Investigate the ways in which human-caused water shortages, contamination, floods, or other processes associated with fresh water have affected human health or human activity. Choose a specific current or historical example and describe it.
Include in your summary:
What happened/what is happening,
How it is related to either surface water or groundwater (as defined in your textbook), https://opengeology.org/textbook/11-water/
What was the community’s or society’s reaction to the event, and did it help?, and
How the situation is an example of at least one concept from the textbook chapter on water. https://opengeology.org/textbook/11-water/
Add two pictures.
Additional Resources
The following Internet links are optional resources that provide background information for the material this week:
LINK GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF MAJOR HAZARDS IN THE UNITED STATES
DESCRIPTION From USGS: “This set of six maps have been constructed to emphasize areas in the contiguous 48 states where there is a relatively high risk or relatively frequent actual occurrences of four hazards (floods, earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions).” At the bottom-right-hand portion of the page find a clickable map showing the “combined effect of all six hazards—earthquake, volcanic, landslides, flooding, hurricane, and tornado.”
LINK GROUNDWATER ATLAS OF THE UNITED STATES
DESCRIPTION From the USGS: The site “describes the location, the extent, and the geologic and the hydrologic characteristics of important aquifers in the Nation.” A groundwater fact sheet and GIS coverages are also available.
LINK PREVENTING GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION
DESCRIPTION From the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality: The site describes groundwater contamination pathways, wastes generated that might contaminate groundwater, and business-specific waste reduction tips. This 10-page booklet is in the .pdf format.
LINK Where is the Water Table?
DESCRIPTION This video defines what we mean by the term water table. We go into the field to demonstrate how to measure the depth to groundwater in two wells. We use this information to determine the position of the local water table and the direction of groundwater flow. Finally, we discuss how the depth to the water table may vary and direct viewers to a US Geological Survey website where they can explore groundwater data from nearby wells in their state. Visit our blog (https://geosciencevideos.wordpress.com) for a free quiz about the content in this video.
LINK What is an Aquifer?
DESCRIPTION This video describes the basic characteristics of two types of aquifers and identifies four types of geological units that make up many of the aquifers in the US. We compare and contrast unconfined and confined aquifers and show the distribution of aquifer systems composed of sand and gravel, sandstone, carbonates (limestone), and fractured igneous and metamorphic rocks. On the basis of the maps we show you, what is the most likely composition of your local aquifer system?
LINK Porosity and Permeability
DESCRIPTION This video briefly introduces the concept of groundwater before explaining how two properties – porosity and permeability – combine to determine the availability of groundwater and the ease with which it travels through rocks and sediment. We show simple bench-top demonstrations to illustrate each property and we calculate what a reasonable porosity value would be for common sediments such as sand and gravel. Finally, we discuss which rocks would best serve as sources of groundwater and which are likely to be barriers to groundwater flow. Visit our blog (https://geosciencevideos.wordpress.com) for a free quiz about the content in this video.
LINK Streamflow
DESCRIPTION Rivers carved much of the landscape we inhabit, they deposited fertile sediment on the floodplains that we farm, and in many places their flowing water provides power to generate the electricity that lights our homes. This lesson takes a closer look at how water flows through stream systems from small creeks to large rivers. We explain what happens to the water in a stream channel as it travels down the length of a stream from its source to its mouth. We break down how to interpret a Hjulstrom diagram and take a Google Earth tour of the Mississippi River to investigate how discharge changes along its length.
LINK EL NINO IMAGERY
DESCRIPTION “Images and news releases based on observations of the El Niño/La Niña phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean by the U.S./French TOPEX/Poseidon and other NASA/JPL satellites and instruments.” The “Newsroom” section is a good way to keep up with recent press releases regarding El Niño.
LINK EL NINO PAGE FROM NOAA
DESCRIPTION From NOAA, one of the best sites for forecasts, observations, and research on El Niño.
LINK COASTS IN CRISIS
DESCRIPTION From USGS: “The authors describe our Nation’s varied coastal environments and the natural processes and human actions that are constantly modifying them.”
LINK CALIFORNIA COASTAL RECORDS PROJECT
DESCRIPTION From California Coastal Records Project: Find photographs of the California Coast on file, from the Oregon Border to Fort Bragg and from approximately Bodega Bay to the Mexican border (approximately 32.5N latitude). Access maps and images from a clickable map of California, by latitude and longitude, image caption, or popular location.
LINK CORAL REEF INFORMATION SYSTEM
DESCRIPTION From NOAA: Find a searchable warehouse of information, including the results of aerial coral reef monitoring, bleaching reports, paleoclimatological studies, reef biology, deep-water corals, and hazards facing corals. A glossary of over 500 related terms is included. Numerous NOAA-sponsored publications are provided, such as “Status of Coral Reefs of the World” and “State of U.S. Coral Reefs.”
Last Completed Projects
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