Field-Based Learning “In the Center of It All”: Applied Hydrogeology at ESU's on-Campus Hydrogeology Teaching and Research Station

Traditional undergraduate students often lack an appreciation for fundamental quantitative applications in hydrogeology. By introducing such topics in the field, their immediate visualization is possible and enthusiasm for mastering the underlying theories develops. Our field laboratory is located on the Neosho River alluvial aquifer in the heart of campus, where athletic training, marching band practice, and physical education activities also take place. Monitoring wells, multi-level samplers, and an irrigation well are configured for measurement and determination of groundwater gradients, aquifer testing, and water-quality monitoring. The results are integrated in homework problems, quantitative analysis, and data interpretation and presentation exercises. Important hydrogeologic concepts are the subject of deeper introspection as the same site parameters are revisited throughout a three-course hydrogeology sequence. In addition to providing hands-on access to tools and instruments used by practicing hydrogeologists, manipulation of actual field data builds confidence in “thinking outside of the box”, since textbook models must often be modified to represent our watershed. Sampling devices installed along the banks of Neosho River and a local USGS stream-gaging station demonstrate the influence of stream-aquifer exchange on contaminant fate, and of flood-control dams on stream hydrographs. An active UST investigation adjacent to campus enables inclusion of student data in contaminant transport models, and provides a forum for discussion of remediation solutions to a local environmental problem. The knowledge base developed in course work at our field site has served as a foundation for related, independent study and thesis projects. The applied nature of our field-based curriculum prepares students for careers in a variety of water-related fields.