FRS 004 — Sec. 005 — (2
units) — CRN 53633 — T 2:10-4:00pm — 175A Physics/Geology
Getting Your Feet Wet in Putah Creek
Instructors: David Osleger and Dawn Sumner, Department of Geology, College
of Letters and Science
Description: Our proposed course involves the hands-on environmental
monitoring of a human-impacted watercourse, the North Fork of Putah Creek that
runs through the Arboretum on campus. Measurements of the water, such as temperature,
salinity, water clarity, water depth, oxygenation, flow rate, etc. will be taken
weekly to build a web-based time series of parameters that will reveal stream
dynamics that vary on a range of time scales. The goal of the course is to immerse
freshman in the practice, application and relevance of environmental research.
We hope to help them develop their analytical thinking skills as well as nurture
an interest in the natural history of the local bioregion. The informal, field-based
structure of the proposed seminar will facilitate the collaborative exploration
of research with faculty mentors, a graduate student TA for the course, and undergraduate
geology majors (the latter two groups will be funded with NSF monies). We hope
to avoid the typical ‘top-down’ mode of instruction that characterizes
most college classes.
Format: The class will meet for two hours a week, with the majority
of the activities taking place along pre-determined sites within the Arboretum.
Indoor classes will be held in a reserved room in the Geology/Physics Bldg and
in the computer lab in the Geology Department. After the first week or two, teams
of students will be asked to assume responsibility for a measurement or suite
of measurements at a specific site(s) at regular time intervals. Scheduling will
be adjusted to fit within the student’s academic schedule. Responsibilities
will be assumed cooperatively with an emphasis on students working together in
small groups. The context of each contribution to our understanding of the dynamics
of Putah Creek and the need for scientific rigor in taking and reporting measurements
will be focal points for monitoring efforts. Grading:
The final grade will be determined from the depth and commitment of student involvement
as well as student presentations of web-based archives of the time series of the
data.
About the Instructors: David Osleger is a Lecturer w/ SOE in
the Geology Department, with expertise in stratigraphy and sedimentology applied
to ancient climates, oceans, and lakes. His current projects involve the occurrence
of extreme hydrologic events in the Lake Tahoe basin over the past few thousand
years as well as the identification of episodes of seafloor anoxia in ancient
oceans as recorded in mountain belts in Mexico.
Dawn Sumner is an Associate Professor in the Geology Department, with expertise
in carbonate stratigraphy and geochemistry applied to ancient ocean chemistry
and interactions between microbial communities and their environment. Her research
aims to constrain the processes and environmental controls on the early evolution
of life, with a focus on both the early history of Earth as well as the possibility
of life on Mars.