Teaching Fluvial Geomorphology and Research Skills in a

Teaching Fluvial Geomorphology and Research Skills in a Real-World Setting: Examples from the Little Chazy River Watershed David A. Franzi Center for Earth and Environmental Science SUNY Plattsburgh

General Laboratory Format Skills and content exercises are organized around a central research question. • Introduction • Provide background information and references • Formulate hypotheses and experimental design • Articulate workload and final product expectations • Content and Skills Exercises (data collection & analysis) • Individual or small group assignments • Compilation of cohort database • Interim reports are due upon completion of each exercise • Capstone Exercise (synthesis) • Students are encouraged to discuss interpretations but writing is an individual effort • Emphasize connections between effective writing

Fluvial Geomorphology Laboratory Exercises Skills & Content Exercises Morphometry • • Watershed Delineation Drainage Basin Morphometry Channel Morphology Bankfull Discharge • Substrate & Bank Material Assessment Hydrology • • • Mean Areal Rainfall Evapotranspiration Stream Gaging and Rating Curves Hydrograph Analysis Ground-water Modeling Capstone Exercises • • • Channel Characterization Delineation of Flood-Prone Areas Channel & Reservoir Routing Rainfall–Runoff Analysis Hydrologic Budget Analysis

Miner Dam Project Structure 1) Introduction and Field Trip (Week 1)* • • Pose research question Design work plan Provide background information and references Articulate workload and final product expectations 2) Watershed Delineation (Week 2) • Delineate watershed and subwatershed boundaries, reservoir surface area, drainage network and determine area, relief and channel-network morphometry 3) Areal Precipitation and Evapotranspiration (Week 3) • Download weather data • Compile hourly and daily databases Content and Skills 4) Stream Gauging and Hydrographs (Weeks 4 & 5) • Stream Gauging • Rating Curves & Hydrographs • Reservoir Storage Hydrograph (storage rating curve provided) 5) Hydrologic Budget Assessment (Week 6) – Synthesis *Interim reports are submitted at the end of each exercise. These are edited and included as appendices in the final report

Example: Hydrogeology of Miner Dam The Million-Dollar Dam Timeline (from: Gooley, 2006) 1910 November - Construction begins. When completed, the dam was more than 700 m long and had a maximum height of 10 m. 1913 March - Gates closed but too much water was lost through Cobblestone Hill, which formed the northeastern flank of the reservoir. Grouting operations begin. When completed grout covered more than 70, 000 m 2 of Cobblestone Hill (Scarpit). 1915 January - Power generation begins. Power was produced intermittently upon demand. Construction begins on a second dam, the “Skeleton Dam”, that was to provide additional reservoir storage. It was never completed. 1922 Mechanical problems force abandonment of power generation at Flat Rock. 1930 Wm. Miner dies. A large hole was blasted in the dam to allow the Little Chazy River to flow freely.

What caused the failure of Miner Dam? Simple Hydrologic Budget Analysis EVT SWi NCi PPT Reservoir Storage GWi GWo SWo

Miner Dam Location Map and Instrumentation Network Well 4 -00

Surface Water Throughflow and Storage to Miner Reservoir Discharge (m 3/s) 4. 0 Reservoir Storage 120, 000 3. 0 2. 0 90, 000 1. 0 Outflow Inflow 0. 0 60, 000 5 Jul. 14 Aug. 23 Sep. 2 Nov. Discharge (m 3/s) 10 1 Inflow 0. 1 Outflow 0. 01 5 Jul. 14 Aug. 23 Sep. 2 Nov. Reservoir Storage (m 3) 150, 000

Hydrologic Budget Analysis DGW + NCi = DS + SWi + PPT – EVT – SWo 20, 000 DGW + NCi (m 3/d) 15, 000 10, 000 5, 000 0 -5, 000 -10, 000 16 -Jun 16 -Jul 15 -Aug 14 -Sep 14 -Oct 13 -Oct

Well Responses (data provided during Week 1 field trip) High Fracture Connectivity (behaves as an unconfined aquifer) Low Fracture Connectivity (behaves as an confined aquifer) Threshold Response

Cross Section Location Conceptual Model for Seasonal Ground Water Flow to Miner Reservoir NE NE Spring and Early Summer Water Table SW SW Late Summer and Fall Water Table Springs Cold Spring Brook Cobblestone Hill Well 400 Scarpit Springs Miner Reservoir Excavated Material Potsdam Sandstone Not to Scale Moat Grout Curtain

INSTRUCTOR PREPROJECT JOINT • Define learning objectives, content and skill set • Set reasonable expectation levels – Keep it simple! • Pose the question • Provide background information and references • Articulate workload and final product expectations • • END PROJECT • STUDENT Assessment Familiarize yourself with the question – READ LITERATURE! • Data Collection • Data Analysis • Data Synthesis • Communicate Results Formulate hypothesis(es) Design experiments • Define project focus • Plan field work • Assign working groups and tasks Anticipate Contingencies Mentor and Advise • Iterative Process

Summary Advantages of Long-Term Projects • Provides time for students to reflect and contemplate their results–students receive feedback at interim steps; • Stimulates student interest and creativity; • Integrates skills and content from discrete exercises; • Links learning to real-world issues and problems; • Real data always produce unexpected teaching points that enhance the planned learning activity; • Engages students in all facets of a project (planning, execution and reporting); • Reinforces learning from other courses and experiences (e. g. knowledge of regional geology, effective writing mathematics, spreadsheets, and etc. ); • Helps ease the transition from the mindset of student to professional geoscientist.

Summary Exportability • Site Availability May be a problem for some campuses but most activities can be reduced to reach-level scale or exercises can be derived from local consultant or municipal case studies. • Equipment Cost Small-scale projects can be implemented for several hundred to a few thousand dollars • Time Constraints

Additional Slides

Rethinking Class Time Applied Environmental Science Program William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute and SUNY Plattsburgh AESP Model: • Fall semester residential program featuring 5 interrelated, upper-division undergraduate environmental science and geology classes • Constructivist pedagogy; emphasis upon small-group, project-based learning • Day-long course format provides pedagogical flexibility that; • Creates an informal student-centered learning environment • Allows seamless integration of lecture instruction and field or laboratory projects • Facilitates inclusion of long-term projects • Increases effective geographic range for field excursions • Affords time for reflection and contemplation

Little Chazy River Watershed Field Laboratory Sponsored Educational Activities • Applied Environmental Science Program (AESP) • NSF-REU (2000 -2006) • 1996 NYS Education Department Dwight D. Eisenhower and Summer Institute for Math & Science Programs • NSF Young Scholars Program Research Activities • Lower Cambrian Stratigraphy • Late Glacial Breakout Floods • Hydrogeology of Fractured Rocks • Spatial Variability of Surface Runoff • Agricultural Runoff and Nonpoint-Source Pollution • Restoration Ecology – Ice Storm Recovery • Freshwater and Wetlands Ecology NY North • Forest and Fire Ecology 2 0 2 4 6 Kilometers 8 10

Weather Stations HOBO® Weather Station Data Logger (www. onsetcomp. com) • Records wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, net solar radiation, PAR (photosynthetically active radiation), precipitation and soil moisture at hourly intervals. • 2 additional rainfall collectors equipped with HOBO® event loggers. • Logs data for about 1 year on 4 AA batteries Advantages • 10 -channel dataloggers for plug-in smart sensors, expandable to 15 channels • Easy Installation • Inexpensive; basic unit ~$420 (4 -channel microstation ~$200)

Stream Gauging Stations Tru. Track® Water-Height Dataloggers (www. trutrack. com) • Record water height (stage) and air and water temperature at 15 -min. intervals • Electrical capacitance sensor for stage (± 1 mm) • Temperature thermisters (± 0. 3 o. C) • Logger capacity is 32, 000 12 -bit readings (~2. 5 mo. for 3 variables at 15 -min. intervals) Advantages • Simultaneous air and water temperature and stage readings • Easy Installation • Inexpensive (~$550 for 1. 5 -meter rod) Disadvantages • Temperature reflect pipe interior conditions, thus may not reflect stream or open-air environment • A small percentage of dataloggers display random water-height anomalies

Ground Water Observation Wells Well Acknowledgements: Michael Parson’s Well Drilling Company William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute U. S. Geological Survey, Troy, NY Well 9 -92: NWIS 445052073350201 Local number: Cl-145, SUNY Plattsburgh http: //waterdata. usgs. gov/nwis/

Little Chazy River Watershed Field Laboratory • Solar-Powered Cabin • Field Instrumentation – 18 Stream Gauging Stations – 25 Bedrock Wells (ranging in depth between 10 m and 142 m) – 3 Weather Stations • Other Sources of Hydrogeological Information – Northeast Regional Climate Center weather station at Miner Institute in Chazy, NY (1960 -present) – U. S. Geological Survey Gauging Station at Chazy, NY (1990 present)