ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY LAB EXERCISES USING LOCAL DATA FROM STATEN ISLAND

The Environmental Geology course at the College of Staten Island is a general education option taken by non-science majors. As such, it can be difficult to build student interest. One of the issues was making the course more relevant to the students, and in order to do this a new lab book was written, using local examples wherever possible. The students each receive topographic maps of Staten Island, and by the end of the semester they have built their own maps showing geologic hazards and how they relate to the bedrock geology. Early in the semester they learn about their maps, and transfer the bedrock geology based on geologic maps and information available online. Then in various lab class sessions they examine local stream and coastal features and topography related to slope failure. These are marked on the maps and students also complete exercises interpreting local hazards. Some include using online data sets, such as stream flow data from the USGS or precipitation records, to supplement the map exercises. During the Fall 2012 semester the reality and usefulness of these maps was really brought home to the students, as the week before Hurricane Sandy hit, they had predicted storm surge zones simply using topographic contours. They were surprised at how accurate their own maps were. By the end of the semester, students are more aware of local hazards and are also more capable of understanding how to predict areas at risk.