hazard city: assignments in applied geology – fourth editionhazard city: assignments in applied...

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Hazard City: Assignments in Applied Geology – Fourth Edition

Hazard City: Assignments in Applied Geology, 4e is now entirely online. Hazard City 4e is available as a standalone site at www.hazardcity.com. It is also offered as part of the mygeoscienceplace websites for Keller, Environmental Geology, 9e and Hudson, Living With Earth, 1e, which are accessed via www.mygeoscienceplace.com. New multiple choice questions have been added to enhance opportunities for students to apply different aspects of the concepts covered in the well crafted assignments. Hazard City: Assignments in Applied Geology is a collection of eleven problem-solving assignments that demonstrate the work of practicing geologists and environmental professionals. The assignments engage students in interesting work and bring relevance to what is taught in the classroom or online. Our goal has been to give students meaningful tasks that require them to think, consider diverse data and apply what they have learned. We have designed the assignments from the beginning with assessment in mind. Even though the student must do significant work to solve the problem the results are delivered to the instructor in a format that can be assessed in just a few seconds. Eleven popular topics have been selected for the base assignments:

• Coal Property Evaluation (typically one student work hour) • Earthquake Damage Assessment (typically one student work hour) • Flood Insurance Rate Maps (typically one student work hour) • Ground Water Contamination (typically two student work hours) • Landfill Siting (typically one student work hour) • Landslide Hazard Assessment (typically one student work hour) • Map Reading (typically one student work hour) • Shoreline Property Assessment (typically one student work hour) • Snowpack Monitoring (typically one student work hour) • Tsunami and Storm Surge Hazard Assessment (typically one student work hour) • Volcanic Hazard Assessment (typically two student work hours)

Hazard City contains three different versions of each assignment listed above. With three versions, the instructor can use Hazard City for three consecutive semesters without duplication of assignment solutions. Alternatively, three different versions of an assignment allow instructors to assign unique work to three groups of students within the same semester.

Note: Due to previous instructor feedback, the alternate versions of the assignments were not included on the web version of Hazard City. But due to popular demand, they are being put back and will be on the site by November 2010.



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Easy Course Integration:

These assignments are very easy for the instructor. They are ready to assign because all content instruction and data needed by the student are contained on the website. This allows you to assign them in any order, without interrupting your teaching schedule. Your students will print a worksheet, complete it and hand it in.

Rapid Assessment:

A new set of multiple choice assessment questions have been added to the fourth edition. These can be found in the Test Yourself link in each assignment. You can use these assignments to provide eleven different problem-based learning experiences that can be rapidly graded. We have structured the assignments in a way that will give students a significant problem to solve, yet produce a product that is simple for rapid assessment. This, combined with formatted worksheets, enable you to grade the assignments in just a few seconds each. Now you can give problem-solving assignments in a large enrollment course without duplicating lab materials, carefully planning your lecture schedule and spending hours and hours grading papers.

If you have access to BlackBoard, WebCT, CourseCompass or another course management system, you can simply post the worksheet questions in the form of an assessment. This method provides automatic grading of student work and posts the scores to your online grade book. This is how technology should be used.

Integrating Hazard City Assignments into Your Course:

The Hazard City assignments can be used in a wide variety of ways in both online and face-to- face courses. They can be assigned as homework, computer-based lab sessions, extra credit activities, make-up labs, or as collaborative assignments in an online course.

If you have any doubts about integrating technology into your teaching, ease yourself into it by using a Hazard City activity as an extra credit or make-up assignment. See how many students complete the assignment and ask them what they thought about it. You might decide to do a few more.

Hazard City assignments enrich a high-enrollment auditorium course with an “online laboratory” that places minimal demands upon instructor time. Student evaluations of the course frequently contain comments about how the Hazard City assignments were fun to complete and brought relevance to the course. If you have computer projection in your classroom and would like to ease any student concerns you can demonstrate the first assignment to your class.

The authors also use these assignments as the core of online geology courses. These are taught using a Blackboard website where students collaborate on the assignments through an online



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discussion board. The instructors do not answer questions about the assignments through private email; instead they direct the students to the discussion boards. This saves instructor time because most of the questions posted are answered through student discussion and a rich debate about the assignment frequently results. Instructors participate in the discussion board to encourage, praise and occasionally nudge the discussions in a proper direction. They use the Blackboard assessment tool to automatically grade the assignments and record the scores in an online grade book.

Consider fostering student collaboration by opening a “Hazard City” discussion board on your Blackboard, CourseCompass or WebCT site. This will give students a forum to exchange ideas about these assignments. If this is available many students will work on the assignment, exchange ideas on the discussion board and then return to the assignment having learned from their classmates. This approach can work well in both online and on-campus courses. You can increase the level of student accountability by making the Hazard City assignments count as a small percentage of the student’s grade but then including several concept questions about them on the in-class exams.

Difficulty Level and Teaching Beyond Content:

Most of our students will go to college once and then progress through several careers. With that in mind perhaps the most important thing that faculty can do is to give students practice in learning on their own and developing strong problem-solving skills. The Hazard City assignments give students background information and data, then require students to put these elements together in solving a problem.

The answers to Hazard City assignments are not obvious and most students find them a bit daunting at first glance. We sometimes need to remind students that problem-solving assignments require thought and investigation – they are not “busy work.” There is much more to solving them than looking up the answer. Encourage your students to click the “Help” button at the top left corner of the browser screen for suggested approaches for problem- solving assignments.

The assignments also demonstrate how much “uncertainty” is faced by practicing geologists. When students express frustration, the author encourages them to use the discussion board, asking them to formulate and post a specific question that will help them understand the assignment. This usually results in an exchange of messages that brings simultaneous benefits to many students.

Because the questions for these assignments have been placed on the CD, some of the authors’ grading standards are fixed in the design. For most of the assignments, general education students at their institution earn an average score of between 75 and 85 percent. These scores are obtained without any assistance or coaching from the instructor. If you are concerned that the assignments are too difficult you can support your students with some preliminary clues or by increased assistance on the discussion board. If you feel that they are too easy, you can easily add a capstone essay or questions that require deeper understanding.

Assessment Strategies and Closure:



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When automatic grading is used with a course management system such as CourseCompass, Blackboard or WebCT, the instructor can select one of several feedback levels to be given to students upon submission of their assignment. The instructor can select a high level of feedback that gives a student a full analysis of answers submitted, what was correct, what was wrong and the score earned on the assignment. Most students appreciate this high level of instant feedback on their work – they like to know how they have done while the task is still fresh in their minds. This is an excellent approach that is supported by many educators.

The authors take a different approach with the Hazard City assignments. They give minimal feedback at the time of assignment submission and use fifteen minutes at the beginning of the next class period for closure. (The due dates for his assignments are usually 30 minutes before the class meeting.) This approach keeps the answers a “secret” so that they can be revealed to all students at the same time. The students have generally worked in small groups on the assignments and have debated them on the course discussion board. Because students don’t know who is correct they generally arrive at the closure session in friendly arguments over the correct solutions and with a great anticipation for learning the answers.

The authors lead these closure sessions by briefly reviewing the assignment and calling on students to share their approach, results and rationale with classmates. Their information is then debated with the hope of reaching a student consensus. The authors then close the debate by confirming student consensus or explaining the correct answer. This method of closure seems to work well and it allows students to participate in a reasoning process. Closure in the online course is done by posting an explanation on the discussion board where all students have an opportunity to review and comment.

Computers and Students:

Most students enjoy doing some of their work on a computer and asking them to use computers for course assignments is not an imposition. Most schools have public computer labs for student use and nearly every student has access to additional machines at home, at a neighbor’s or in the dorms.

The authors usually begin an environmental geology course with the topic of Landslides and assign the Landslide Hazard Assessment on the first day of class. Students are given a little over one week to enroll in the Blackboard website and submit the assignment. All other assignments are given with a one-week deadline.

Technical Support:

For technical support, visit Pearson’s technical support site at http://247pearsoned.custhelp.com/app/home.



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ACTIVITY PROFILE -- EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT:

Abstract: An earthquake on the Twin Fork Fault affected Hazard City in 1897. This earthquake produced effects in the town that can be rated on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale. The student’s job is to estimate the number of Hazard City residents who would need emergency housing if a similar earthquake would occur today. To complete this task, the student must: learn about the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, learn how earthquakes affect different types of buildings, explore Hazard City to learn about the types of buildings that are present there, and do some simple arithmetic to estimate the number of people who will need emergency housing. Estimated student time required is one hour.

Learning Objectives: After completing this assignment students should:

• realize that some types of buildings are more vulnerable to earthquake damage than others, • understand how the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale can be valuable in determining the

amount of damage that an earthquake can cause in a city, and • realize that a problem that initially seems daunting can easily be solved if you obtain and

apply the right types of information.

Assignment Solutions Here is an email message that the author sends to students in his online course to explain this assignment:

“Hello Geologists!

The Earthquake Damage Assessment was a simple percentage problem. Your goal was to estimate the number of people in four different neighborhoods who would need emergency housing. This was a four-step process:

1) You could find the population of each neighborhood by clicking that neighborhood on the city map and reading the community profile.

2) The community profile also contained information about the types of houses present in the neighborhood.

3) Clicking on “Building Response” allowed you to look up the percentage of different building types that would be uninhabitable after a IX Mercalli event.

4) Finally, you multiply the percentage of uninhabitable dwellings by the population of the neighborhood. That number would be your estimate of the number of people needing emergency housing.



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Residential Neighborhood % Homes Uninhabitable # People Needing Housing Downtown 69-71 1343-1382


Hickory Estates 11-13 303-358 Ralston 11-13 53-62

Riverside 100 382 Walnut Heights 2-4 28-57



Riverside 39-41 127-133 Walnut Heights 0 0

Version 1: Acceptable answers (some graphs are difficult to read precisely so some variation in answers will be allowed):


Riverside 90 365 Walnut Heights 1-2 25-50



Classroom Closure: The authors ask students to:

1) list the important types of information needed to solve the problem, 2) explain how the information is integrated to solve the problem, 3) write appropriate data on the blackboard that was used to obtain the final answers for each

neighborhood, 4) build a consensus on the final answers, 5) discuss what people can do to reduce earthquake losses.



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ACTIVITY PROFILE -- VOLCANIC HAZARD ASSESSMENT:

Abstract: The citizens of Hazard City feel threatened by a nearby volcano and the student geologist has been hired to do a hazard assessment. The student’s job is to evaluate the threat of four volcanic hazards upon neighborhoods within the town: lava flows, volcanic gases, tephra and lahars. The student does field work to learn about the volcanic deposits in the area and about the landscape of Hazard City. The student’s final product is a hazard matrix that summarizes the threat of the four volcanic hazards to two neighborhoods within the town.


• be able to describe five different volcanic hazards and the threat they present to communities near an active volcano,

• understand how information about past eruptions and the landscape of an area are keys to assessing the risk to people and property presented by future eruptions,

• understand that doing a volcanic hazard assessment can involve dealing with a number of uncertainties.

Activity Solution Here is the body of an email message that the author sends to students in his online course to explain this assignment:

“Hello Geologists:

Only one of the neighborhoods that you evaluated had a high risk of deaths from a Lava Mountain eruption. That was the community of Ralston (or Riverside if you did version 3). It is at high risk from lahars. Everything else should have been low risk. Here’s why:

1) Tephra: The prevailing wind blows from the east and Lava Mountain is to the northwest of

the town. This means that the ash and dust would be blown in the opposite direction. You can tell this because the ash deposits on the west side of the mountain are very thick, but on the east side of the mountain they are much thinner. The drill holes near Hazard City show only one foot of ash or less — not enough to be a risk to life and rate a high risk designation.

2) Lahars: These follow the stream channels and you can see that the drillings under the bridge penetrated mudflow deposits. This indicates a risk of lahars at Ralston (Riverside for Version 3). The drill hole between Hickory Estates and the river did not penetrate mudflow deposits and the profile beneath the bridge did not show these deposits up the valley wall below the town. This placed the Downtown area in the low risk category.

3) Pyroclastic Flows: These follow the stream channels too. However, there are no signs of them in either of the streams that drain Lava Mountain (the drill holes at 6 and 7 penetrate only muds and stream sediment — pyroclastic flows would have left welded ash deposits or ash deposits with charred trees and other debris).

4) Lava Flows: Low risk — they are slow and people can get out of the way. 5) Volcanic Gas: Hazard City is upwind from the mountain so the risk is very low. Also, the

city is so far away that if the winds did shift, the gas would be so diluted by the atmosphere



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that the concentrations would be extremely low.”

Version 1 Volcanic Hazard

Assessment Tephra

(Ashfall) Lahars

(Mudflows) Pyroclastic

Flows Lava Flows

Volcanic Gases

Downtown Low Low Low Low Low Ralston Low High Low Low Low

Version 2

Volcanic Hazard Assessment

Tephra (Ashfall)

Lahars (Mudflows)

Pyroclastic Flows

Lava Flows

Volcanic Gases

Walnut Heights Low Low Low Low Low Ralston Low High Low Low Low

Version 3

Volcanic Hazard Assessment

Tephra (Ashfall)

Lahars (Mudflows)

Pyroclastic Flows

Lava Flows

Volcanic Gases

Walnut Heights Low Low Low Low Low Riverside Low High Low Low Low


1) list important types of information that were useful in solving the assignment (topography, wind direction, distance between Hazard City and Lava Mountain, etc.)

2) discuss the hazard matrix, one column at a time, beginning with an easy column, such as lava flows, explaining why this hazard does or does not present a high level of hazard to the town,

3) build a consensus on the final answers, 4) discussion of how volcanic hazards can be mapped to reduce future losses.



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ACTIVITY PROFILE -- LANDSLIDE HAZARD ASSESSMENT:

Abstract: A construction company has hired the student geologist to assess five building sites within Hazard City. The student must assess the sites, disqualifying any that are unsuitable, and recommending the site with the best soil characteristics for development. To do this the student must learn about topographic maps, soil survey maps and soil characteristics that are important to construction sites. The client’s risk- averse nature must also be considered. The student’s final product is a report that categorizes each site as “unsuitable” or “suitable” and gives one site a “highest recommendation.”


• have a basic understanding of topographic maps and an ability to distinguish steep from flat areas,

• understand what a soil survey is and have the ability to locate a site on the soil survey map and then determine the soil characteristics at that site which are important to construction projects, and,

• understand that the risk of landsliding at a site is directly influenced by the slope of the land and the type of soil that is present.

Activity Solutions Here is the body of an email message that the author sends to students in his online course to explain this assignment:


The key to this activity was to locate the site on the topographic and soil maps then consult the soil properties chart for detailed information about the soils at the site.

Version 1

Proposed Location

Landslide Hazard Rating

Overall Suitability for Development Site 1 unstable unsuitable Site 2 unstable unsuitable Site 3 unstable unsuitable Site 4 stable recommended Site 5 stable highest recommendation

Version 2

Proposed Location


Overall Suitability for Development Site 1 unstable unsuitable Site 2 unstable unsuitable Site 3 unstable unsuitable Site 4 stable recommended Site 5 stable highest recommendation

Version 3 Proposed Location


Overall Suitability for Development Site 1 unstable unsuitable



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Site 2 unstable unsuitable Site 3 unstable unsuitable Site 4 stable recommended Site 5 stable highest recommendation


1) list the characteristics of a site that make it suitable for construction, 2) report on a site, describing its steepness, soil type, soil characteristics and overall rating, 3) build a consensus on the final answers, 4) discussion of how future landslide losses can be reduced.



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ACTIVITY PROFILE -- FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAPS:

Abstract: The student geologist is working for an insurance company using flood insurance rate maps to determine the premiums that will be charged to homeowners. The student must assess three sites in Hazard City. To assess these sites the student must locate the site on a flood insurance rate map, decide which flood zone the site occurs in and gather important data about the site that will allow the insurance rate to be determined. The student’s report will include an insurance rate and a flooding probability statement for each site.


• understand that the risk of flooding can be determined for a site using maps that are available from the Federal Emergency Management Administration,

• understand that flood insurance premiums are determined by a logical process using flood insurance rate maps and characteristics about the property,

• be able to determine the flood insurance premium for a site given a flood insurance rate map of the area and a schedule of premiums from the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

Assignment Solutions Here is the body of an email message that the author sends to students in his online course to explain this assignment:

“To solve this activity you needed to locate the property on a flood insurance rate map, and gather information about the property such as its elevation, presence of a basement and information about any previous flooding that has been experienced at the site. Your report should have contained the following information:

Version 1

Version 2

Site

Flood Zone

Probability of Flooding in Any Given Year

Estimated Annual Flood Insurance Cost Per Year

($) 1 within 500-year boundary at least 1 chance in 500 210.60 2 within100-year boundary over 1 chance in 100 431.00 3 zone of minimal flooding less than 1 chance in 500 265.20

Version 3

Site

Flood Zone



($) 1 within 500-year boundary at least 1 chance in 500 165.75

Site

Flood Zone



($) 1 within 500-year boundary at least 1 chance in 500 246.00 2 within100-year boundary over 1 chance in 100 1251.00 3 zone of minimal flooding less than 1 chance in 500 221.00



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2 within100-year boundary over 1 chance in 100 1251.00 3 zone of minimal flooding less than 1 chance in 500 265.20


1) list the characteristics of a site that are used to determine the insurance rate, 2) report on each site, noting the characteristics that determine the insurance rate, 3) build a consensus on the insurance rate for each property, 4) discussion of how future flood losses can be reduced.



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Activity Profile -- Snowpack Monitoring:

Abstract: Hazard City has been dealing with two surface water problems: 1) spring flooding caused by rapid melting of the Lava Mountain snowpack, and 2) water supply shortages during late summer and fall. The student geologist is assigned to do a preliminary study on how the Lava Mountain snowpack can be monitored to effectively manage Johnson Reservoir. Data from three SNOTEL stations is available to get this study underway. The goal is to learn the snow accumulation / melting patterns and identify which stations are the best for signaling the start of the snowmelt season and the melt-out date of the Lava Mountain snowpack.


• understand how snowpack monitoring plays an important role in water supply management and flood control,

• understand how climatic records can be used to predict the severity of spring flooding or water supply shortages for the current year,

• understand how conditions in a remote area can be automatically monitored with the data being used for important decision-making purposes.

Assignment Solutions (example for version1):


To solve this activity you needed to learn how to read the graphs of SNOTEL data and use that information to answer basic questions about the pattern of snow accumulation and melting in the Lava Mountain area.

• You were asked to determine the time of year that the first melt water is produced by the Lava Mountain snowpack and what time of year is the final snowmelt occurs. Studying the SNOTEL graphs from each of the stations you should have noted the first snowmelt is usually recorded in early April at the West View station. You could also note that the final melting of snow is usually recorded at the North Gap station in early July. This information served to answer four of the five questions of your assignment.

• The final question asked you to predict how the volume of spring snowmelt would compare with previous years if, on March 25 there were 38 inches of snow water content at North Gap, 16 inches at West View and 23 inches at Lava Summit. If you compared these values with the snow accumulations at these sites on March 25 of previous years, you will see that they are equal to or lower than the previous recorded accumulations. With that information it is most likely that the spring snowmelt volume will be lower than normal compared to the previous years.

Version 1 Question: Answer Based upon the available data, what time of year should the managers of Johnson Reservoir be ready to respond to the first melt water of the spring runoff season?

early April

Based upon the available data, which SNOTEL station will be the best indicator for the start of the spring snowmelt season?

West View



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Based upon the available data, the Lava Mountain snowcap is usually completely melted by which date?

early July

Based upon available data, which station will be the best for determining the final melting date of the Lava Mountain snowpack?

North Gap

If it is March 25th and there are 38 inches of snow water content at North Gap, 3 inches at West View, and 9 inches at Lava Summit, how would you predict that the volume of spring snowmelt will compare to previous years?

Lower than previous years


Early April


West View


Early July


North Gap


About the same as previous years


Early April


West View


Early July


Lava Summit


Higher than previous years

Classroom Closure: The authors ask students to: 1) explain how to recognize the start of the spring snowmelt season on the SNOTEL graphs, 2) explain how to recognize the snow melt-out date on the SNOTEL graphs, 3) identify the station that would be the best for signaling the start of the snowmelt season 4) identify the station that would be the best for signaling the end of the snowmelt season 5) explain how historic data could be used to predict if the snowmelt volume of the current



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year will be unusually large or unusually low, 6) discuss how and why SNOTEL stations must be carefully sited for maximum prediction

success.



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ACTIVITY PROFILE -- GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION:

Abstract: Contamination of residential water wells has sparked an investigation. The student geologist has been asked to prepare a water table map for the area around Crossroads showing contour lines, flow directions, and the barium contaminant plume. Another job is to determine which residences might next be affected. This is to be done using well elevation data from a Surveyor, depth to water information from a hydrologist, and water chemistry reports from a water analysis lab.


• be able to prepare a contour map of the water table given casing elevations and depth to water information for a number of wells,

• be able to determine the direction of ground water flow using the water table map, • be able to map a contaminant plume given a water table map with contours and flow

directions along with water analyses from wells in the area, • determine which wells are at risk from future contamination.

Note: We regret that there has been an error in the development of this assignment. In Versions 1 and 2 the introduction page map and the map in the geographic information system have different site locations. Students should be instructed to use the map in the geographic information system when working the assignment.

Activity Solutions: Here is the body of an email message that the author sends to students in his online course to explain this assignment:


This activity is solved in a series of steps which I will detail below:

• First, you need to calculate the elevation of the water table at each well. This is done by subtracting the depth to water from the elevation of the top of the casing. These values should be written on the map, close to the wells where they were derived

• Second, you need to draw contour lines on the map to show the shape of the water table. • Third, according to the principles of ground water flow, ground water flow lines cross

ground water contour lines at right angles. Also, according to the principles of ground water flow, the direction of ground water flow is from areas of high water table elevations to areas of lower water table elevations.

• Fourth, use the flow direction to determine which well is closest to the source of contamination. This well will be the highest in elevation. The plume will start there and extend to wells of lower elevation.

• Wells on the edge of the spreading plume will be the next to be contaminated.

Version 1 Question Answer

1) What is the elevation of the water table at the Lilly well? 427.5



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2) Which of the maps below shows a trend of contour lines that is similar to the map you made for this area? (North is at the top)

Map C 3) What is the direction of ground water flow near the Lilly well? Northeast 4) Which of the plumes below best matches the shape and orientation of the ground water contamination plume near the Lilly well?

Plume A 5)Which of these residences in the greatest danger of future contamination? Dixon

Version 2

Question Answer 1) What is the elevation of the water table at the Lilly well? 426.8 2) Which of the maps below shows a trend of contour lines that is similar to the map you made for this area? (North is at the top)

Map C 3) What is the direction of ground water flow near the Lilly well? Southwest 4) Which of the plumes below best matches the shape and orientation of the ground water contamination plume near the Lilly well?

Plume B 5) Which of these residences in the greatest danger of future contamination? Jones

Version 3

Question Answer 1) What is the elevation of the water table at the Lilly well? 442.5 2) Which of the maps below shows a trend of contour lines that is similar to the map you made for this area? (North is at the top)

Map B 3) What is the direction of ground water flow near the Lilly well? Southeast 4) Which of the plumes below best matches the shape and orientation of the ground water contamination plume near the Lilly well?

Plume D 5)Which of these residences in the greatest danger of future contamination? Nestor


1) explain how to calculate the elevation of the water table with available data, 2) explain how to draw contour lines on a map with water table elevations plotted beside each

well, 3) explain how to determine the direction of ground water flow, 4) explain how to draw the ground water contaminant plume, 5) explain how to determine which additional water wells are at risk of future contamination, 6) discuss the concept of well head protection plans for municipal water wells and how water

table mapping is the key to that work.



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ACTIVITY PROFILE -- COAL PROPERTY EVALUATION:

Abstract: The student geologist has been asked to assist a person who inherited a farm and has been offered $500,000 by a coal company in exchange for the right to mine and sell the coal beneath it. To decide if this is a fair price the geologist must calculate the number of tons of coal that can be produced from the property using an appropriate mining method. In addition, questions about coal quality, market location, access, and royalty rates must all be resolved.


• understand how coal and other mineral resource assessments are conducted, • understand some of the factors that determine the value of a mineral property, • understand that the value of a mineral property can be estimated by using a logical, mathematical approach, • realize that ignorance can be very costly.

Activity Solutions: Here is the body of an email message that the author sends to students in his online course to explain this assignment:


I hope that Ms. Doyle was very happy that you kept her from selling a multimillion-dollar coal property for a few hundred thousand dollars. Those rats were trying to steal her coal!

• Your first step in evaluating this property was to determine the thickness of the coal. You can do this by looking carefully at the drilling data.

• Comparing the coal thickness to the overburden thickness, will help you determine which method of mining is best and what percentage of the coal will be recoverable.

• Since you knew the size of the farm and the thickness of the coal you should have been able to calculate that the acre*feet of coal in the ground beneath the property.

• Since coal has a density of 1800 tons per acre-foot, you can then multiply by the acre*feet of coal to determine amount of coal present. Using the recovery rate for your mining method of choice you can determine the yield.

• If you carefully considered the location of the property, the proximity to market, the ease of access and the laboratory report, you can calculate a royalty rate.

• You can then determine how Mrs Doyle should respond to the offer.

Version 1 Question Answer

1) What mining method is appropriate for this property? Surface Mining 2) How many acre-feet of coal are present beneath this property? 1600 3) How many tons of cola are present beneath this property? 2,880,000 4) How many tons of coal are recoverable from this property? 2,592,000 5) What is the most reasonable royalty rate for this property? $2.00-$3.00 6) Should Mrs. Doyle accept the coal company’s offer of $500,000? No! She needs to ask for a lot more.

Version 2



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Question Answer 1) What mining method is appropriate for this property? Surface Mining 2) How many acre-feet of coal are present beneath this property? 750 3) How many tons of cola are present beneath this property? 1,350,000 4) How many tons of coal are recoverable from this property? 1,458,000 – 1,701,000 tons 5) What is the most reasonable royalty rate for this property? $2.00-$3.00 6) Should Mrs. Doyle accept the coal company’s offer of $650,000? No! She needs to ask for a lot more.

Version 3

Question Answer 1) What mining method is appropriate for this property? Underground Mining 2) How many acre-feet of coal are present beneath this property? 1000 - 1250 3) How many tons of cola are present beneath this property? 1,800,000 – 2,250,000 tons 4) How many tons of coal are recoverable from this property? 900,000 – 1,125,000 tons 5) What is the most reasonable royalty rate for this property? $2.00 6) Should Mrs. Doyle accept the coal company’s offer of $1,000,000? No! She needs to ask for a lot more.


1) list the important pieces of information that are needed to evaluate a mineral property, 2) explain how they determined the thickness of the coal seam, 3) explain what mining method would likely be employed, 4) explain how to determine the number of tons of coal in the ground, 5) explain how to determine the number of tons of coal that can be produced, 6) discuss what the royalty rate should be for this property, 7) discuss if the offer should be accepted, 8) discuss the ethics of a coal company making such an offer – is that shrewd

business practice or cheating someone?



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ACTIVITY PROFILE – LANDFILL SITING:

Abstract: The landfill used for municipal waste by the town of Hazard City is nearing capacity. A new site must be located soon so that permitting and construction can be completed on time. The student geologist has been assigned the task of evaluating five proposed landfill sites. The key to this work is learning about landfill siting requirements as set forth by the State Administrative Code. These requirements are then compared with the site geology to determine if the site should be approved or rejected.


• understand that many of the factors that determine the suitability of a site for waste disposal are set forth in government regulations,

• have some knowledge about what geological characteristics of a site could make it inappropriate for waste disposal,

• understand that the people who work at regulatory agencies have very little discretion in determining which site is approved and which is rejected.

Activity Solutions “Hello Geologists:

You have completed your evaluation of the five sites proposed for the Hazard City municipal waste landfill. If you did this evaluation correctly none of the sites should have been recommended for development.

Version 1:

Question Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

Site 4

Site 5

1) This site meets all geological requirements. 2) This site is within a flood hazard area. * 3) This site is within or too close to a wetland. * 4) The site is close to a fault with recent movement. * 5) This site is underlain by potentially cavernous rock. * 6) This site is underlain by an underground mine. 7) This site is too close to a water supply well. * 8) This site is too close to an oil or gas well. * 9) This site fails to meet one or more requirements of the State Administrative Code.

*

*

*

*

*

Version 2:

Question Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

Site 4

Site 5

1) This site meets all geological requirements. 2) This site is within a flood hazard area. * 3) This site is within or too close to a wetland. * 4) The site is close to a fault with recent movement. * 5) This site is underlain by potentially cavernous rock. * 6) This site is underlain by an underground mine. * 7) This site is too close to a water supply well. 8) This site is too close to an oil or gas well. 9) This site fails to meet one or more requirements of the State Administrative Code.

*

*

*

*

*



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Version 3:

Question Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

Site 4

Site 5

1) This site meets all geological requirements. 2) This site is within a flood hazard area. * 3) This site is within or too close to a wetland. * 4) The site is close to a fault with recent movement. * 5) This site is underlain by potentially cavernous rock. * * 6) This site is underlain by an underground mine. * 7) This site is too close to a water supply well. 8) This site is too close to an oil or gas well. 9) This site fails to meet one or more requirements of the State Administrative Code.

*

*

*

*

*

Classroom Closure: The authors ask students to: 1) list the characteristics of a landfill site that must be investigated according to regulations, 2) discuss one site at a time and describing its characteristics as they relate to the regulations, 3) discuss factors unrelated to geology that should disqualify a landfill site for development, 4) discuss if “We don’t want it here!” is adequate grounds to disqualify a potential site.



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ACTIVITY PROFILE – SHORELINE PROPERTY ASSESSMENT:

Abstract: Hazard City is about 50 miles from the coast and most Hazard City residents enjoy visiting the beach. Many have purchased second homes, beachfront cottages or timeshares. Unfortunately, erosion is a problem for these waterfront home sites. The student geologist has been assigned the task of evaluating the shoreline erosion hazard at four different sites.


• understand that shorelines are dynamic locations with erosion and deposition working to alter the landscape,

• have some knowledge of shoreline erosion, sediment budgets and stream bank erosion, • understand the principles that are used to determine if a shoreline property has an erosion

hazard.

Activity Solution “Hello Geologists:

You have completed your evaluation of several shoreline properties. Here is a summary of what you should have determined:

• Site 1: Determine how the action of waves from the east which will cause sand to accumulate on the southeast side of the new groins and erosion to take place in all other areas will affect the properties.

• Site 2: Clayton Point is under attack from the north by shoreline erosion. The north shore of Clayton Point has receded about 10 feet per year since 1988. How will this affect the selected properties?

• Site 3: How will the movement of water around meander bends affect the properties? • Site 4: How will the recently placed rip-rap affect the properties?

Version 1:

Site Property Erosion Hazard Rating Klaster At Risk

Site 1 Simpson At Risk Carter At Risk

Site 2 Froughton At Risk Property 1 At Risk

Site 3 Property 2 Safe

Randall At Risk

Site 4 Wilson Safe

Version 2:

Site Property Erosion Hazard Rating Klaster Safe

Site 1 Simpson At Risk Carter At Risk

Site 2 Froughton At Risk Property 1 Safe

Site 3 Property 2 At Risk Randall At Risk

Site 4 Wilson Safe

Version 3:



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Site Property Erosion Hazard Rating Site 1 Klaster Safe

Simpson Safe

Carter Safe

Site 2 Froughton Safe Property 1 At Risk

Site 3 Property 2 At Risk

Randall Safe

Site 4 Wilson At Risk

Classroom Closure: The authors ask students to: 1) select a shoreline property and state if it will be damaged by shoreline erosion. 2) explain why each site is safe or at risk, using the ideas of sediment budget and erosion.



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ACTIVITY PROFILE – TSUNAMI AND STORM SURGE HAZARD ASSESSMENT:

Abstract: Due to recent events such as the December 26th, 2004 tsunami and destruction related to Hurricane Katrina, the village council of Ocean Village, a small town approximately 50 miles east of Hazard City where the Clearwater River enters the ocean, have become concerned about the vulnerability of their fair village. The student is hired as a consultant to help develop a hazard assessment/response plan to the village's possible inundation by water. To complete this task, the student must: learn about the causes and effects of tsunamis and storm surge, determine tsunami warning time, learn about inland water extent, and apply those concepts and simple arithmetic to determine how many homes may be destroyed or people displaced. Estimated student time required is one hour.


• understand that the destruction related to tsunamis and storm surge are devastating and similar,

• be able to describe the causes and effects of both tsunamis and storm surge , • understand the factors that are involved in the distance water from these two hazards

travels inland, • be able to determine how much of a community is destroyed/displaced based on provided

information.

Activity Solution Here is the body of an email message that the author sends to students in his online course to explain this assignment:

Activity Solution (Version 1):

Questions Answer Choice 1) The speed of a tsunami in the open ocean is approximately_________. This is about as fast as a commercial jetliner.

425 mph 2) Ocean Village is about 1500 miles from a subduction zone which has the potential of producing a tsunami generating earthquake. What is the maximum amount of warning time the village can expect if a tsunami is generated at that subduction zone?

3.5 hours

3) Ocean Village has 498 residents. About how many would have their homes destroyed if the village was inundated by a tsunami with a run up elevation of 20 feet?

224 residents

4) There are several small cottages outside of the main village. Which of them would be destroyed if a tsunami with a run up elevation of 20 feet struck the coast?

Location B

5) A hurricane with a storm surge of 10 feet is approaching Ocean Village. About how many residents would have their homes destroyed by this surge?

75 residents

6) _________ of Ocean Village will have to be rebuilt if a tsunami with a run up elevation (or storm surge) of 20 feet struck the city?

45%

Activity Solution (Version 2): Questions Answer Choice

1) The speed of a tsunami in the open ocean is approximately_________. This is about as fast as a commercial jetliner.

425 mph



25

2) Ocean Village is about 500 miles from a subduction zone which has the potential of producing a tsunami generating earthquake. What is the maximum amount of warning time the village can expect if a tsunami is generated at that subduction zone?

1.2 hours


75 residents


neither location


498 residents


75%

Activity Solution (Version 3): Questions Answer Choice

1) The speed of a tsunami in the open ocean is approximately_________. This is about as fast as a commercial jetliner.

425 mph 2) Ocean Village is about 3000 miles from a subduction zone which has the potential of producing a tsunami generating earthquake. What is the maximum amount of warning time the village can expect if a tsunami is generated at that subduction zone?

7.1 hours


374 residents


both locations


224 residents


15%

Classroom Closure: The authors ask students to: 1) list the causes and effects of tsunamis and storm surge, 2) discuss the factors that control how far each hazard reaches inland, 3) discuss how the destruction related to these hazards can be prevented in the future.



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ACTIVITY PROFILE – MAP READING:

Abstract: Students will use maps to complete a stream monitoring assignment.


• be able to identify items from map legends, understand map scale, • be able to read topographic maps , • correctly calculate rate, distance and time problems, • be able to determine distance between points and calculate route distance.

Version 1 Question Answer Approximately how far will you hike to collect the samples? Remember that you will be starting and ending on the trail next to the campground because that is where you parked your car.

4.7 miles

Approximately how long will it take to complete the entire route? Include time to walk the route, time to collect the samples for the lab and perform the field tests.

4.5 hours

What is the approximate local relief of your route? (Local relief is the difference in elevation from the lowest area on your route to the highest area on your route.)

About 260 feet

Which way should you walk the route? Keep in mind, you will be carrying the portable field test equipment and collecting samples at each site for further study.

Counter-clockwise

Where would you conduct additional testing to further isolate the source?

Upstream from site 6


3.65 miles

Approximately how long will it take to complete the entire route? Include time to walk the route, time to collect the samples for the lab and perform the field tests.

4.25 hours

What is the approximate local relief of your route? (Local relief is the difference in elevation from the lowest area on your route to the highest area on your route.)

About 260 feet


Counter-clockwise




5.6 miles



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Approximately how long will it take to complete the entire route? Include time to walk the route, time to collect the samples for the lab and

5.0 hours

perform the field tests. What is the approximate local relief of your route? (Local relief is the difference in elevation from the lowest area on your route to the highest area on your route.)

About 260 feet


Counter-clockwise



Classroom Closure: The authors ask students to: 1) discuss the differences and similarities between road maps and topographic maps 2) discuss how knowing what surface features they will encounter before visiting an area influences

what equipment they may need or preparations they might make 3) discuss route, distance and time calculations

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This material is protected under all copyright laws as they currently exist. No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission

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