STREAM PROJECT BY PHYSICAL GEOLOGY HONOR STUDENTS AT DELAWARE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Our project applied geologic concepts taught in class to construct a profile of a stream located on the Delaware County Community College campus in Media, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the project was to better understand the interaction of surface and ground water by measuring and modeling a longitudinal stream profile. We first studied stream components such as riffles and pools to conceptualize the longitudinal profile of the stream section on campus. We then used various surveying instruments, including a Sokkia Total Station and an SCO Automatic level, to measure the stream elevation and transects. We measured the water level in core samples taken from a downstream locations adjacent to the stream, and were able to approximate the level of the water table. After collecting the data, we used ArcGIS to create a 3D model of the stream and the surrounding area.