Jenny Tran Mucking around!!!

Reflection

I've learned the different types of soil and the things that can be built on it and grown on it. I've also learned a lot about soil erosion and how it effect our environment. We spent time inside the outside the class room doing labs and experimenting with things that deals with soil. I learned that using hay or straw is one of the best and cheapest ways to pervent soil erosion. 

Learning about soil erosion prevention is important because it helps us keep the environment cleaner. Also, to have safer drinking water and clearner for the fishes to live in.

The pH test helped me learn that plants can grow in a certain amount of acidic soils.

Vocabulary

 Rill is a narrow incision into soil resulting from erosion.

Gully is a landform created by running water eroding sharply into soil.

Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported be flow of fluid.

Soil erosion is the wearing away and removal of the land surface.

Ditch is a small to moderate depression created to channel water.

Question

What is the most common way for a rill to start?

Can placing a lot of rocks in a line start a rill?

Why does the Earth have so many different types of soil?

Video

To Liz and Melanie if you are still reading this, it was awesome to have you gals come over and teach our class. I hope you two come by and visit us again!(If we are not too wild and crazy for you!) :)

Make-up Media Thomas Froass

http://www.utexas.edu/depts/grg/hudson/grg360g/EGIS/labs_04/Lab9/sierra_madre_gully.JPG


http://www.otsego.org/conservationdistrict/images/Erosion1.jpg

Meredith White: Soil Erosion

Reflection

Over the past week I have learned several things about soil and soil erosion.  The whole class learned about soil profiles and horizons, how to prevent soil erosion, turbidity, and pH.  We participated in several activities throughout the week involving soil and pH.  My favorite part of the week was doing the challenge with the rainboxes.  Even though my group didn't do so well, it was fun experimenting hands-on with the different methods of preventing soil erosion.  I had a lot of fun through out the week and learned a lot of useful information.

Vocabulary

Soil erosion - The movement of soil

Gully -  A small valley or ravine that has been cut away by water

Rill - Small rivulet made by water

Detachment - When water hits the soil, resulting in peices of the soil to break off

Transport - The movement of soil by water

Questions

How could you protect the soil in your surroundings from soil erosion?

Nobody likes drinking dirty water, so why is the legal turbidity measure for North Carolina fifty and not zero?

What affect can soil erosion have in the wild life that lives in our rivers and streams?

What is the most affective way of preventing soil erosion?

Media

Alec Guarnaccia mucking around in the dirt

Reflection: This week I learned a lot of new things I never new about soil and soil erosion.We learned the 3 different types of soil along with their profiles, structures, and textures. We also learned about the different types of erosion and how we can prevent it. Going around the campus taking pictures helped me realize the many different types of erosion and where they take place. The rain box activity really helped me realize the effectiveness of the different types of products and methods that can stop or slow down erosion. These things are important because they will help us with our experiences later in life, such as if we plan on building a house, planting a garden, or building a tool shed. We would need knowledge of soil erosion for these tasks because we wouldn't want our house or shed moving when it rains, or planting a garden that wont grow because the soil got washed away and now the plants wont have the necessities they need.

Vocabulary:
1.Transport- When water carries soil to a different location.
2. Rill- A small rivulet or brook.
3.Gully- A small valley or ravine originally eroded away by running water.
4.Detachment- Separation of soil from other soil particles.
5.Soil Erosion- the movement of soil from one location to another.

Questions:

1. Instead of having a legal limit for the amount of sediment in the water runoff to protect the fish and the quality of the water, why not just prohibit runoff in general and have it go  to another place?

2. Since there are laws about how much soil erosion a construction site can have, why doesn't tax money go to erosion prevention instead of the construction companies paying for it?

3. Would it be safe to have wire filters in a yard to prevent soil erosion since the metals can get into the

water and contaminate it?

Our groups rain box experiment, we used hay, mulch, coconut strands, rocks, and had a wire filter at the end of our tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIQrSH6LMgA
Here is a good example of transportation in a gully. Notice the color of the water, because of all the sediment it is carrying .

Reflection in the dirt

This week was quite an amazing one.  My most enjoyable point was the soil box experiment.  Working with a team to try and come up with the best possible way to reduce erosion was a fun way to get us thinking about how we can minimize erosion.  The presentation on other methods of soil erosion prevention was also interesting.  I would always see sediment basins along the road but never know what they are, because if this week I know much more about soil erosion and the dangers of it.  What we learned can help us to prevent soil erosion in the world around us.  I thought that seeing the cracks in the road was the most interesting type of erosion.  The cracks in the road occur when water sinks into the road and then freezes, when the water freezes it expands and causes cracks in the road.

The only questions I feel that need to be asked are

1.) Why would people not attempt to reduce soil erosion when it is such a large problem today?

2.) How long does it take for gulleys to be formed?

3.) Which places in our environment are exposed to soil erosion that are impossible to fix?

Vocabulary

1.) Soil Erosion- the movement of soil from one location to another

2.) Transport- Water carries teh soil to a different location

3.) Rill- A small rivulet or brook

4.) Gully- A small valley or ravine originally worn away by running water

5.) Detatchment- Separation of soil from other soil particles

-JAK-

Jon Cogdill Soil Erosion Project

This week i have learned a great deal about soil erosion. I learned that erosion can effect anybody at anytime. I had no idea that soil erosion was this serious. We did many different activities this week, like testing soil and doing different experiments with it. My favorite activity that we did would have to be the soil erosion box. Our group had a great plan on how to prevent soil erosion and i think it worked very well. Through this weeks lessons i also learned that sediment can be very harmful in streams and rivers. It can smother fish eggs in the river, and it can also kill trout by clogging up their gills so they cant breath. These soil erosion lessons are very important because anybody can be affected by soil erosion, so with these lessons we can learn how to stop and prevent it.

The Vocabalary that we learned this week include:

        - Rill: A small stream

        -Gully: A deep ditch cut by running water

        -Turbidity: How clean/clear water is

        -Soil Erosion: The washing away of soil by running water

        -Detachment: When soil is seperated by water splashing it

Here are some questions that i have about soil erosion:

    -What can we do to prevent soil erosion at our house or in our community?

   

    - What is the government doing to prevent soil erosion around the country?

    - How do you prevent sediment from entering mountain streams when so much of it runs into the water?

Soil Erosion Thomas Froass

This past week I have a learned a lot about soil erosion. I didn't realize the effects that it could have on things in everyday life. During the week we did a bunch of fun activities like the experiment preventing soil erosion in our rainboxes or testing our soil to see the pH. I saw many examples of soil erosion when the class walked around the school. We also looked at a construction map and planned out how to stop soil erosion. I learned a lot this week and it was a lot of fun!

Vocabulary:

Gully- Small valley or ravine that has been run away by water.

Transport- The movement of soil by water.

Detachment- When water splashes onto the soil separating it from the whole.

Rill- Small rivulet worn away  by water.

Soil Erosion- Movement of soil.

Questions:

I learned a lot and wanted to know this...

How has soil erosion really affected our daily lives?

What can the average person do to help stop soil erosion?

Media:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k9IoaXFXrk

Alex Sturla- summary of soil erosion!

This week I learned a lot about soil erosion. I had a great week. One thing I was surprised about was all the places soil erosion can happen. It surprised me when we went on that walk as I looked around soil erosion was happening everywhere. At first I felt like I wasn't very interested in soil erosion but as the week went on I recognized what soil erosion really is and how it can effect you and your surroundings. It effects us because we live on earth and soil erosion is happening on earth so why wouldnt we do something about it?  

    

We learned many vocabulary words. Some of them are:

(1) Rill- Small rivulet formed by water

(2) Detachment- When pieces of soil break off

(3) Gully- Small valley formed by water

(4) Transportation- When water carries away detached soil

(5) Soil Erosion- The movement of soil

Question: What is the best method to prevent soil erosion and why?

Project: Though everyone said we are cheaters I thought we did a great job! Even though we used a pvc pipe know one said we couldn't. So in general I thought it was an amazing project to do to get us really interested in soil erosion/how it works and ways to prevent it.

Gully

soil erosion- silt fence

Reflection by Alison

This past week was very interesting. I learn a lot about soil erosion and soil itself. I never would of thought that this would have been interesting or why we should even care about it. I would say the best part about learning about erosion were the rain box's. It made you really question if we could ever fix the problem. I also thought learning about sediment was very interesting. I just thought it was dirt and it didn't hurt the environment at all. I always thought if it was naturally put there it was ok.Testing the pH was also a lot of fun. It made me feel like a scientist in some way! But I have to say the best part was playing with that polyacrylamide. Watching the particles just separate amazed me for some reason. I love horticulture but this lesson made me respect it even more. 

vocabulary:

rill: a small brook usually caused by erosion of soil
detachment: when small pieces of soil break off from a big chunk of soil

turbidity: how clear water is
soil erosion: the movement of soil 
transport: the movement of soil particles after detachment occurs

questions:

if soil is the number one pollutant why are we more worried about car exhaust.

how could we really fix soil erosion without using materials that can hurt the environment in the long run? 

what are scientists currently doing to fix this issue?

pictures and video:

our group rain box

Soil Erosion After Rain Video

(video courtesy of youtube.com)

(photo courtesy of google.com)

Someone is testing the pH of the soil in their garden in this photo.

(g

Reflection by Emily Moldow

Reflection:
During this week, we learned all about soil erosion and how to prevent it. When learning about soil we did a ton of fun activities such as: participating in a lab of how to prevent sedimentation into our water by using our rainboxes, we also tested soils for their nutrients (Potassium, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus), we planned and mapped on a construction site of how to prevent problematic situations, like gullies and rills, and we also went around campus and took pictures of all the soil erosion that was happening right in front of us. The week was a great learning experience! Thank you!

Vocabulary:

Rill – a small rivulet or brook

Gully – Small valley or ravine originally worn away by running water and serving as a drainage way after prolonged heavy rains

Soil texture – four components of soil: organic matter, mineral (sand, silt, and clay), water, and air

Turbidity- the amount of soil particles measured by the rate of light to travel through water

Soil Erosion – moving of soil, by wind or rain

Detachment – When a rain drop falls onto the ground, detaching a soil particle from a whole

Transport- the transport of soil, moved by water
Questions:

If we never stopped soil erosion, or tried to prevent it, what would happen?

What is the highest turbidity measure?

Lastly, when people first discovered soil erosion, what did they do to stop it?

Our group testing out our rainbox!

Soil Erosion around Wakefield's Campus.

Got this picture off of google, testing the soil for different nutrients. Such as we did in our lab in class. This is most likely a pH test and I would guess that their soil has a pretty high pH.

Citations: The two first pictures I got from Picasa, the third one was from google:   

< http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/rd/how-to-plant-in-extreme-soils0.jpg >

Zach Koehler Blog Project

     This week I learned a lot about soil erosion. It was a fun week. I liked the labs the most. I learned lots of helpful things about soil erosion. One thing I learned was soil erosion can happen any where and it is very harmful. It gets in the water and can clog up fish's gills. I also learned that in certain places, the water has to have a certain level of turbidity in order for fish to survive. Soil erosion has many effects, but I now know ways to help prevent it. These lessons were important, because they taught us ways to prevent soil erosion. The lesson also taught us ways to recognize soil erosion.     

     We learned many vocabulary words. Some of them are:

1) Detachment- when pieces of soil break off

2) Transportation- when water carries away detached soil

3) Gully- small valley formed by water

4) Rill- small rivulet formed by water

     I had a question on soil erosion. What is the best method to prevent it?

Pvc pipe worked very good in our lab, but it would be hard to do that on a gaint area of land.

Heres a video on soil erosion:

This picture shows soil erosion.

alex stradford : reflection

Over the past week I have learned a lot about soil erosion. I never knew it was this important to society, but many other people are unaware of the effects of this disaster. I have learned that soil erosion can destroy both land and buildings or make land completely useless. I have also learned that keeping sediment out of streams is very important for the plants and animals that live there. Clear water is also very important; no one wants to drink dirty water, which is why the turbidity of drinking water has to be under 55 while trout steams have to be under 10. I especially enjoyed the experiment we did to see which way would produce the cleanest water, and i am proud to say that the group i was in had the cleanest water produced. I will definitely use the information i learned over this week later on in life when I want to buy a  house or anything else.

Some of the vocabulary terms i have learned are:
sediment-material deposited by water; the matter that settles to the bottom of lakes and streams
turbidity-how clear water is
rill-a small brook made by running water
gully-a small valley made by running water
detachment-when a rain drop detaches the soil particle from another one.
transportation-when water carries away a detached soil particle

One of the questions i did not ask was, if a buidlling company has to bring in new soild to help with construction what type of soil do they use and where do they get it?
Another question I had was, how expensive are turbidity meters and where can you buy them?
The last question I had was, what are other ways to get rid of sediment in streams and lakes if you do not have the materials presented in class?


I got this video clip from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbdpPJ3dbWE

Mucking around in the Dirt Blog Mike Corbishley

Reflection: One of the things that I experienced this week was taking pictures of soil erosion around campus. I did not realize how much erosion was all around us! We saw rills and sediment that had run off all over the place. This experience really taught me how much we really need to start taking control of erosion and doing more.

Citation for Picture: "Types of Erosion." 19 Nov 2009 . 
http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/robert.fuller/370%20Files/Weeks11Erosion/rill.jpg
Another thing that I learned this week was that on constuction sites the water runoff must be kept under 50 NTU. We learned how to test the turbidity of the water using the turbidimeter the day after we did the lab where you try to get your water to come out of the soil box the cleanest. In the lab, our group, the cheaters, won the contest and our turbidity level was at 56 NTU. But, the construction workers are able to keep their sediment runoff clean by using filters, silt fences, coir, and big, black, ridged pipe.
This is a video of sediment control failures on a construction site.

Citation for Video: "Shenandoah Riverkeeper visits Accotink Creek." FriendsofAccotink. 19 Nov 2009 . 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_pp0vjoROs/
 Last but not least, and my favorite topic we learned about this week, the affection of trout. This week I learned that sediment runoff to streams in the mountains has to be less then 10 NTU. If it is not then trouts' gills are actually clogged up by the sediment and can suffocate. If it is not less then 10 NTU then it can also break trout eggs which will decrease the trout population. Here is a picture of how clean trout water must be:

Picture Citation: Vivien , Bullen. "How Trout Fishing Works." How Stuff Works. 19 Nov 2009 .
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/river-trout-fishing-1.jpg
Questions: What are the regulations for streams in Italy? Does the turbidity still have to be under 10 NTU?

What exactly does the turbidimeter do to take turbidity levels? How does it come up with a number?

What if your house actually slid because of erosion. Is there some sort of insurance to prevent having to pay for all the damages made such as broken pipes etc. under the house?


Vocabulary:


Soil Erosion- The movement of soil


Rill- A small rivulet or brook

Gully- A brook or small valley

Detachment- The invading of water (rain, river etc.) on soil detaching it from the ground.

Transport- After detachment, when the soil or sediment is carried down a stream of water to a basin or other soil.

Blog Project: Brad Dobbins

Reflection:
This weeks experience was a very memorable one! I learned so much information about soil erosion. When our teachers first came into the class talking about soil erosion, I did not know what to think. I thought soil erosion was not that big of a deal, but in reality, it really is. It effects everyone and everything around us.

Vocabulary:
Throughout this experience i learned a few new terms as we went on each day.

Soil Erosion- is the moving of soil

Detachment- is when the rain detaches the soil from the ground.

Transport- is when the water takes the soil away

Rill- is a small rivulet

Gully- is a small valley

Questions:
Though we learned a lot, I really wish I could have asked these questions...

What are we (as America) doing to prevent soil erosion at construction sites, homes, etc?

How can people prevent soil erosion in their daily lives?

Comments:
On students projects

Inserted Media:

BMP pictures

Hey all-

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all your hard work this past week. Liz and I had such a great time learning with you.

There are some pictures of the BMPs that we talked about today on the picasa website if you would like to use those for your next (and last) post.

Thanks again

Melanie

alex stradford

our group was very interested in the variety of texture in the soil. it didnt take us long to get our hands dirty.
when we tested or ph level for the dirt we had our results were 6.0 which means plants would be able to grow in it. however, we had no resluts for potassium, nitrogen, or phophorus which probably meant the levels of those nutrients were low. the tirbidity of our water was around fifty five, so it is almost drinkable.haha

Brooke Lechuga

It will also destroy the enviroment, because for those living thing might not able to live without fresh water, otherwise the soil that detatach lake, river, pond, and expectually ocean(/or sea), and it will be dangerous for for us and other living thing anyway.

                                                     ----SAVE THE EARTH!----

anonymous

SO DIZ YO BOI C^C^ SHOWEN SOME LOVE ON SOIL GET IT STRAIGHT C^UZZZZZZ

Lab- Alec Guarnaccia

Today in our lab we tested our soild for pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and turbidity.
the  pH of our soil was 6.0 which allows plants to grow in it. the nitrogen in the soil was not the adequate amount as the phosphorus and potassium levels were also very low. the turbidity reading of our groups project was 122 which was pretty good compared to the rest of the class but the legal reading should be 50, wich only they cheaters acheived.

pH Lab - Jenny Tran

Our results for our lab were 5.5 for the pH level.The nitrogen level was high. The phosporus level for our soil was medium. Potassium level was a very light color grey high. Our soil is able to have plants grow in it. :)

OUR GROUP ROCKS HARDER THAN YOURS

Today we had a pretty good demonstration on how erosion works, and how to prevent it. Everyone had good ideas, but ours was the best. :) haha. We learned several ways that erosion can be stopped by getting together our own ideas and putting them to the test. Hardcore brainstorming settled the score.

soil experiment - derick

during our experiment to try to keep the water the cleanest i noticed many things. I noticed that the more vegetation there is the more the water runs off cleaner. Also the wire mesh was a great thing for sifting out the soil and water. I think that all the groups did good. Even if one used a pipe for theirs and the soil did not even get wet.                                                                                                                          

Group Soil Project

Today we our experiment was interesting and our main objective was to keep as much soil and sediment out of the water being poured into our flat. In order to do this we had to make a set up of certain materials of our choice. My group decided to use mulch, coconut coir, hay, rocks, and wire. The final result was not bad however our water was black due to the mulch. I think its very hard to control this issue with out alot of money. However I dont understand why if people know it is a problem why companies wouldnt work together to help solve this issue. Our layout was awesome I believe we wouldnt have changed much of anything, maybe just the black mulch.

-Alison Stephans

group project

Today my group and I learned how to stop soil erosion. Everyone's project was good in its own way. I learned that the littliest things like mulch, hay, and rocks can help slow down soil erosion. My group used mulch, hay, and put up filters in front of the rocks to slow down the soil erosion. We put an extra filter on the tube so that the water would be more clear, which kind of worked. There's a lot of ways you could prevent soil erosion that you wouldn't even think about.

-Jessica gabriel

Erosion Box Project: Brad

Today was an interesting day. My group observed numerous other groups projects to stop soil erosion. I was pretty impressed with the outcomes of everyones. Some of the projects I laughed at, but they actually worked! So that shut me up =).

Today was AWESOME!

I loved the soil erosion lab today. I was very excited about our success with this experiment (just look at all that vegetation).  Unfortunately everyone thought we were cheaters. I like to think of it as thinking outside of the (soil) box... haha.  I hope we are able to do more projects like this one! better luck next time fellow groups.


-the cheaters...

Pictures from Monday Nov. 16, 2009

Hey all-

See "pictures from Friday..." post for link to pics. All of the pictures from today have been added so you should have a lot to talk about in your group posts. Look forward to reading them. Thanks for all your hard work.

blog

found it....

ryan wiley

Soil Erosion Site Assessment

Soil that has been transported downslope and accumulates in an area is called sedimentation.

This is an example of a rill. Notice how the water scours away the soil, leaving a channel for high velocity water flow. Rocks, or heavy particles are left behind.

Soil Erosion

On friday during class we walked around campus to observe some erosion. We also took pictures, and saw some sediment. It was interesting :]

Thomas Soil Erosion

On Friday our group saw a lot of soil erosion around the school. We never realized how much of it is around. One thing that we all noticed was the side of the school was  eroded by some of the soil. We also saw some sedimentation.

Soil Erosion: Jon Cogdill

Our group captured many great pictures of soil erosion around the school on Friday. We have also already come up with a great plan for our soil erosion box and we're ready to get started on it.

Zach Koehler our table

Our lab for no soil erosion is going great. We have a great idea that will cause less soil erosion in the little box.

Pictures from Friday Nov. 13, 2009

Hey all-

Great job today capturing all the evident signs of erosion outside! To view, download, and edit the pictures go to http://picasaweb.google.com and log in with "wakefield.soil.erosion@gmail.com" and password "soilerosion"....just like the blog.

You can download them and then upload to the blog.

Can't wait to read all your posts from today's adventure.

Meredith White

Soil and dirt are two totally different things. The picture above is of soil erosion.

Soil Erosion, Jon Cogdill

Soil erosion can affect anyone at anytime. It can destory roads, bridges and houses.

Difference between a rill and a gully

a rill is a small rivulet or brook where as a gully is a small valley or ravine originally worn away by running water and serving as a drainageway after prolonged heavy rains.

Gully>Rill

-Jak Kieffer

soil/dirt?

Alex Sturla- What is the difference between soil and dirt????

jessica gabriel

soil erosion can be really dangerous for not only us, but animals too.

Jenny Tran

YEAH SOIL!!!!!!!!!! :)

Soil erosion is so awesome!

Soil erosions By: Jamaal

Other soild erosions.

erosion steps -derick foster

1) detatchment- breaking apart
2)transport-moving to another location


http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=soil&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g10

Soil Erosion by Brad

I never really knew how bad soil erosion could be. It can be bad... People need to take it more seriously.

Soil Erosion by Alec

How does soil erosion affect houses on rivers

Soil Erosion by Zach

What are the effects of soil erosion.

Soil Erosion by Thomas

I love soil erosion. I would like to know how long it takes to for it to affect something.

Polyacrylamide, what??

Videos of Erosion Link

http://www.soil.ncsu.edu/lockers/McLaughlin_R/Webstuff/SECREF/index.html

Erosion in action!

Questions to think about:

• What do you see happening?
• What are the mechanisms that are causing these things?
• How can you prevent this from happening?

How much do you know about Water!

http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/watertaskforce/water%20ripples%20board%20game/index.html