Discovering Hydrology: Developing Interdisciplinary Labs at All Levels

Through the use of funding from the National Science Foundation, this project involved developing interdisciplinary hydrology laboratories at all undergraduate levels. Equipment was purchased that recorded weather and groundwater data that could be collected at a field site, downloaded to a computer system, and accessed by the students. In some classes, field trips to the site were conducted so students could get a better feel for the instruments collecting the data. In other classes, however, the information was simply presented to the students. Classes ranged from an introductory Geology 101 laboratory to a senior level Civil Engineering 460 advanced hydrology course. Two basic units were created: (1) Surface Water and (2) Ground Water and Geochemistry. A web site is being created so that other universities can access the data and course outlines to see how the information can be incorporated into their classes.