Using the Outdoors to Teach Students from Elementary School through College about Surface and Subsurface Water

Alfred University began constructing an outdoor hydrologic field station in 1994, adding capabilities in several phases since that time. Subsurface water is studied using four shallow wells penetrating a near surface aquifer, two piezometer nests, and a deep well installed below a confining clay. Pressure transducers and data loggers monitor continuous, long-term ground water levels in both the surface and deep aquifer. Submersible pumps are used to perform pump tests on both aquifers. Bailers and peristaltic pumps are used to collect ground water samples for chemical analyses. A tipping bucket rain gage, connected to the data logger, is also used at the site to measure precipitation.

A nearby creek that runs through campus is also part of the field facility. Monitoring equipment was set up at a location on the creek to determine the connection between surface and ground water at the site. Stream discharge is monitored using a small weir, pressure transducer, and rating curves. An autosampler is used to sample stream water for chemical analysis and a piezometer nest was installed on the stream bank to help determine ground water input to the creek.

The university owns property near campus with a 65 acre lake, and at this location water samples are taken from different depths, students have constructed bathymetric maps using a depth sounder and GPS, and grab samples of bottom sediment are collects. Purchase of a sediment corer is planned for the near future.

The facilities are used by students in introductory environmental science, research methods in environmental science, hydrogeology, non-majors science classes, and by visiting primary and secondary school students on a regular basis. The key to developing a facility of this type on a modest budget is to start small yet choose equipment that will ensure flexibility for future expansion.