A FIELD COURSE TO IMPROVE STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN APPLIED HYDROLOGY

Hydrology is, in large part, a field-based science and our students need a hands-on experience in planning and conducting hydrological site investigations and carrying out watershed characterizations, with a focus on contamination remediation or restoration. At the same time, recent advances in computer modeling of groundwater systems have made modeling an equally essential skill for students in hydrology. The professionals who use hydrologic data are responsible for their content, including inherent errors and mistakes that have occurred in the field. Without knowing what difficulties there are in collecting field data and what might go wrong, an office person may ignorantly use poor data in a design problem.

The right way to practice this field-based applied science could be achieved if the students could learn from real professionals in this field. The School of Earth and Environmental Sciences of Queens College offered a three-week field hydrology course in the summer of 2001 in collaboration with the USGS. Two Queens College's field sites, each of which presents different hydrogeologic environments were utilized: Caumsett State Park, situated in the unconsolidated pre-glacial and glacial strata of Long Island's north shore, and the Queens College campus' groundwater monitoring well network. Students gained first-hand experience in drilling and installing groundwater monitoring wells, designing the monitoring system, and collecting, describing, and testing subsurface materials. They followed up by analyzing the data they have collected, and modeling groundwater flow. Students also combined the principles and practices of surface water sampling and monitoring, water quality control and assurance, use typical industrial field equipment for determining water chemistry, learn how to calibrate and use electrochemical probes to measure pH, specific conductance, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. All the data were combined to determine (1) a complete water-budget at the Caumsett site; (2) aquifer properties and water flow at Queens College Campus; and (3) gamma-ray borehole geophysical logging, a hollow-stem auger and Geoprobe drilling method to determine hydro-stratigraphy at Caumsett. This course have made our students much more competitive as they seek entry to the job and graduate school arenas.