ENVIRONMENTAL HYDROLOGY (GEOG 375)
Fall 2014 (Schedule # 21588)
MWF 12:00 to 12:50 pm in COM 206
Colorado River in the Grand Canyon
Source: http://www.nps.gov
How have we altered the hydrology of the Colorado River
and what are the consequences for humans and habitat?
The Cuyahoga River, Ohio, “the river that caught fire”
Photo by Ken Lund/Flickr (http://www.slate.com)
How are water quality and hydrology linked?
How is fracking linked to a new generation of “water on fire”?
Course description:
Where does freshwater occur on Earth? How does water flow interact with ecosystems? What
hydrological processes maintain the quantity and quality of water? How do humans impact the
hydrological cycle, and what are the implications of global climate change for water resources?
Environmental hydrology is the study of the distribution and movement of water on Earth, including
precipitation, runoff, groundwater, surface-atmosphere interactions, and human-environment
relations. Students will become familiar with models of hydrological processes and how water
interacts with humans and ecosystems. We will explore global to local case studies in environmental
hydrology and learn to use simple calculations and observations to test working hypotheses about
water.
Instructor Information:
Dr. Molly Costello
Office: Storm Hall 311B (3rd floor)
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 1 pm – 2:30 pm by appointment
Email: mpohl@mail.sdsu.edu
Learning Goals:
Page
1
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1) Describe and understand the hydrological cycle and its interactions with ecosystems at the
global, regional, and local scales.
2) Understand and use simple water balance and hydrology calculations.
3) Illustrate how human activities affect hydrological processes, ecosystems, and water quality
at local and global scales.
Activities and Grading:
Homework:
25%
Short reading responses:
5%
Current issues assignment:
5%
Mid-term examinations (2): 25%
Research paper (best effort):
Research paper (revised/final):
Final presentation:
Field trips
15%
15%
5%
5%
Homework: There will be about five homework assignments designed to familiarize the student
with hydrological analysis. Homework will be assigned as the class progresses through hydrologic
topics and appropriate due dates will be posted on Blackboard.
Short Reading Responses: There will be a number of research articles and other professional
readings assigned throughout the semester. These are opportunities for you to learn about
environmental hydrology research and incorporate this into the basic foundation provided by the text
book. The reading responses (i.e. you read the article and provide a written response to questions
provided by the instructor) are meant to cue you to important or interesting aspects of the reading.
Current Issues in Hydrology: Over the course of the semester, you will collect three articles from
current news (e.g. CNN, NY Times, SD Union-Tribune) that are relevant to environmental
hydrology (e.g. floods, dam removal, water quality, riverine ecosystems). Provide a 2-3 paragraph
analysis for each article, using what you have learned in class to explain the hydrologic problem or
situation in detail. What happened? Why? What role did human activities play, if any? Was this
event avoidable? Desirable? What possible future science or management issues arise from this
event? An example of what the final product should look like will be available on Blackboard for
you to review prior to completing this assignment. The goal is for you to see that: (1) every day
hydrology is affecting our earth systems and human populations, and (2) you can use the knowledge
that you gain in this class to better understand what is happening and why it is happening.
Examinations: There will be two examinations (one covering the first half of class material and
one covering the second half of class material) but no final examination. Exam details and a study
guide will be provided prior to each test.
Research paper: The paper is a comprehensive analysis of a problem of the student’s choosing (10-12
pages, typed and double-spaced, including figures and references). The paper will address a question of
interest to the student related to hydrology. Perhaps you are interested in the impact of Tijuana River
watershed activities water and ocean quality, fracking on groundwater quality in Los Angeles, or climate
change on San Diego water supplies. The final project is an opportunity for you to investigate a
hydrologic issue of your choice, analyze the information you collect, and, if relevant, to provide your
assessment of how to mitigate the problem. With rare exceptions, primary references should be from
professional literature and sources. Papers should be organized, using standard APA citation style and
basic formatting (references; tables and figures). Students will write the paper to the best of their ability.
This paper will be graded and the student will meet with the professor to evaluate how to revise and
improve their paper. The final/revised paper will be due at the semester’s end.
Page
Field Trips: There will be two or three field trips this semester. Field trips are optional, but you
must either attend the field trip or complete a replacement assignment to pass the class. Poor
behavior on field trips results in loss of field trip points (and major infractions result in failure of
course.) Low quality replacement assignments also result in a loss of points. Field trips are
discussed on the next page.
2
Final presentation: The presentation is an opportunity for students to share the results of their
research during the semester. Presentations will be 5-6 minutes long (due to large class size), but
they should still be high quality, professional presentations. Presentation date will be determined by
random draw at start of the semester, with the first set of presentations on Dec. 2.
FIELD TRIPS
There will be two or three field trips in this course. Two of the field trips would primarily utilize
class time, but one is a multi-day field trip. Field trips offer important opportunities to use your
knowledge and skills in a real-world context. Calculations, theories, and principles have more
meaning when you are applying them on the landscape. Thus, I highly encourage participation in
field trips as a means to gain more from this class experience. If you do not attend, you will be
given a replacement assignment selected by the instructor. You must attend each field trip or
complete the replacement assignment to pass the class.
For this semester, we have the following field trips:
1. Sept. 18-Sept. 21: Colorado River, Mono Lake and Eastern Sierra Nevada.
See details below.
2. Oct. 3: Use of Hydrology Field Equipment
We will walk to a nearby creek during class time to practice using hydrology field equipment
and to learn field data collection methodologies and analysis. Instructor will provide further
details prior to this date.
3. Dec. 4*(date may change): Water Treatment and Purification Plant Field Trip
This is local trip to the North City Water Reclamation Plant. We will have the opportunity to
see how water is purified and to explore issues of water recycling. We will carpool,
departing from SDSU at noon (class start time) with an estimated return time of 3 pm.
Sept. 18-Sept. 21: Colorado River & Eastern Sierra Nevada
This is the major field trip for this class. We will depart on
Thursday, Sept. 18 from SDSU, returning Sunday evening,
Sept. 29. Highlights include:



Rafting the Black Canyon reach of the Colorado River
(half-day trip)
A tour of Hoover Dam, one of America’s seven modern
civil engineering wonders.
Hiking or canoeing Mono Lake, a beautiful lake in the
eastern Sierra Nevada.
Hoover Dam and Lake Mead
We will discuss a wide range of topics in environmental hydrology on this trip from hydrologic
alteration of rivers and the consequences for humans and habitat (Hoover Dam and the Colorado
River) to balancing diverse values of rivers and lakes (Mono Lake) to impacts of human activities on
groundwater quality (Yucca Mtn. Nuclear Repository) and air quality (Owen’s Lake).
Transportation Cost: $210 (through Aztec Adventures)
Additional costs for rafting, canoeing, all park and tour
fees and camping are estimated at $125.
Page
3
Mono Lake
Canoeing
Black Canyon Rafting
GENERAL CLASS INFORMATION AND POLICIES
1. Blackboard: This class is supported by Blackboard. You will access Blackboard for your
assignments, announcements and other class-related items.
2. Late Work: No late assignments are accepted and no make-up exams are given without prior
arrangement with the instructor. The grade of any work handed in late, including homework and
papers, will be deducted 10% for each day late. For example, if homework is due on a Monday,
any papers handed in Tuesday will have the final grade reduced by 10% and those submitted on
Wednesday will be deducted 20% (and so on.) Excused late work is granted in only extraordinary
circumstances of illness or emergencies.
3. Plagiarism and cheating: Copying from either printed material or another student’s work
without proper citation, for either term papers or homework assignments, will be considered
plagiarism, and will result in a zero for the assignment. Any doubts about what constitutes
plagiarism can be clarified through the instructor.
4. Attendance: Attendance is not mandatory, but is highly encouraged since a much better
understanding of course material arises from attending lecture. Correspondingly, grades are
typically higher for students with good attendance.
5. Help for assignments: The professor is willing to assist with and explain assignments, up until
24 hours before the time the assignment is due. For example, if an assignment is due Friday at
5pm, the professor will answer emails or take office hours on the assignment until Thursday at
5pm. Any emails, phone calls or office visits after that time will not be answered.
6. Special Student Circumstances: If you have special circumstances (e.g. disabilities, sports
schedule conflicts, foreign language student, course forgiveness student) please meet with the
instructor at the beginning of the course to discuss your situation.
Page
4
7. Syllabus: The syllabus (following page) is subject to modification. All changes will be
announced in class and will be posted on Blackboard. You are responsible for being aware of
any adjustments.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Wk
Date
Topic
1
Aug 25-29
2
Sept 3-5
Precipitation, interception
3
Sept 8-12
Evapotranspiration and soil moisture
4
Sept 15-17
Infiltration and overland flow
Major Due Dates
Global water balance
Watershed concepts
Monday, Sept. 2: Labor Day (campus closed – no classes)
Sept. 18-21 Field trip: Colorado River / Sierras
5
Sept 22-26
6
Sept 29 – Oct 3
7
Oct 6-10
Stream measurement and mechanisms
Monday class held at SDSU stream
Streams continued
Floods and erosion
8
Oct 13-17
Streamflow and ecosystems
9
Oct 20-24
Groundwater hydrology and quality
Research Topic due Oct. 24
10
Oct 27-31
11
Nov 3-7
12
Nov 10-14
Water quality 1: point and non-point
Water quality II: Nutrients,
contaminants and pathogens
Special topics in environmental hydro
Current Issues due Nov. 10
13
Nov 17-21
Integrated watershed management
Midterm #2 Nov 19
14
Nov 24-26
Envir. hydrology in San Diego
Research Paper due Nov. 24
Midterm #1 Oct 8
Nov. 27 – 28: Thanksgiving Recess (campus closed – no classes)
15
Dec. 1-5
Envir. hydrology in San Diego cont.
± Dec. 4 Field Trip to North County Water Purification Demonstration Project (noon to 3 pm)
16
Dec. 8-10
Final presentations
Revised/final paper due Dec. 10
Note that daily readings and assignments will be posted on Blackboard as we progress through the
course topics.
CLASS READINGS
The textbook for this class is Hydrology and the Management of
Watersheds. 2012. 4th edition. Brooks et al., Iowa State University
Press. This text is available free online for SDSU students as an
EBook. Visit http://library.sdsu.edu/ and enter title in book search.
Other professional readings will be assigned throughout the class.
They will be announced in class and posted on Blackboard.
Page
1. Brooks (textbook), Chapter 1
2. Oki, T. and Kanae, S., (2006). Global Hydrological Cycles and
World Water Resources. Science, 313(5790): 1068-1072.
Available through SDSU library online as a PDF.
5
The first week’s readings (to be completed by Friday, Aug 29) are:
GETTING TO KNOW YOU AND FIELD TRIP SURVEY
Due Friday, August 28
Name__________________________________________
Major______________________________Yr_________
Background in hydrology and/or physical and environmental science:
Particular interest in environmental hydrology, if you have one:
A topic you really hope we cover in this class:
Colorado River – Eastern Sierras Field trip
Will you be attending the Hoover Dam/Eastern Sierras field trip?_____________
Page
6
This is a multi-day field trip departing on Thursday, Sept. 18 and returning Sunday evening, Sept. 21. The
transportation cost is $210 (through Aztec Adventures and due Sept. 8). Additional fees for rafting, canoeing,
Hoover Dam tour, and camping are estimated to be $125 and are not due until the trip departure date.