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Session 1526

Undergraduate Environmental Technology Instrumentation Project: Analyzing the Cape Cod Aquifer

Douglas W. Bill, Mary Jane Curran, and Catherine M. Etter Cape Cod Community College at West Barnstable, MA

Abstract

The NSF instrumentation grant has enabled Cape Cod Community College to purchase one ion chromatograph and seven groundwater simulators that have been implemented into the Spring/Fall 2000 environmental and soil science lectures and lab exercises. We have just begun to collect and analyze the student responses after using this equipment during these classes. Over 200 students have used the ion chromatograph. Over 50 students have used the groundwater simulators. The instructors and students have learned a lot from the experience. However, we have many suggestions for improvement in student instrumentation activities. Modifications to the lab exercises have improved instrumentation usage and student knowledge, skills, and problem solving abilities. Community projects have used this instrumentation too. Community pollution concerns are being investigated with this instrumentation. Local employers have requested students trained with this instrumentation to apply for employment. High school students, college students and high school teachers view groundwater plume demonstrations and water analyses on this instrumentation. This instrumentation will continue to enhance our student’s learning experience, improve student employment opportunities, and benefit our community water monitoring programs for many years to come.

Introduction

Cape Cod Community College (CCCC) is located in a unique environment where students can observe the interaction of the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. This project seeked to address the hydrologic boundaries of the Cape and to point out the sensitivities associated with the Cape’s sole source aquifer now threatened by the pollution discovered at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, (MMR), a SuperFund site located on Cape Cod. CCCC and two neighboring MA institutions have led the charge to develop an education program which includes degree options, certificate programs and internships to prepare students for jobs at the MMR and other Cape locations.

The acquisition of seven Groundwater Simulators III (GSIII) to be used in two courses gives small teams of students a rigorous, hands-on experience in science in conjunction with a local perspective as to how the sole source aquifer has been impacted by the conditions at the nearby Superfund site. Science, math and technology concepts are introduced by examining current Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2001, American Society for Engineering Education

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Curran, M., & Bill, D., & Etter, C. (2001, June), Undergraduate Environmental Technology Instrumentation Project: Analysing The Cape Cod Aquifer Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--9926