Establishing a Research-based Interdisciplinary Watershed Program for an Environmental Studies Program

为环境研究项目建立基于研究的跨学科分水岭项目

• 批准号: 0511486
• 负责人: Jeffrey Jeremiason
• 金额: $ 10.68万
• 依托单位: Gustavus Adolphus College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-08-01 至 2009-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0511486&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Establishing; Research; based; Interdisciplinary; Watershed

Interdisciplinary (99)This project is adapting the approaches of Furman University and Shippensburg University in using water quality and watershed assessment as an interdisciplinary learning tool across the Environmental Studies curriculum. The setting for this project is the Seven Mile Creek watershed, an area of intensive production agriculture, located just a few miles from campus in south central Minnesota. Seven Mile Creek is a sub-watershed of the Minnesota River, which was identified as the most polluted river in Minnesota. This project expands upon existing work by the Brown-Nicollet-Cottonwood Water Quality Board and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to restore wetlands, encourage farmers to use Best Management Practices, and study the effects of these measures on water quality. Water quality of a lake or stream is assessed based on the chemistry of the water, pollutant levels, and the degree of biological diversity. It is also intimately related to human activities on the land, land cover type, the interactions between surface water and ground water, and disturbances within the watershed. Thus, this watershed research project is inherently interdisciplinary in nature, requiring students to integrate what they have learned about hydrology, nutrient and chemical cycling, soils and geology, and biological responses. Through hands-on research-oriented field, laboratory, and computer projects, students are benefiting from experiential learning while producing data relevant to the restoration of the Minnesota River and other agriculturally impacted water bodies. Students are gaining skills such as stream and ground water monitoring, laboratory chemical analysis, biodiversity analysis, and spatial analysis, thus giving them the broad scientific skills necessary to serve as environmental science professionals or to pursue graduate research.

跨学科（99）本项目采用弗曼大学和希彭斯堡大学的方法，将水质和流域评估作为环境研究课程的跨学科学习工具。 该项目的背景是七英里溪流域，一个集约化生产农业区，距离明尼苏达州中南部的校园仅几英里。 七里溪是明尼苏达河的一个子流域，被认为是明尼苏达州污染最严重的河流。 该项目扩展了Brown-Nicollet-棉白杨水质委员会和明尼苏达州污染控制局的现有工作，以恢复湿地，鼓励农民使用最佳管理实践，并研究这些措施对水质的影响。 湖泊或溪流的水质是根据水的化学性质、污染物水平和生物多样性程度进行评估的。 它还与人类在陆地上的活动、土地覆被类型、地表水和地下水之间的相互作用以及流域内的扰动密切相关。 因此，这个流域研究项目本质上是跨学科的，要求学生整合他们所学到的水文学，养分和化学循环，土壤和地质学，以及生物反应。 通过实践研究型的实地，实验室和计算机项目，学生们从体验式学习中受益，同时产生与明尼苏达河和其他农业影响水体恢复相关的数据。 学生获得的技能，如流和地下水监测，实验室化学分析，生物多样性分析和空间分析，从而使他们成为环境科学专业人士或追求研究生研究所需的广泛的科学技能。