Christina River Basin Critical Zone Observatory Research Experience for Undergraduates and Teachers

National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)  and Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs aim to actively involve K-12 science educators and undergraduate students in meaningful, ongoing research projects. From 2014–2016, the Christina River Basin Critical Zone Observatory (Stroud Water Research Center/University of Delaware) and the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (The Pennsylvania State University) hosted REU/RET programs.

The materials below are based upon work supported by National Science Foundation Grant Nos. EAR-1263212 and EAR-1263222. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Presentations

All participants were expected to create a poster or oral presentation demonstrating the results of their summer experience. In addition to posters, RETs were expected to develop curricular materials. Materials are available for download below.

• In 2014, completed research projects were presented at the CUAHSI Biennial Meeting in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
• In 2015, completed research projects were presented at the Summer Research Symposium at Stroud Water Research Center.
• In 2016, completed research projects were presented at the CUAHSI Biennial Meeting in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

2016 Presentations of Completed Research

Christina River Basin CZO Research Experience for Teachers

• Dan Bondanza (Christina River Basin CZO [CRB-CZO] RET, Sun Valley High School, Aston, Pa.): A Curriculum for Advancing Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Environmental Sensing Networks to Monitor Water Quality and Quantity in Streams and Rivers
• Jill Dunscomb (CRB-CZO RET, Bayard Rustin High School, West Chester, Pa.): Effectiveness of Herbicide Treatment on Mile-A-Minute (Persicaria perfoliata), an Invasive Plant: Implications for Survival of Restored Buffers

Christina River Basin CZO Research Experience for Undergraduates

• Riley Brown (California State Polytechnic University, Pomona): Assessing Methods for Studying Submarine Groundwater Discharge
• Kathleen Fisher (Villanova University): Fecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB) Monitoring in Delaware River Watershed
• Emma Gibson (Missouri State University): Geomorphic and Hydraulic Controls on Thermal Regimes in Stream Pool Habitats
• Catherine Medlock (University of Delaware): Assessing Spatial Variations in Pore Water Salinity Across a Tidal Salt Marsh: Insights to Groundwater-Surfacewater Interactions
• Nathan Watson (Cornell University): Hydraulic, Thermal, and Geomorphic Impacts on Bacterial Distribution in Pool Streambeds
• Peter Wise (Goshen College, Goshen, Ind.): Stroud EnviroDIY Mayfly Data Logger and Modbus RS-485 Sensors

2016 Susquehanna Shale Hills CZO

Research Experience for Teachers

• Lauren Smith (SSHO RET, West Shore School District, Lewisberry, Pa.): Critical Zone Science: Creating an Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Science in Secondary Schools Using NGSS

Research Experience for Undergraduates

• Taylor Blackman (The Pennsylvania State University): The Periglacial Legacy and Future of Vernal Pools in the Ridge and Valley Province of Pennsylvania
• Jennifer Christhilf (University of Maryland, Baltimore County): Do forests in Central PA have more available nitrogen on shale than on sandstone?
• Bryan Heyer (University of the Sciences in Philadelphia): An Analysis of Subsurface Wells: Seasonal Variability and Depth of Influences
• Uma Lad (Southern Methodist University): The Use of Gravitational Filtration to Preserve Water Samples to Measure High-Frequency Dissolved Organic Carbon and Nutrients
• Connor Martin (University of Pittsburgh): Mapping the Pleistocene Periglacial Imprint on Modern Soil Properties at Garner Run, Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory, Pennsylvania, USA
• Sophia Ryan (The University of Vermont): Temporal Variability in the Water Chemistry of a First-Order Stream
• Perri Silverhart (Middlebury College): Characterizing Hydrologic Properties of Rocky Surface Soils in Garner Run, Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory, Pennsylvania, USA
• Leila Wahab (Rice University): Understanding Nitrogen Fluxes in Agricultural Soils Through Mesocosm Incubations

2015 Presentations of Completed Research

Christina River Basin CZO Research Experience for Teachers

• Adria Bondanza (CRB-CZO RET, Sun Valley High School, Aston, Pa.): Microbial Distribution in Streams: A Meta-ecosystems Approach
• Chrissy Wilson (CRB-CZO RET, Ridley High School, Folsom, Pa.): Leaf Pack Ecology

Christina River Basin CZO Research Experience for Undergraduates

• Katie Li (Pomona College, Claremont, Ca.): Effects of Grid Discretization on Coastal Aquifer Models
• Pinky Liau (Rutgers University): Isolation of Iron-Reducing Bacteria from Christina River Basin-Critical Zone Observatory Site
• Anna Marshall (Connecticut College): Spatial Heterogeneity of Buried Soils and Post-Settlement Legacy Sediments in the Christina River Basin
• Julianne Scarmardo (University of Texas, Austin): The Age and Origin of Scallop Floodplain Benches from difficult Run, Fairfax County, Virginia
• Kelly Shen (Duke University): A Delicate Balance: Aquatic-Terrestrial Invertebrate Flux Across a Forested Riparian Buffer Gradient

Susquehanna Shale Hills CZO Research Experience for Teachers

• Siobhan Donnelly (Centre Learning Community Charter School, State College, Pa.): In-Situ Water Chemistry Monitoring at the Garner Run Catchment, SHCZO, Central Pa.
• Sharon Dykhoff (Dominion Christian School, Oakton, Va.): Data Enriched Place-based Education

Susquehanna Shale Hills CZO Research Experience for Undergraduates

• Kelsey Bicknell (University of New Mexico): In-Situ Water Chemistry Monitoring at the Garner Run Catchment, SHCZO, Central Pa.
• Sarah Granke (Pomona College, Claremont, Ca.): Geomorphic Mapping of Garner Run, Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSHCZO), Central Pa.
• Meaghan Redmon (Hanover College, Hanover, In.): TDR Analysis of the Shale Hills Catchment
• Maggie Ruppel (Wittenberg University, Springfield, Oh.): Variation of Root Distribution in Relation to Depth and Lithology
• Anna Schwyter (Pennsylvania State University): Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity at Shale Hills CZO
• Meaghan Shaw (Southern Methodist University, University Park, Tx.): Seasonal Variation and Land Use Effects on C-Q Behavior in the Shaver’s Creek Watershed

2014 Presentations of Completed Research

Christina River Basin CZO Research Experience for Teachers

• Melissa Hess (Conestoga Valley Middle School, Lancaster, Pa.): Application of Environmental DNA in a middle school classroom

Christina River Basin CZO Research Experience for Undergraduates

• Bryce Hostelter (Bethel College): Optimization of qPCR Techniques to Determine Environmental DNA Transport in Stream Systems
• Eric Lunn (University of Massachusetts Amherst):Impact of Mineral Weathering and Organic Matter on Soil Water Retention
• Sam Mark (Bates College): Fine-Grained Channel Margin Deposits Form by Recirculating Flow Downstream of Woody Debris in a Laboratory Flume
• Jennifer Schoenstein (University of Delaware): Thermal Dynamics and Transient Storage in a Spring-fed Forested Headwater Stream, Southeastern PA, USA
• Abigail Thayer (Ohio Northern University): Evaluation of an in situ UV-Vis spectrophotometer for high frequency measurements of dissolved organic carbon and nitrate concentrations

Susquehanna Shale Hills CZO Research Experience for Teachers

• Paul Longwell (Hollidaysburg Area High School): Monitoring Temperate Forest Soil Moisture Dynamics Using Ground-Penetrating Radar, Curriculum | Poster
• Mark Yeckley (Glendale School District): Dendrology, Forest Ecology, and Data Analysis in the STEM-Centered Classroom, Curriculum | Poster

Susquehanna Shale Hills CZO Research Experience for Undergraduates

• Olivia Beaulieu (University of Massachusetts Amherst): Soil Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity and Its Spatial Variability in the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory
• Jessica Fisher (Brown University): Lithologic and Land-use Controls on Stream Water Solute Concentration-Discharge Behavior in the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Observatory (SSHCZO)
• Quincey Johnson (Hobart and William Smith Colleges): Comparing Vegetation Across Topographic Positions in Two Watersheds at the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory
• Christine Kim (Temple University): Comparing carbon stocks in the O horizon of shale and sandstone watersheds according to topographic position and ecosystem characteristics
• Kim Schmid (The Pennsylvania State University): Predicting the Presence of Headwater Wetland Depressions, Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province, Central Pennsylvania
• Mieke Vrjimoet (Bennington College): Does Root Morphology and Architecture Reflect Aboveground Species Composition?

CZO REU/RET News

• Welcome Summer Interns! Stroud Water Research Center UpStream Newsletter, June 28, 2016
• Summer Research Program Boosts Confidence, Shapes Careers, Stroud Water Research Center UpStream Newsletter, September 23, 2015
• Stroud expands environmental awareness with its intern program, Daily Local News, Aug 14, 2015
• While school is out, research continues with hands-on summer program, Penn State News, August 8, 2014