Development of Hydrogeologic Component of the Geology Curriculum

该项目提供资金，以安装一个教育水井现场实验室，用于教学水文地质原理，地下水资源评估和污染物治理。 该油田由五口间隔不同、深200英尺的威尔斯井组成。 这些威尔斯井配备了全套仪器，可测量非均质、各向异性、非承压含水层中的含水层水力学，并可长期监测水质、静态水位和当地降水。 关键的仪器是一个现场水位传感器/水质探头/降水量计数据记录系统，可以在各种时间尺度上进行监测，并下载到便携式计算机，以便在现场和现场外进行进一步分析。 这一缺陷使大学能够在许多学生进入水文地质工作和研究生院市场的时候，在入门和高级课程水平上扩大地质学和环境科学课程的水文地质学部分。 水文地质原理及其在水资源管理和污染物修复中的应用正在通过井场的一系列发现实验室进行教学。 重点放在直接活动，包括收集，分析和水文地质数据的解释通常由专业水文地质学家执行。 复杂程度在课程中的每个课程级别都有所增加。 入门学生探索水文循环中的地表和地下过程。 高年级学生执行和评估泵/段塞测试，水取样和化学分析，污染物羽流模拟，井场选址方法和地球物理测井技术。 学生独立研究项目可以利用常年地下水补给流，不透水的堤坝和高容量弹簧之间的独特位置。

This project provides funds to install an educational water well field laboratory for the purposes of teaching hydrogeologic principles, groundwater resource evaluation, and contaminant remediation. The field consists of five wells variously spaced and 200 feet deep. The wells are fully instrumented to permit measurement of aquifer hydraulics in a heterogeneous, anisotropic, unconfined aquifer, as well as long-term monitoring of water quality, static water level, and local precipitation. The key instrumentation is an in situ water level transducer/water quality probe/precipitation gauge datalogging system that allows monitoring on a variety of time scales and downloading to a portable computer for further analysis on and off site. This faaility permits the university to expand the hydrogeology component of the geology and environmental science curriculum at introductory and upper course levels at a time when many students are entering the hydrogeology job and graduate school market. Hydrogeologic principles and their application to water resources management and contaminant remediation are being taught through a series of discovery laboratories at the well field site. The emphasis is placed on directed activities that include the collection, analysis, and interpretation of hydrogeologic data commonly preformed by a professional hydrogeologist. The level of sophistication increases at each course level in the curriculum. Introductory students explore the surface and subsurface processes in the hydrologic cycle. Upper-level students perform and evaluate pump/slug tests, water sampling and chemical analysis, contaminant plume simulation, well field siting methods, and geophysical logging techniques. Student independent research projects can take advantage of the unique site location between a perennial groundwater feed stream, impermeable diabase dikes, and high-volume springs.