Penn State Extension forms Marcellus Educational Consortium
http://live.psu.edu/story/49662#nw69
Penn State Extension forms Marcellus Educational Consortium
Thursday, November 4, 2010
University Park, Pa. — With more than 1,800 natural-gas wells drilled in six years, the Marcellus Shale is generating new economic opportunities for many Pennsylvania residents, businesses and communities. Numerous environmental, educational and social issues also are associated with the development of this energy resource.
In support of its efforts to disseminate research-based information on natural-gas-related issues to Pennsylvanians, Penn State Cooperative Extension has joined with several key business firms to form the Penn State Marcellus Educational Consortium. The group’s goals are to provide expertise on Marcellus topics and to facilitate discussions among community members, business leaders and others.
Leading national and regional financial-services firms Credit Suisse, PNC Bank and Fulton Financial Corp. (parent company of Fulton Bank N.A., FNB Bank, Lafayette Ambassador Bank and Swineford National Bank) are founding members of the consortium. Several other related companies are in discussions to become members of this educational partnership.
Since 2001, Penn State Cooperative Extension has conducted educational programming across the state in connection with Marcellus gas exploration. More than 60,000 people have attended workshops on various related topics, and countless more have received information from Penn State publications, online seminars, television programs and websites.
Thomas Murphy, extension educator and co-director of the Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research, said that providing people with well-researched information on the benefits and challenges of the Marcellus play is critical to smart, sustainable growth and development in the region. He noted that the consortium will help identify educational needs and guide the development of innovative new programming.
“The numerous effects of natural-gas development are diverse and include the very visible economic impacts,” said Murphy. “Extension conducts unbiased, science-based programs to educate people on issues ranging from water quality to tax strategies for lease and royalty income.”
Craig Weidemann, vice president for Penn State Outreach, said the educational consortium is an example of the types of partnerships Outreach facilitates to benefit Pennsylvania.
“Bringing the resources of the University together with expertise of external partners to address the needs of our commonwealth is why Outreach exists,” said Weidemann. “This educational consortium is a perfect example of a collaboration that is developed for the good of Pennsylvania citizens, communities and businesses.”
More information about how Penn State is addressing issues related to the Marcellus Shale is available at Penn State Extension’s natural-gas website and from the Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research.
New state regulations to deal with gas drilling in Marcellus Shale
New state regulations to deal with gas drilling in Marcellus Shale
Friday, November 5, 2010
University Park, Pa. — As the natural-gas drilling boom into the deep Marcellus Shale formation has unfolded, state regulators have become increasingly aware of pollution risks to ground and surface water, and they have scrambled to develop regulations to protect valuable natural resources.
Two experts with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will offer details about the current regulatory environment in a free, one-hour, Web-based seminar at 1 p.m. on Nov. 18.
Presented by Penn State Cooperative Extension, the webinar will feature Dana Aunkst, director of DEP’s bureau of water standards and facilities regulation, and Eugene Pine, professional geologist manager with the agency. Online participants will have the opportunity to ask the speakers questions during the session.
“In 2010, the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board amended the Pennsylvania Code to include new treatment requirements for total dissolved solids,” Aunkst said. “This final form rulemaking ensures the continued protection of the commonwealth’s water resources from new and expanded sources of total dissolved solids.”
Most importantly, Aunkst noted, the final rulemaking guarantees that state waters will not exceed a threshold of 500 milligrams per liter. “In doing so, the final rulemaking assures the continued use and protection of drinking water intakes on streams throughout the commonwealth,” he said. “That provides the required protection of aquatic life and maintains continued economic viability of the current water users.”
The final rulemaking adopts a combination of recommended approaches for addressing these larger loads of total dissolved solids, Aunkst pointed out. This combination of approaches includes an industrial-sector-based regulation along with a watershed-based analysis.
“The sector-based piece focuses on the natural-gas industry, mandating the treatment of gas-well wastewater,” he said. “This approach is based on available, proven treatment technologies for this industry and takes cost into consideration. In addition, this treatment must be performed at a centralized wastewater treatment facility to the standards in the proposed rulemaking.
“These requirements will assure that any threat of water pollution from this rapidly growing industry is prevented in accordance with the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law.”
Aunkst’s presentation will provide background on the need for the new regulation, a history of the development of the regulation and an update on the implementation of the new requirements.
In addition, Pine’s presentation will explain how his department is making changes to the regulations and will detail the proposed and final rulemaking process, including timeframes, public-comment periods and so forth.
“I will generally explain where we are in this process and then highlight the more significant revisions to the existing regulations,” he said. “The regulatory revisions emphasize, and are intended to strengthen, proper well-drilling, construction and operational practices.”
A properly cased and cemented oil or gas well is critical to protecting groundwater, public health, safety and the environment, explained Pine. Many of the regulations governing well construction were promulgated in 1989 and remain largely unchanged.
“New well-drilling and completion practices used to develop Marcellus Shale wells, as well as recent impacts to drinking water supplies and the environment by both ‘traditional’ and Marcellus Shale wells, prompted the department to re-evaluate existing requirements,” he said.
With the continued development of the oil and gas industry, the potential exists for natural gas to migrate from the wellbore by either improperly constructed wells or older, deteriorated wells, Pine noted.
“This migration could adversely affect underground sources of drinking water and pose a threat to public safety and the environment,” he said. “Accordingly, DEP has revised its well-drilling and operation regulations.”
The webinar, “Pa. DEP Regulatory Update,” is part of an ongoing series of workshops and events addressing issues related to the state’s Marcellus Shale gas boom. Information about how to register for the webinar is available at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars.
Additional one-hour webinars will be held at 1 p.m. on the following dates:
— Dec. 16: “Plumbing the Depths in Pa.: A Primer on Marcellus Shale Geology and Technology.”
— Jan. 20, 2011: “Marcellus Shale Legislation: What Was Accomplished in the 2009-10 Session and What Issues Remain to be Addressed.”
— Feb. 16, 2011: “Dealing with Gas Tax Issues: What You Need to Know.”
— March 17, 2011: “Natural Gas Well Development and Emergency Response and Management.”
Previous webinars, publications and other information on topics such as water use and quality, zoning, gas-leasing considerations for landowners and implications for local communities also are available online at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas.
For more information, contact John Turack, extension educator in Westmoreland County, at 724-837-1402 or by e-mail at jdt15@psu.edu.
Marcellus Shale workshop planned for Nov. 16 in Dunmore
http://citizensvoice.com/news/marcellus-shale-workshop-planned-for-nov-16-1.1059322
Published: November 4, 2010
Marcellus Shale workshop planned for Nov. 16
Penn State Cooperative Extension in Lackawanna County will host a Marcellus Shale natural gas workshop, “Marcellus Shale and Pipelines – Understanding the Infrastructure Development,” from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at the Worthington Scranton Campus in Dunmore.
Participants will gain a greater understanding of pipeline infrastructure, regulation and safety, and needs to address as a landowner and community member with property in the Marcellus Shale region.
There will be a discussion on the background and need for pipeline development in the Marcellus region, various regulations and safety issues, and the legalities of right-of-way agreements. A question-and-answer session will follow.
The program, part of a five-part series, is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Call Penn State Lackawanna County Extension Office at 570-963-6842 by Friday, Nov. 12.
Webinars: Water management for Marcellus Shale gas production a growing issue
http://live.psu.edu/story/49365#nw69
Friday, October 22, 2010
Webinars: Water management for Marcellus Shale gas production a growing issue
University Park, Pa. — Billions of dollars already have been invested by natural-gas companies in Pennsylvania for Marcellus Shale gas exploration. Similarly, millions of gallons of water have been utilized to develop billions of cubic feet of natural gas.
The natural-gas industry is pursuing ways to minimize potential environmental impacts during development of the rich Marcellus formation, such as by treating and reusing wastewater produced during the process. However, according to one Penn State expert, as the Marcellus natural-gas play grows, the demand for water for hydraulic fracturing will directly increase, as will the need for infrastructure to treat flowback water for reuse or disposal.
“To minimize the environmental and financial costs of flowback treatment, many operators are now reusing flowback and other impaired waters such as acid mine drainage,” said David Yoxtheimer, hydrogeologist and extension associate with Penn State’s Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research. < http://www.marcellus.psu.edu/ >
Yoxtheimer was one of the featured speakers during an Oct. 21 Web-based seminar titled, “Water Use and Water Reuse/Recycling in Marcellus Shale Gas Exploration and Production.” Sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension < http://extension.psu.edu/ >, the webinar provided an overview of new strategies to conserve fresh water and reuse waters affected by the gas exploration process.
When shale gas drillers develop natural gas using the hydraulic-fracturing technique, they inject 3 million to 5 million gallons of water, along with sand and a relatively low concentration of additives into the Marcellus formation to release the natural gas. According to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, about 10 percent (300,000 to 500,000 gallons) of the injected hydraulic-fracturing fluids return to the surface via the natural-gas well within about one month.
This wastewater, known as “flowback,” contains relatively high concentrations of salt as well as some metals that were dissolved out of the shale during the fracturing process. The flowback water requires treatment prior to release back into the environment, but many companies are now reusing the flowback for subsequent hydraulic-fracturing operations, which has environmental benefits and reduces truck traffic on roads.
“Simply reusing the water is only the first step, but the lack of processing back to the water-quality standards is a big challenge to conventional thinking,” said Tony Gaudlip of Range Resources. Gaudlip, a co-presenter in the webinar, joined Range Resources in January 2008 following various industry positions in south Texas, Wyoming, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
“We do not need crystal clear water to use as a base fluid for fracturing,” he said. “We do not need to treat the water at all in order to get good production — no distillation, crystallization, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, etc. That’s all unnecessary to meet new downhole requirements,” Gaudlip said.
“What Range is doing is different,” Yoxtheimer said. “The company is fairly progressive and basically is recycling 100 percent of its water, and other companies are now following that trend.”
Yoxtheimer added that reusing flowback — and using impaired waters such as acid mine drainage and effluent from municipal or industrial wastewater plants — greatly offsets the need to use fresh water drawn from local streams and rivers.
Yoxtheimer said that Marcellus development is “proceeding pretty much full steam ahead” in Pennsylvania despite some opposition. “There are a lot of economic opportunities there that are potentially good, but also some potential environmental consequences. Ideally, a fine balance can be struck by doing the exploration and extraction in an environmentally responsible way.”
The “Water Use and Water Reuse/Recycling in Marcellus Shale Gas Exploration and Production” program was part of an ongoing series of workshops addressing issues related to the state’s Marcellus Shale gas boom. One-hour webinars also will be held at 1 p.m. on the following dates:
–Nov. 18: “Pa. DEP Regulatory Update.” Presenters: Dana Aunkst and Scott Perry, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
–Dec. 16: “Plumbing the Depths in Pa.: A Primer on Marcellus Shale Geology and Technology.” Presenter: Mike Arthur, Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research.
–Jan. 20, 2011: “Marcellus Shale Legislation: What Was Accomplished in the 2009-10 Session and What Issues Remain to be Addressed.” Presenter: Ross Pifer, Dickinson School of Law, Penn State.
–Feb. 16, 2011: “Dealing with Gas Tax Issues: What You Need to Know.” Presenter: Mike Jacobson, Penn State School of Forest Resources.
–Mar. 17, 2011: “Natural Gas Well Development and Emergency Response and Management.” Presenter: Craig Konkle, Lycoming County Office of Emergency Management.
Previous webinars — which covered topics such as water use and quality, gas-leasing considerations for landowners and implications for local communities — can be viewed at Penn State Cooperative Extension’s natural-gas website. <http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars >
For more information, contact John Turack, extension educator in Westmoreland County, at 724-837-1402 or by e-mail at jdt15@psu.edu.
Animations show extent of Marcellus Shale development
http://live.psu.edu/story/48893#nw69
Penn State Ag Sciences Newswire – 10.11.2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Animations show extent of Marcellus Shale development
University Park, Pa. — The pace and extent of Marcellus Shale development across Pennsylvania can be “seen” in animated maps produced by the Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research.
Based on data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the animations (http://www.marcellus.psu.edu/resources/maps.php) show both the number of drilling permits issued for the Marcellus Shale target and the number of wells drilled by year from 2007 through August 2010. Although permits were issued prior to 2007, information on those permits did not include latitude and longitude.
“These animations give people a chance to see how the pace of Marcellus development has accelerated,” said Tom Murphy, co-director of the Marcellus Center and extension educator with Penn State Cooperative Extension. “When you look at these animations, you are able to trace where development is occurring and get a sense of the rate at which it is occurring.”
The two animations also allow comparison between the number of permits issued and the actual number of wells drilled.
The animations show that interest in the Marcellus has skyrocketed with just 99 drilling permits issued in 2007 compared to 2,108 in the first eight months of 2010. A similar surge in the numbers of wells drilled is also evident. In 2010, through August 31, 950 wells had been drilled in the Marcellus Shale while in all of 2007, only 43 wells were drilled.
“We expect that the uptick in Marcellus well drilling activity will continue, given the high production rates being seen in the wells and the relatively low cost to develop this gas resource,” said Michael Arthur, co-director of Penn State’s Marcellus Center and professor of geosciences. “Even with the low natural gas commodity pricing, drilling in the Marcellus can still be profitable for efficient companies.”
The DEP updates its permit and well reports weekly at http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/minres/oilgas/RIG10.htm. A separate spreadsheet identifies Marcellus permits and whether they are for horizontal or vertical wells.
The Marcellus Shale occurs as deep as 9,000 feet below ground surface and covers about 95,000 square miles over six states including Pennsylvania. Its organic carbon-rich, gas-producing layers range from less than five feet thick to more than 250 feet thick. Estimates are that the Marcellus has enough recoverable natural gas to supply the entire U.S. for at least 20 years at the current rate of consumption.
The Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (www.marcellus.psu.edu) is supported by Penn State Outreach, Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment and the colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Earth and Mineral Sciences.
For more information, contact the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research, marcellus@psu.edu or (814) 865-1587.
Penn State has Marcellus Shale Web tool
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Penn_State_has_Marcellus_Shale_Web_tool_10-08-2010.html
Posted: October 8, 2010
Updated: Today at 5:00 AM
Penn State has Marcellus Shale Web tool
Times Leader staff
Penn State University’s Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research on Tuesday unveiled a new Internet resource that visually tracks the development of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
Animated maps display data about drilling permits issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection and wells drilled in Pennsylvania from 2007 through August of this year, visually demonstrating the rapid growth of interest in the Marcellus Shale.
There were just 99 drilling permits issued state wide in 2007 compared to 2,108 in August, 2010.
The maps can be found under the resources tab at http://www.marcellus.psu.edu.
Growing drought threatening well-water levels across state
http://live.psu.edu/story/48713/nw69
Penn State Ag Sciences Newswire – 9.27.2010
Growing drought threatening well-water levels across state
Friday, September 24, 2010
University Park, Pa. — After months of very little rainfall, and with long-term weather forecasts predicting little improvement through fall and early winter, well owners across the state have begun to grow uneasy, according to a groundwater expert in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
All of Pennsylvania is under a drought watch, and state officials recently declared a drought warning for 24 counties. The driest counties are in the far eastern and far western parts of the state, bordering Ohio and New Jersey. There is also a very dry region in the southwest around Somerset.
“The last serious drought we had that affected groundwater and well levels across Pennsylvania was in 2002, and I have already begun hearing from some of the people who experienced water-quantity problems with their wells then,” said Bryan Swistock, water resources extension specialist in the college’s School of Forest Resources. “Well owners should be conserving their water.”
This drought started in April, which was a dry month around the state, according to Swistock. That was followed by sporadically dry May, June and July. “August and especially September were very dry throughout the state,” he said. “The drought accelerated pretty rapidly.”
Historically, the current dry conditions are not that impressive, Swistock conceded, but he’s concerned by the current trend. “This drought so far is not a record-breaker by any means, but 2010 was in the top one-third or one-fourth of the state’s drier years in the records going back into the 1800s,” he explained.
“The official NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) long-term weather forecast indicates that this drought will be persistent in Pennsylvania through the winter. It may not get worse, but the outlook shows it is not likely to improve.”
The one caveat in the dry weather forecast is the unpredictable nature of tropical moisture that could find its way to Pennsylvania and ease drought conditions.
“If remnants of one or two of the tropical storms that form in the south Atlantic this fall move northward and track over Pennsylvania, they could eliminate the drought,” Swistock said. “There is a lot of tropical moisture around — but none of it has found its way to Pennsylvania yet.”
To recharge water tables and boost well-water levels, rains must fall before the ground freezes — usually in December — because after that, precipitation is not absorbed by the ground and simply runs off, Swistock pointed out. “We are now at our traditional annual low point for streams and groundwater,” he said.
“This is a critical recharge period we are entering — it’s a dangerous time to be in a drought condition.”
What you can do
Water-conservation measures become critical during times of drought. Homeowners relying on private wells can significantly reduce water consumption by changing habits and installing water-saving devices, according to Swistock.
“In emergency situations, changes in water-use habits can provide quick reductions in water use,” he said. “Examples include flushing the toilet less often, taking shorter showers, washing only full loads of dishes or laundry, and collecting water from roof gutters for outside use.”
It is important to note that certain drought declarations also may require water-use reductions or restrictions on water use, Swistock said. For example, a “drought emergency” declaration bans the nonessential use of water, such as car washing and lawn watering. These regulations apply to everyone, including homeowners with private wells.
Swistock advised water-well owners to monitor nearby groundwater levels online. “You might be able to detect potential problems early and implement water-conservation strategies that may prevent your well from going dry,” he said.
For more information on ways to save water around the home, consult the Penn State Cooperative Extension publications, “22 Ways to Save Water in an Emergency,” “Household Water Conservation” and “Managing Your Well During a Drought.” These publications are available at http://extension.psu.edu/water online.
You can learn about groundwater levels in your area through a website provided by the U.S Geologic Survey. Although not specific to your well, information from monitoring wells will allow you to observe the general trend in groundwater levels in your area. For a list of the available monitoring wells by county, go to http://pa.water.usgs.gov/durplots/well_duration.html online.
For more information on management of wells and springs in Pennsylvania, visit http://www.sfr.cas.psu.edu/water or contact your local Cooperative Extension office.
Penn State will hold workshop on drilling water tests
http://citizensvoice.com/news/penn-state-will-hold-workshop-on-drilling-water-tests-1.1017737
Published: September 18, 2010
Penn State will hold workshop on drilling water tests
Penn State Cooperative Extension will hold an informational workshop on how to interpret pre- and post-gas drilling water test reports starting at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 in the Lake-Lehman Junior-Senior high school on Old Route 115 in Lehman Township.
Participants will learn how to understand the reports, as well as what drinking water standards are, how to treat pre-existing water quality problems, and the importance of chain-of-custody. Penn State Extension educators Peter Wulfhorst and Bryan Swistock will be the presenters.
The program is sponsored by the Penn State Master Well Owner Network, with funding and support from Penn State Cooperative Extension, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Groundwater Association.
For information or to register to attend, call (570) 825-1701, 602-0600 or 888-825-1701.
Survey measures residents’ attitudes about Marcellus exploration
http://live.psu.edu/story/48364/nw69
Survey measures residents’ attitudes about Marcellus exploration
Friday, September 10, 2010
While energy companies continue to search beneath Pennsylvania for natural gas, social scientists are looking for ways to tap into the attitudes of residents about the gas-exploration boom in the region.
Residents in 21 Pennsylvania counties and eight New York counties — a region some refer to as “the Marcellus Fairway” — recently completed a survey looking at their level of satisfaction with their home communities, their knowledge about Marcellus Shale drilling and their trust in the process. The results suggest that, overall, the public-opinion jury is still out, according to Kathy Brasier, assistant professor of rural sociology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
Brasier will be the featured speaker during a free, Web-based seminar titled, “Natural Gas Experiences of Marcellus Residents: Preliminary Results from the Community Satisfaction Survey,” which will air at 1 p.m. on Sept. 16. Sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension, the “webinar” will provide an overview of the recent survey of residents in counties where shale-gas exploration has begun.
Information about how to register for the webinar is available at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars. Online participants will have the opportunity to ask the speaker questions during the session.
“The main research objective was to establish baseline data so that, as we repeat the survey over the development of the Marcellus, we can track changes in people’s experiences and thoughts about the shale,” said Brasier. She noted that the main educational objective was to get a better sense of what people living in the region think about Marcellus, to create educational programming that takes into account local views — whether those are commonly held ideas or points of conflict.
Brasier said, based on the responses of nearly 2,000 participants, the survey revealed that significant proportions of people had yet to form opinions or report knowledge about Marcellus development. However, she said that those who have formed opinions were pretty strong in their feelings, responding in the extreme ends of the attitude items.
When asked about overall support for natural-gas extraction in the Marcellus, about 45 percent support it; 33 percent neither support nor oppose it, and 21 percent oppose Marcellus exploration. She said that there was more opposition among New York respondents, with nearly 31 percent opposing Marcellus gas extraction. In contrast, 19 percent of Pennsylvania respondents oppose drilling in the Marcellus.
Brasier conjectured that one possible reason for greater opposition in New York — where Marcellus drilling has not been approved — was the idea that stopping shale-gas extraction is still on the table. “There is still talk that they may be extending the moratorium, and that might be a little bit greater motivation for those who oppose it,” she said. “That’s not going to happen in Pennsylvania. Here, it’s coming, and if people are in the ‘opposed’ camp, it’s more about how to shape it to have the least damage.”
Accordingly, the main issues people felt they knew something about were environmental and water impacts. Environmental issues were also the ones people thought would “get worse,” according to the survey. The only area that people thought would get better was the availability of good jobs, Brasier said.
She said that a relatively small number of respondents (10 percent) had signed a lease for gas rights. Of these, about half are satisfied with the terms of the lease. About half had received lease or royalty payments. A majority of those who had received payments said they were satisfied.
In addition to questions about the respondents’ satisfaction with and attachment to their community, and knowledge of Marcellus Shale activities and impacts, participants also were asked their attitudes about development of the Marcellus and their trust in organizations that are active in Marcellus Shale issues. Brasier said that trust in the natural-gas industry, state agencies and state governments has a great deal to do with attitudes toward Marcellus exploration.
Attitudes might also vary depending on whether respondents had bad previous experiences with other extractive sectors, such as coal or shallow gas, or had experienced other social or environmental problems as a result of that activity.
Brasier said that future work will compare responses on the community satisfaction variables across time. She said she also wants to get a better sense of residents’ feelings about the workers, including those who might have moved recently to the area because of gas drilling. Future surveys also are likely to explore what people do for recreation and how these activities might be affected by drilling.
The “Natural Gas Experiences of Marcellus Residents” webinar is part of an ongoing series of workshops addressing issues related to the state’s Marcellus Shale gas boom. Previous webinars, which covered topics such as water use and quality, zoning, gas-leasing considerations for landowners and implications for local communities, can be viewed at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars online.
For more information, contact John Turack, extension educator in Westmoreland County, at 724-937-1402 or by e-mail at jdt15@psu.edu.
Contact John Dickison jmd16@psu.edu
Penn State researchers ‘whet’ teen students’ interest in water cycle
http://live.psu.edu/story/47937/nw69
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Penn State researchers ‘whet’ teen students’ interest in water cycle
Photo by Margaret Hopkins In Pun, a rising ninth grader at State College Area High School, gets help from George Holmes, Penn State graduate student in civil engineering, on how to read an electronic water-level sensor. For more photos from the Stone Valley streambed ‘lab,’ click on the image above.
University Park. — A dry streambed in a small wooded valley near Penn State’s Stone Valley Recreation Area became a “living” laboratory Wednesday (Aug. 18) for a group of State College Area High School students getting an early taste of earth science.
Using soil moisture probes and water-level sensors, the teens sampled 16 sites to determine the depth of the water table and the moisture content along a streambed that was so dry in parts that it was almost dusty. The laboratory was the 20-acre Shale Hills watershed in the Penn State Stone Valley Experimental Forest in Huntingdon County.
Instructing the students was Chris Duffy, Penn State professor of civil engineering, who is the lead researcher in the NSF-sponsored Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (CZO). Critical Zone science explores the complex physical chemical and biological processes that shape and transform the life-sustaining Critical Zone stretching from the top of vegetation to the bottom of groundwater.
Researchers in three Penn State colleges, Engineering, Earth and Mineral Sciences and Agricultural Sciences, are involved in examining water flow patterns and rates as it moves through the subsurface of the Shale Hills watershed.
A new initiative for the State College Area School District, the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) academy is emphasizing hands-on activities with students building instruments, conducting experiments and analyzing data.
“When kids see and do hand-on things, they remember it far better than being told what it is and how it works,” said Wendy Watts, who teaches physics in the school district and who also took a turn measuring soil moisture with the students.
The students’ measurements confirmed their hypotheses: Soil on the banks of the stream was drier than the soil in the streambed, and soils are drier closer to stream headwaters.
“Doing experiments and seeing how it works in person helps me learn it better,” said 14-year old In Pun, one of the 10 students in the State College Area School District’s week long STEM Summer Academy. “I’m really understanding how the water cycle works and how everything affects it.”
Amer Sible, 14, said, “This helps me make connections between the everyday things you see and the science behind them.”
Dave Klindienst, the district STEM coordinator, said the district is looking to build more collaborations with Penn State, a goal that also fits well with Duffy.
“If we want to move Critical Zone Observatories forward as a national network, we need education at the K-12 level in the mix,” Duffy said. “Today was an opportunity for students to learn about ecology, geology and hydrology with mentors.”