1. 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

2. 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 General Laboratory Format Skills and content exercises are organized around a central research question.

3. 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 Fluvial Geomorphology Laboratory Exercises

4. 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 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) Content and Skills – Synthesis Miner Dam Project Structure *Interim reports are submitted at the end of each exercise. These are edited and included as appendices in the final report

5. 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. Example: Hydrogeology of Miner Dam

6. Simple Hydrologic Budget Analysis SW o SW i EVTPPT GW i GW o NC i Reservoir Storage What caused the failure of Miner Dam?

7. Miner Dam Location Map and Instrumentation Network Well 4-00

8. Surface Water Throughflow and Storage to Miner Reservoir Discharge (m 3 /s) 0.01 0.1 1 10 5 Jul. 14 Aug.23 Sep.2 Nov. Outflow Inflow 5 Jul. 14 Aug.23 Sep.2 Nov. Reservoir Storage (m 3 ) 60,000 90,000 120,000 150,000 Discharge (m 3 /s) 3.0 4.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 Inflow Outflow Reservoir Storage

9.  GW + NC i =  S + SW i + PPT – EVT – SW o -5,000 -10,000 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000  GW + NC i (m 3 /d) 16-Jun 16-Jul 15-Aug14-Sep 14-Oct13-Oct Hydrologic Budget Analysis

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

11. SW NE Cross Section Location

12. INSTRUCTORJOINTSTUDENT 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 Familiarize yourself with the question – READ LITERATURE! Formulate hypothesis(es) Design experiments Define project focus Plan field work Assign working groups and tasks Anticipate Contingencies Data Collection Mentor and Advise Data Analysis Data Synthesis Iterative Process Assessment Communicate Results PRE- PROJECT END PROJECT

13. 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.

14. 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 Summary

15. Additional Slides

16. 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 AESP Model: Rethinking Class Time Applied Environmental Science Program William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute and SUNY Plattsburgh

17. Little Chazy River Watershed Field Laboratory North 02246810 Kilometers NY 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 Forest and Fire Ecology Restoration Ecology – Ice Storm Recovery Freshwater and Wetlands Ecology

18. HOBO ® Weather Station Data Logger (www.onsetcomp.com)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) Weather Stations

19. TruTrack ® Water-Height Dataloggers (www.trutrack.com)www.trutrack.com Record water height (stage) and air and water temperature at 15-min. intervals Electrical capacitance sensor for stage (±1mm) 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 Stream Gauging Stations

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

22. 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) Little Chazy River Watershed Field Laboratory