Introductory groundwater laboratory exercise for in-person and online teaching modes

This resource includes parallel online and in-person versions of an introductory laboratory exercise focused on groundwater. A pre-lab activity introduces students to the concept of groundwater as a resource and its flow. In the lab exercise, students make either in-person or virtual measurements of groundwater levels in a network of wells and create a contour map of the water table. Students will determine how the lake is connected to groundwater, what the differences are between lake water and groundwater quality, and whether the groundwater is likely to be potable. Specific educational goals of the exercise are to introduce students to the concept of groundwater and how it flows, gain confidence collecting environmental data, and learn to make and interpret a contour map. The exercise is geographically situated in the Mirror Lake Water Science Learning Laboratory, an outdoor laboratory space in the heart of The Ohio State University’s Main Campus in Columbus, Ohio (USA). Materials can be adapted for other observational well networks. The content is appropriate for general education or introductory classes in earth or environmental science, geology, and environmental engineering.