ARSC/GEOL 2110
Physical Science of the Earth System
Course Field Project Resources
Fall 2001

BASIN, Boulder Area SustainabilityIinformation Network. Locate your site within the Boulder watershed, plus links to info on some other area watersheds. Lots of great water quality and climate links and maps here!

Stream flow data for Colorado. You can look up the monitoring station nearest you and check its current flow.

NOAA-CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center Climate and Weather data for Boulder

Current local weather and forecasts from the Boulder Daily Camera - http://cfapps.TheDailyCamera.com/weather/

Colorado geology overview and map of surface rocks http://www.colorado-mall.com/HTML/EDUCATIONAL/SCIENCES/GEOLOGY/geologyIntro.html

A virtual field trip along Boulder Creek, that may help you recognize some geologic features and environmental hazards at Boulder Creek field sites. http://www.colorado.edu/geography/COGA/geogweb/bouldercreek-2/index.html

A virtual field trip to the Indian Peaks above Boulder, that may help you recognize some geologic and environmental features at high-country field sites. http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/virtdept/ipvft/intro.html

Old-fashioned non-internet resources readily accessible to you: WHEN IN DOUBT, USE THE INDEX!!

Meteorological measurements and their meaning: Blue Planet Ch. 12, pp. 272-282.
Cloud formation and types: Blue Planet Ch. 12, pp. 282-289.
Wind speed and direction: Blue Planet Ch. 13, pp. 294-299.
Local wind systems: Blue Planet Ch. 13, pp. 306-307.
Water cycle: Blue Planet Ch. 9, pp. 290-291; also Ch. 1, pp. 10-11.
Streams and stream channels, including stream velocity: Blue Planet Ch. 9, pp. 190-196.
Stream chemistry and sediment: Blue Planet Ch. 9, pp. 196-200.
Ground water, movement of water through soil: Blue Planet Ch. 9, pp. 202-207.
Lakes: Blue Planet, pp. 209-211.
Soils: Blue Planet Ch. 6, pp. 128-130, Appendix D.
Climate: Blue Planet Appendix E.
Major biogeochemical cycles (C, N, P): Blue Planet Ch. 16, pp. 372-379.

Important Water Quality Factors A good source of information about the meaning of the water quality parameters you can measure with the Hach tests kits. Tables relate the measurements to their effects on water quality and water life. http://www.hach.com/h2ou/h2wtrqual.htm

A diagram of the water cycle to help you recognize how the water at your field site fits into the big picture. http://www.hach.com/h2ou/h2owatercycle.htm

How healthy is your lake? A guide to interpreting field measurements for a lake or pond, from the Hach kit folks. http://www.hach.com/h2ou/h2lake.htm

Overview of basic meteorological measurements and their meaning, relation to everyday weather forecasts. http://www.usatoday.com/weather/basics/measurements.htm

Basic weather instruments - definitions, photos, links to cloud catalog and weather terms, how to read weather maps. http://www.coollessons.org/Weathr13.htm

Soil Science Education homepage. A good resource with lots of links on both the importance of soil and soil measurements, including Soil of the Month!! http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/index.htm

The GLOBE project has K-12 students making field measurements much like yours. The introduction to the GLOBE project for teachers starts with a useful overview of what can be measured and what it means.

• for soil (very good, nice pictures): http://www.globe.gov/sda-bin/wt/ghp/tg+L(en)+P(soil/welcome)
• for weather (good, but we measured more parameters): http://www.globe.gov/sda-bin/wt/ghp/tg+L(en)+P(atmosphere/Welcome)
• for water (also very good): http://www.globe.gov/sda-bin/wt/ghp/tg+L(en)+P(hydrology/Welcome)
• for thinking about seasonal change: http://www.globe.gov/sda-bin/wt/ghp/tg+L(en)+P(seasons/Welcome)

A brief geologic history of Rocky Mountain National Park, most of which also applies to the Boulder area. http://www.aqd.nps.gov/grd/parks/romo/