-14-60-A-25. The product was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership.

If you have any questions contact professor Faye Reynolds at: bioimagesoer@gmail.com

During the course of the day, students examine the high-grade metasupracrustal rocks, related gneisses, and the late Archean granitoids and mafic dikes. We have prepared a number of exercises that might be done with classes at different levels. Depending on the background and preparation of your class you might want to emphasize different learning skills specific to the class level: observation, interpretation, integration (i.e. multiple lines of evidence focused on a given problem), and synthesis (i.e. relationship to the "big picture", drawing from the corpus of geologic knowledge). We have also prepared a compilation of our key scientific results, but these are under seal and we'd like you to do the exercises first as if you were students before taking a look at the supporting evidence.

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To prepare for this activity, students receive background on bedforms and flow regimes in class and practice identifying and classifying bedforms from field photographs. Students are then given a map of a barrier beach/inlet/tidal delta complex in mid-coast Maine and asked to predict what bedforms they expect to find in specific sub-environments. During a subsequent field trip to the area, students observe, classify and map bedforms and relate them qualitatively to formative flows. Qualitative description and classification are supplemented by quantitative measurements of bedform morphology and orientation, and by GPS-located digital photographs. After the trip, students compare their predictions and observations of bedforms in the sub-environments, reflecting on the reasons for the differences and the evolution of their thinking. The exercise also serves to set the stage for subsequent quantitative studies of bedforms and bedload transport, as well as interpretation of sedimentary structures and clastic depositional environments in the geological record.

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This module presents some of the general ideas behind and basics principles of high-performance computing (HPC) as performed on a supercomputer. These concepts should remain valid even as the technical specification of the latest machines continually change. Although this material is aimed at HPC supercomputers, if history be a guide, present HPC hardware and software become desktop machines in less than a decade.

Biodiversity is a useful measure to help us understand the range of diverse species that make up our ecosystems! Calculating Species Diversity is an interactive tutorial that walks learners through the different types of species diversity and how to calculate them. Additionally, learners will gain an understanding on how human activities negatively impact biodiversity and how they can help alleviate the side effects of these actions.

Cancer is an everyday topic in the news and in most extended families. The types and treatment of cancers can be complex and confusing. Module 2 provides students with knowledge and resources concerning the development of cancers related to environmental factors. It is important for students to realize that the state-of-the-art of cancer treatment prior to 1986 (the year the trial started) is not the current state-of-the-art. Treatment of many types of cancer has progressed enormously due to medical research. Treatment of childhood leukemia is one of the success stories in cancer treatment. Research linking childhood leukemia to environmental factors or a specific environmental factor has progressed more slowly. Several links are provided within the website that students can read to become aware of environmental factors in Woburn that have been studied, including Woburn Chemical Industry, Woburn's Water Supply and Hematology of Leukemia. Several research articles are available for students to read and are cited within the searchable database at Bibliography & References.

This tombstone weathering lab is designed to provide students with tangible understanding of chemical weathering and weathering rates. To prepare for this lab, students will have learned in previous labs to identify common minerals and rocks and will have attended lectures about the process of chemical weathering. During the first part of the lab we travel to the city cemetery to collect data on the age and extent of chemical weathering of tombstones that are made of limestone and igneous rocks. After collecting data for ~1 hour, we return to the computer lab where students use Microsoft Excel to analyze and interpret their data. Their task is to calculate a chemical weathering rate for limestone for our region and compare that rate to those from other regions. This activity gives students experience in the process of scientific inquiry: data collection, data analysis and data interpretation. Students develop Microsoft Excel skills: writing formulas, producing charts, understanding trendlines and R2 values.

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This transect across northern Washington State was one of our most geologically and biologically diverse field trips. The trip started with a drive across the relatively uniform basalt flows of the Columbia plateau and then traversed the extremely geologically complex North Cascades accessible from a scenic route through the small, and relatively less-traveled, North Cascades National Park. Steep gradients in elevation annual precipitation and winter temperatures revealed equally dramatic changes in vegetation from cold desert shrub lands to temperate coastal rain forests. Like previous trips, this one allowed students to observe glacial processes up close and trace the history of plant succession as glaciers retreat.

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This trip followed the Columbia River across the basalt flows of the Columbia Plateau through the Columbia Gorge that bisects the Cascade Range and then turned south along Oregons spectacular coastline. The opportunities to integrate biology and geologic processes were limited only by time as students explored the plant and animal life of rocky and sandy beaches dune fields and coastal forests. The southernmost portion of the trip extended from Crescent City, CA (site of the 1964 tsunami) through the Klamath Mountains on the Oregon/California boundary one of the most geologically dynamic landscapes in North America. The tectonic history of the region with its resulting shifts in climate patterns and merging of previously isolated land forms along with an unusual abundance of ultramafic rocks have driven the evolution of one of the most diverse floras in North American populations of carnivorous Darlingtonia (Pitcher plants) provided a dramatic example of the unusually large number of plant species endemic to the serpentine soils of this region.

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This project involves a field trip to the Jordan Formation in Winona, MN. Student teams are assigned a section of the outcrop from which they are to determine a stratigraphic column. The class then performs a lateral analysis and builds a composite stratigraphic column for the formation. As a final product, the students write up the class's observations about the formation.

Project Webpages

Project Summary and Write-up Outline (Acrobat (PDF) PRIVATE FILE 115kB Jul7 05)
Instructor Notes for Project (Acrobat (PDF) PRIVATE FILE 91kB Jul7 05)
Outlines and Notes (Acrobat (PDF) PRIVATE FILE 1.1MB Jul7 05) for each class session for this project

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The processes of conducting a deposition and developing strategies for being deposed or taking depositions are described in this module. The webpages herein reference to The Federal Rules of Evidence and excerpts from the actual depositions of various experts in the Woburn Toxic Trial including John Drobinski, George Pinder, John Guswa, and others. This module describes the setting for taking depositions, how attorneys slowly extract information from those being deposed, and the typical proceedings during deposition. This module can be a stand alone, but the information is best coupled with the modules where students prepare court exhibits to augment and display their technical arguments. This module stresses the need for clarity and parsimony when presenting technical arguments with opposing counsel.

This unit provides pre-service teachers in methods courses with resources for teaching geoscience content and utilizing the methods of geoscience. Pre-service teachers will prepare an annotated bibliography of instructional resources in the areas of geology, meteorology/climatology, oceanography, and astronomy. They will select one of these resources and prepare a full lesson plan based on the resource that emphasizes the methods of geoscience and also incorporates interdisciplinary material from either biology, chemistry, physics, or the social sciences.

This module introduces students to the fundamental principles and uses of electrical resistivity, with a focus on an environmental application. Students explore the characteristics and environmental setting of Harrier Meadow, a saltmarsh just outside of New York City. They investigate the relationship between electrical resistivity and physical properties of the soil in the marsh. Students also discover how variations in survey configuration parameters control investigation depth (how far into the ground the signals sense) and spatial resolution (what size objects can be detected). Finally, students learn about and then perform geophysical inversion, which is the process of estimating the geophysical properties of the subsurface from geophysical observations. In the final unit of the module, students evaluate the extent to which the geophysical dataset and direct physical measurements support the hypothesis, introduced in Unit 1, accounting for the distribution of Pickleweed in Harrier Meadow.
This module is intended to require approximately 2-3 weeks of class time. Teaching material includes PowerPoints that may be used in lectures or provided for self-guided learning, exercises, and handouts that ask students to synthesize what they learn from the exercises. In addition, multiple choice and short answer questions can be given to students as homework, on quizzes, or on exams.

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Testimony by expert witnesses is unique in a trial because qualified experts can present opinions as testimony, rather than merely stating implicit facts. This module links users to the Federal Rules of Evidence so they can view and interpret the rules regarding qualifying an expert. In addition to the definition of an expert witness, which is referenced in Article X of the Federal Rules of Evidence, information regarding trial exhibits and the form of trial exhibits are included. Links to mock trial videos are provided so that participants in a mock trial can view the courtroom arrangement and determine how to best utilize exhibits in the courtroom and in the mock trial.

Ithaca NY is currently located in a tranquil mid-continental geologic setting. But Ithaca's past was anything but tranquil. Would you believe that we once sat beneath a mile-thick sheet of ice? Or that it was once the bottom of the ocean? In a zone of high seismic activity? Or volcanic eruptions? It's all true. On this field trip to Enfield Glen, in Upper Treman State Park, we will make measurements and observations that allow us to reconstruct some of the events in the geologic past of this locality. Was New York always on the east coast of North America? Come on, let's find out.

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In-service teachers learn about environmental geology and how to teach earth science using outdoor activities and resources near their schools.

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Members of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have designed a suite of atmospheric science learning modules for middle school students. The curriculum, which implements a flipped-classroom model, is cross-referenced with Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. It introduces students to topics such as temperature, pressure, severe weather safety, climate change, and air pollution through short instructional videos and critical thinking activities. A goal of this project is to provide middle school science educators with resources to teach while fostering early development of math and science literacy. The work is funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER award. For a complete list of learning modules and to learn more about the curriculum, visit https://www.atmos.illinois.edu/~nriemer/education.html

This is a 10-day field experience class that focuses on the geology of the Grand Staircase of the Colorado Plateau, culminating in a rim-to-rim backpack trip across the Grand Canyon, Arizona.

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This activity introduces geoscientific thinking to a primarily non-geoscience audience. This is the introductory activity of a module designed for pre-service secondary science teachers in a secondary science teaching methods course. Initially, students explore their conceptions of the scientific method. Through readings and discussion, the activity attempts to broaden the students' view of the nature of science by showing how geoscience methods differ from stereotypical experimental science. This introductory activity uses a seminar format (writing/reading/discussing/writing).

The flow or discharge value in a river does not mean much to a lay person or a decision maker because this flow can be insignificant on a big river or can be dangerous on a small creek. Thus, we must know how to translate this flow value into the water depth, velocity, and the corresponding extent to understand its impact. The objective of this unit is to perform hydraulic modeling on a reach of Wabash River near Lafayette, Indiana, to estimate water surface elevation and extent corresponding to a 100 year flow. Students will learn the basics of hydraulic modeling using HEC-RAS to simulate the flow hydraulics using one-dimensional steady state assumption. The outcome will be the inundation extent corresponding to the 100-year event along the reach of the Wabash River near Lafayette, IN. Make sure you have HEC-RAS available on school or personal computers prior to the start of the unit.

A general overview of ultraviolet radiation curing polymerization low migration composition and testing is presented. Performance properties studies in industrial applications are discussed. Several points are investigated in detail: Industrial photo initiators types , photo curing mechanism, short overview of normal photo initiators and photosensitizers, chemistry of polymeric photo initiators , examples of applications in clear coatings usable as top coat in commercial & packaging industry

A spectacular gravel quarry near Rotterdam Junction, New York along the north shore of the Mohawk River is an ideal place to discuss deglaciation history and the development of the ancestral Mohawk Delta building into former Lake Albany. The sedimentary petrology, sedimentary structures, and cementation history of the outwash gravel deposits can be discussed in detail at the outcrop. The 3-D exposures of partially cemented, cross-bedded gravels are representative of the surficial unconfined aquifer system which provides groundwater to many communities in the Schenectady area. The locality is easily accessible via Route 5 westbound, and is an excellent site for sample collection. I use specimens from this quarry as teaching tools in many of my geology classes.

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Students in a learning community that includes classics and geology complete labs involving rocks and minerals. The class meets at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a weekend; in groups, the students document and describe the earth materials displayed in art halls of ancient cultures. The following week reformed groups meet in class to compare and contrast their museum-based findings and explore the geological concepts that underlie the use of materials by ancient cultures (jigsaw assignment). It is assumed that students have some prior knowledge of the ancient cultures being studied at the museum through a paired course, assigned reading, or introductory lecture.

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Execution of the mock trial is the capstone of the learning modules which comprise this website. The instructor needs to function as a true sideline coach, both in the efforts leading to the trial as well as when the trial is executed. Knowing how the end goal, the trial, should flow the instructor should be effectively leading participants to prepare for the trial. Corp. includes understanding of the role of the character they are training, becoming proficient in the profession of the character and being able to communicate the characters opinion clearly in a court of law using whatever exhibits that best tell the story. The mock trial will execute more effectively if they trial attorney or actual court judge can serve the role of the mock trial judge. These persons experience will be invaluable to the trial's authenticity and effectiveness of the learning effort. If someone from the legal profession serves as a judge, it would help the overall effort for the instructor and a person to coordinate continually during the pretrial activities.

Module 12 is comprised of Stage 5 of the semester-long capstone project. In Stage 5, students compile, organize, summarize and synthesize the data and information they've collected through the semester about their assigned food region into a final website or presentation. As outlined in the diagram below, the final website (or presentation) should summarize the physical and human environment of the food region and assess the current status of the regional food system. Students must then discuss future scenarios for their region for temperature and human population growth. Based on their research on the regional food systems, students will assess the resilience and vulnerabilities of the exiting systems to the future scenarios. Finally, students will propose strategies to increase the sustainability and resilience of the regional food systems.

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Commercial simulation software for solar plants is readily available, but source codes are not. Many articles in the open literature give governing equations and algorithms for solar plant simulations, but adopters must program them themselves. This paper presents an open-source, ready-to-run, model of a parabolic trough solar field with a user-friendly interface in the Simulink® environment. The intention is to provide a foundational tool for the solar thermal research community, similar to the Tennessee Eastman Challenge Problem employed for chemical processes. The flow rate of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and the angle of incidence are the manipulated variables of the model. The size of the solar field may be altered. Both open- and closed-loop responses to disturbances may be investigated. The source code of the model is freely available at the Open Educational Resource Commons, which investigators can utilize and extend.

In this optional activity, students analyze maps of wind patterns from three levels in the atmosphere in order to infer global atmospheric circulation patterns and their role in balancing the radiation budget they established in Units 4 and 5. The main activity is a jigsaw in which students explore a single map on their own prior to class, confer with their classmates in specialty groups, and then synthesize atmospheric circulation for an assigned latitudinal zone. In these synthesis groups, students create maps and cross-section concept sketches to use in a full class discussion at the end of class. A follow-up assignment asks students to infer the relationship between global atmospheric circulation patterns and precipitation and then predict possible consequences of changes in these patterns due to global warming.

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In Part 1 of this unit, students will develop protocols for the collection of sensory data to address a guiding question. The data collected will consist of scents or sounds. The advantage of using sensory data is that students are equipped with the analytical equipment (ears and nose) and are familiar with its use. However, students may not have taken the time to consider the variety of perceptions that occur within a group of people who are sharing a sensory experience and the impact that variation can have when attempting to collect objective data to help characterize environmental problems.
Protocols are necessary to ensure consistency of data between collection points and between data collectors, and to link data collected to a research question. Protocols also serve as a record of the methodology used by an investigator that may be subject to scrutiny by subsequent data users or by anyone reading or using a report containing the data. Data collection in all scientific fields may be collected using protocols common within the field or developed by an investigator for use in a specific study.
Because sensory data is inherently qualitative and subjective, students will need to develop methods of quantification that ensure as much objectivity as possible. Likewise, scientists collecting field data may need to develop unique protocols that ensure that field data is collected in as objective a manner as possible.
Ideally, the unit will span two class sessions to allow for the gradual development of a data collection protocol and field plan.

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In Part 2 of this unit, student groups will plan and execute the field collection of sensory data (scents and/or sounds) using previously developed data collection protocols. The advantage of using sensory data is that students are equipped with the analytical equipment (ears and nose) and are familiar with its use.
Class time will be devoted to developing a field investigation plan. Students will create guiding questions and choose a study area, develop or obtain maps of the study area, assign field roles to group members, and develop a timeline for completion of fieldwork. The plan will need to ensure proper execution of data collection protocol, a clear record of the data collected, and a record of field conditions.
Careful planning of fieldwork is important to ensure that the time in the field is utilized efficiently and effectively and that the data collected meets the intended requirements. Likewise, an environmental professional (such as a geoscientist) undertaking an environmental investigation would need to develop a field investigation plan to meet the needs of the investigation.

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In order to give Introductory Geology (Physical Geology) undergraduate non-majors students experience and confidence in using basic algebra to calculate very simple stream flow properties, we use a prework assignment prior to the Rivers and Streams Lab. Prework is a worksheet assigned 2 weeks in advance, which asks students to calculate velocity and discharge as well as unit conversions and calculations of stream load. The questions are put into the context of activities they completed earlier in the semester during visits to the stream (on campus) so questions are relevant to their previous experiences. The prework timeframe gives students the opportunity to seek extra help from their instructor prior to the lab period in which they will make additional measurements, similar calcualations and interpretations of their data.

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This group of materials is designed to provide a framework to teach students in an introductory engineering course basic nanotechnology concepts. The materials use the NAE grand challenge “Provide Access to Clean Water” to underpin the need and potential for nanotechnology to address society’s needs.

This group of materials is designed to provide a framework to teach students in an introductory engineering course basic nanotechnology concepts. The materials use the NAE grand challenge “Reverse Engineering the Brain” to underpin the need and potential for nanotechnology to address society’s needs.

This group of materials is designed to provide a framework to teach students in an introductory engineering course basic nanotechnology concepts. The materials use the NAE grand challenge “Make Solar Energy Economical” to underpin the need and potential for nanotechnology to address society’s needs.

Students visit Drayton Hall historic plantation near Charleston, South Carolina and are led on a field trip that starts with a discussion of documented historic changes that have affected the mansion and the surrounding property. The field trip continues with a study of Native American artifacts and ends with analysis of coastal plain deposits exposed along the Ashley River. Students use paleogeographic maps to discuss both historic and prehistoric changes to the landscape. Back in the classroom, students gather data to draw paleogeographic maps of their own school site through geologic time.

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In this field based activity students explore their new home in an effort to get acquainted with the community beyond the campus and to experience accessible recreation on a nationally recognized hiking trail.

During the nature-based outdoor recreation experience, students explore a variety of natural and cultural history topics.

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This module is intended to provide students with a starting point for the mock trial exercise. Students should be assigned reading of Harr's book "A Civil Action" as well as view the Touchstone Pictures movie by the same name. Following the reading and viewing, students should prepare an exercise that allows them to put the chronology of events together to help them better understand the sequence of activities related to the trial as well as the characters who were involved in these activities.

Few participants in the mock trial are likely to have taken part in a court proceeding or have first-hand experience with the process. Contained in this module are illustrations showing a typical courtroom layout, the location of the judge, the jury box, the witness stand, plaintiffs and defendants tables and the observer's gallery. The illustrations serve two purposes, one, to familiarize the user with the typical court layout so a similar space can be created in a classroom or where ever the trial is to be performed. The second is to allow participants to determine the most effective use of court exhibits. Knowing the courtroom layout will allow participants to accurately scaled exhibits and determine where to place the exhibits so they can be viewed by the jury and judge. Video clips of the Ohio State mock trial are included with this module information to give the user a sense of the trial environment.

This activity will show why our present ultra consumption way of life is not sustainable and must be changed if the human race is to survive long term. The Story of Stuff is shocking but very informative. Its purpose is to wake people up to the perilous situation we are in and take action individually or collective to make the necessary and difficult changes needed.

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The focus on soil in this unit is accomplished by browsing and reading or browsing (in some detail) information from nine websites as well as a book chapter. This effort will help students to understand issues relating to soil erosion, the state factors of soil formation, methods of soil description and classification in the field, soil orders, soil surveys and threats to soil. Questions are posed that require written responses and the in-class activity involves a web-based soil survey using the Natural Resources Conservation Service Web Soil Survey. This activity can be accomplished individually or by groups and should involve a short report of findings.

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The term "Earth system science" is typically used to describe the science (especially quantitative modeling) of the interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and cryosphere, and biosphere---the addition of lithosphere to that list provides all of the main generalized components ("spheres") of the Critical Zone.
In this lesson, students will consider basic concepts of system science (studying complex systems), specifically as it can be applied to Critical Zone science. Students will engage in developing a qualitative systems model graphic of the Critical Zone. The knowledge gained here will be applied later in the semester to more in-depth systems thinking of the Critical Zone.

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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 nation (Maldives). What are the anticipated consequences of additional sea-level rise this century in these different places? This introduction to the module is designed to prompt student consideration of the economic and social impacts of sea-level change. As a class, students conduct a stakeholder analysis for one or more of the case study regions in order to better understand how different segments of a society affect and will be affected by sea-level change.

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Online-adaptable: This exercise could be converted to online whole-class discussions and a breakout group activity. At least the whole-class portion would probably need to be done synchronously.

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GPS data can measure vertical and horizontal bedrock motion caused by a variety of geologic processes, such as plate movement and the changing amount of water and ice on Earth's surface. In this unit, students will learn the basics of how GPS works and how to read GPS time-series data.

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Note: Although the term GPS (Global Positioning System) is more commonly used in everyday language, it officially refers only to the USA's constellation of satellites. GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is a universal term that refers to all satellite navigation systems including those from the USA (GPS), Russia (GLONASS), European Union (Galileo), China (BeiDou), and others. In this module, we use the term GPS even though, technically, some of the data may be coming from satellites in other systems.

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Online-adaptable: Main exercise is a jigsawactivity that can be successfully done in an online course; but it does take a bit of extra effort to arrange the students into two different sets of online groups with online collaboration. This will probably be more success in a synchronous format.
OR the unit could be adapted away from the jigsaw format and presented as single exercise done individually or in static small groups.

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In this unit, students will be introduced to different data types used in the geosciences and other disciplines to understand environmental problems. The instructor will discuss the difference between qualitative and quantitative. Then, students will be given data sets related to water in Phoenix, Arizona. Students will work in groups of two to five to categorize different data sets as qualitative or quantitative and to reflect on their emotive responses to different data. The session ends with a discussion about the potential uses of these various data sets in decision-making around water in Phoenix, and uses this to foster a discussion about the ways in which different data sources lend insight into complex system problems.

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In this opening unit, students develop the societal context for understanding earthquake hazards using as a case study the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake. It starts with a short homework "scavenger hunt" in which students find a compelling video and information about the earthquake. In class, they share some of what they have found and then engage in a series of think-pair-share exercises to investigate both the societal and scientific data about the earthquake.

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Online-ready: This opening class discussion about earthquakes and societal impacts could easily be converted to an online discussion format.

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This unit is designed to engage students by introducing them to patterns in recent climate and investigating possible reasons for recent changes. Students work in small groups to plot and analyze real-world temperature data covering a decade, and use that information to make predictions about future climatic trends. Whole-class discussions illustrate the differences between short- and long-term trends. Students also analyze graphs of solar irradiance to begin to determine reasons for the observed increase in temperature, setting the stage for Unit 2, which examines the role of the atmosphere in controlling Earth's surface temperature.

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How does water move throughout the Earth system? How do scientists measure the amount of water that moves through these pathways? This unit provides an alternative way for students to learn the major components of Earth's water cycle, which includes actively thinking about how we measure the water system. In this unit, students annotate a schematic diagram to identify the major reservoirs and fluxes in the hydrosphere. They also work in teams of different "experts" to identify traditional and geodetic techniques that are used to measure components of the hydrosphere and the changes over time. Using their recently acquired knowledge about these techniques, they make inferences about which methods are best for measuring different components of the hydrosphere. Measurement methods include stream gauges, groundwater wells, snow pillows, vertical GPS changes, reflection GPS for snow depth, and GRACE satellite (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment).

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Online-adaptable: Main exercise is a jigsawactivity that could be done in an online course but student groups with online collaboration (probably synchronous) would need to be organized OR the exercise would need to be adapted away from group format.

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An Introduction to Climate Variability, Climate Change, and Climate Impacts
This unit is designed to engage students in the topics of climate variability and climate change by introducing them to impacts of changes on human society and cultures in the past. Students read an article about the impacts of climate change on the Incas, Mayans, and Vikings. A class discussion focuses on examining the differences between climate change and climate variability, the impacts on different cultures, and the causes of climate change.

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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 module. More specifically, within Unit 1, students acquire a vocabulary related to storm systems and risk, engage in practical exercises on event probability and frequency, and complete written activities and oral presentations that reinforce these concepts, using their own community and two case studies as examples. The activities include: a pre-and post-Unit survey on natural hazard risk, an optional concept map exercise to identify associations of risk in major storms, an exercise on probability and frequency of natural hazards in general and major storms in particular, an exercise using hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA) and the HVA's findings, and a synthesis assignment that requires analysis of an assigned hazard mitigation plan (HMP) and development of a proposal to improve mitigation plans.

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The constellations of satellites orbiting our planet enable high-precision positioning not just for consumer or survey applications but also for geoscience research such as detecting plate motions, landslide movement, or other changes on the Earth's surface. This unit introduces students to the fundamentals of these global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), the reference frames used for positioning, and the different acquisition techniques, including their merits and accuracy. Through classroom and field activities, students develop a familiarity with the variety of instrumentation and applications available with GNSS. This unit provides a broad conceptual understanding of GNSS applicable to all acquisition techniques. Subsequent units focus on kinematic and static methods and the different products generated using those GNSS methods.

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Note: Although the term GPS (Global Positioning System) is more commonly used in everyday language, it officially refers only to the USA's constellation of satellites. GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is a universal term that refers to all satellite navigation systems including those from the USA (GPS), Russia (GLONASS), European Union (Galileo), China (BeiDou), and others. In this module, we use the term GNSS to refer generically to the use of one or more satellite constellations to determine position.

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Identifying the differences between hazards and risks is key to understanding how we react, mitigate, and live with natural disasters. This unit will begin with a discussion on identifying the differences between hazards and risk. Students will learn that hazards are the phenomenon while risk is the likelihood of that phenomenon affecting a particular region. Next, students will read an article that puts risk into context and participate in an in-class discussion. The unit will finish by having students calculate personal risk using a simple mathematical formula.

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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 California, analyze information about historic earthquakes, calculate probabilities for earthquakes in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, and assess the regional earthquake probability map.

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Students will identify and apply credible geologic and social science data sets to identify local hazards and vulnerable groups and structures, and assess risk for their community.

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In this unit, students investigate water from a global perspective. The focus of students learning is on the identification of storehouses where Earth's water is stored, how matter (water) cycles through the geosphere (lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere) and biosphere, and the energy associated with water as it changes between a solid, liquid and gas state. The unit investigations conclude with a short homework assignment on the application of the hydrologic cycle from a regional perspective as you research the quality and availability of fresh water in the state where you live. An important factor is the consideration for the percentage of fresh water that is readily available for human consumption and the impact of human activity on the quality of the water.

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Students will identify how they, as individuals, think about climate science and explore common perceptions and misconceptions that exist about climate science. The activities within this unit incorporate individual reflection by students, small group work, and larger group/class discussions, and endeavor for students to learn how to discern true and untrue statements using logic and fact. Students are presented with various statements about climate science and are tasked with determining whether these statements are factually true and whether they are logically valid. We recognize that students may have limited background factual knowledge in climate science before starting these activities, so some exercises are intended more as a way for students to evaluate how they think about climate science and how to create logically valid scientific statements (i.e., how to think and talk like a scientist). By learning how to identify logically and factually true and untrue statements, students will, by the end of this unit, be able to create and evaluate statements about climate science (even with limited factual knowledge) and critique common misconceptions about climate science.

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This unit initiates a discussion about the importance of recognizing faults in relation to modern societal infrastructure. Students consider the types of infrastructure necessary to support a modern lifestyle, especially for people living in population centers. Students also explore how key infrastructure such as aqueducts, power lines, or oil/gas pipelines, which traverse large distances, may also be susceptible to damage by earthquakes well away from the population centers. Additionally, earthquakes can occur in regions where none have occurred in recorded history. The ability to recognize and evaluate the potential for damage to key infrastructure that are near or cross a fault can be used, in turn, to classify and ultimately predict the most and least likely locations for damage, and to make suggestions for minimizing future impacts.

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Online-ready: The exercise is electronic and could be done individually or in small online groups (using the Google Earth rather than printable files). Lecture can be done in synchronous or asynchronous online format, although synchronous would allow better discussions of societal impacts of earthquakes.

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In this introductory unit, students will learn about the fundamental role of observation by viewing photographs of both agricultural and non-agricultural (natural) landscapes and making independent observations. They will learn how to relate physiographic features to land use by drawing conclusions about how the physiography of the land affects or is affected by various land use practices. They will then discuss their observations in small groups, organize their thoughts, and explain their conclusions in a classroom oral presentation. Finally, students will consider landscape features in the context of Earth systems and discuss how these systems are impacted by human activity.

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Students will investigate the history of the environmental justice movement in the United States by situating it within the context of the US civil rights and environmental movements. The unit also makes connections to issues of environmental equity on a global scale. Student-centered discussions will connect environmental justice with the scientific background of the issues, and in particular its interrelatedness with hydrologic concepts.

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In this unit, students investigate the history of the environmental justice (EJ) movement in the United States, situating it within the context of the US civil rights and environmental movements. Students also make connections to issues of environmental equity on a global scale. The unit serves as a foundation for exploring the scientific background of environmental justice issues in subsequent units, particularly the interrelatedness of hydrology and hydrologic concepts.

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Do geoscientists understand the meaning of floods and their role within the broader context of ecological and societal impacts? In this unit, students are introduced to the concept of flooding and the mechanisms that cause different types of floods in natural and urban environment. Students will interpret annual maximum flow series to relate the magnitude of past flow events to their frequency. Students will explore different datasets to describe the magnitude of flood, its spatial extent in the form of a map and its socio/economic impacts.

Show more about Online Teaching suggestions
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Online-ready: The exercise is electronic and could be done individually or in small online groups. Lecture is designed to be interactive and really needs to be done synchronously.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)