A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) exercise was used in an interdisciplinary course for first year college students to introduce community issues related to the relationship between land use patterns and water chemistry parameters. Students were given data, based on a recent three year study, for the average values of conductivity, sodium cation concentration and nitrate anion concentration for eight local streams. Before beginning the main exercise at the Skidmore College GIS laboratory, students explored the concept of a watershed using ArcGIS software. Students were then provided with a previously prepared watershed map consisted of several layers, including shape files representing the eight watersheds corresponding to the eight sampling sites and a land cover map with data obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center. After making qualitative judgments about land use in the various watersheds, the students used ArcGIS software (and carefully prepared directions) to determine quantitative data related to land covered by urban development, agriculture, forests, and wetlands for each of the eight watersheds despite having no prior GIS experience. After exporting the GIS land use results to Excel, student teams calculated the percentage of each watershed covered by each of the four land cover types and looked for correlations between land use patterns and water chemistry variables. Students were asked to consult the literature for reasonable explanations for the trends observed before the next class. The follow-up class meeting included an extensive discussion emphasizing that correlation does not necessarily mean causation, as well as a brief discussion of the nature of statistical significance. Additional information, including data on the geology and soil of the eight watersheds and the results of a more detailed study of trends observed, was provided to the students during the follow-up meeting.

GIS, environmental chemistry, and community issues in an interdisciplinary First Year Experience (FYE) course for non-majors

248th National Meeting (2014)

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