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DOSS, Paul K. and BORDELON, Laura, Geology and Physics,
University of Southern Indiana, 8600 University Blvd, Evansville, IN 4771=
2,
pdoss@usi.edu
A relatively low-cost ground-water
monitoring laboratory at the University
of Southern Indiana has
proven successful in several aspects of an undergraduate geoscience
program. The laboratory consists of a deep-shallow piezometer nest instal=
led
in the Pennsylvanian Inglefield Sandstone, and is housed within an equipp=
ed
laboratory in the USI
Science Center.
While this laboratory is a primary component of the hydrogeology and
environmental geology curriculum, it also has helped to synthesize
stratigraphic, structural, geochemical, and quantitative skills for a lar=
ge
number of our students. The lab has been the centerpiece for generating n=
ine
complete research projects for eleven undergraduate geology students over
just the past four years, resulting in eight published abstracts and two
peer-reviewed manuscripts. For this integrated program, undergraduate geo=
logy
students have generated over $4000 in internal and external funds, and
research has been recognized with two college =
wide
awards and an external (GSA) award. As a result of presentations and
publications, academic and state and federal government researchers from =
the USA, Aus=
tralia,
and Canada,
and private sector scientists and consultants have contacted our
“research team” for data and interpretations of our findings.
These inquiries provide remarkable “teachable moments” for the
value of science, the dissemination of research results, and relevance to
society. Current work in the laboratory includes continued monitoring, a
stable isotope study, and the development of a ground-water monitoring sy=
stem
that will stream real-time graphical data displays to the web. Two pressu=
re
transducers, a barometric pressure sensor, and a dat=
alogger
are being configured with a real-time monitori=
ng
control web server. With current efforts in this new laboratory, our
“real-time” audience will expand from geology students at the
university to the local population and the larger scientific community.
Outreach efforts have resulted in on-camera interviews with the local news
media networks about the ground-water resource. The information generated=
and
displayed on the internet will aid in understanding the dynamic behavior =
of
the local domestic aquifer, and potentially provide relevant data for
water-quality protection and land-use planning.
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Sess=
ion No.
174--Booth# 105
Teaching
Hydrogeology in the 21st Century (Posters)
Pennsylvania Convention Center: Exhibit Hall C
1:30 PM-5:30 PM, Tuesday, 24 October 2006
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38, No=
. 7,
p. 428
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© Copyright 2006 The Geological Society of America
(GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby gran=
ted
to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, =
for
noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual
scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce=
up
to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproduct=
ions
include the complete content shown here, including the author
information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA
Copyright Permissions.
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