Using a Campus Waterway for Undergraduate-Course Exercises and Summer-Research Experiences

Abstract

The Casperkill is a small stream that runs through Vassar College, in upstate New York. Its watershed, which covers approximately 25km2, drains directly into the Hudson River. The upper watershed is extensively modified by suburban development and contains several potential point sources of heavy-metal and organic pollutants. Vassar faculty and students have studied water quality and sediment contamination in the stream and its watershed for the past six years. Focusing teaching and student research on a natural feature of the campus attracts students to geology; provides them with a connecting thread from course to course within our department, and from our department to other sciences; encourages faculty-student interaction and interdisciplinary cooperation among faculty; and promotes active scientific research in a small, liberal arts college. Annual study of conventional water-quality parameters has revealed little interannual variation. Preliminary study of upper-watershed stream sediments has documented diverse heavy-metal contamination. The concentration of some metals varies randomly, whereas others show nonrandom trends. Among those metals that vary non-randomly, some exhibit smooth trends, whereas others have “spikes” of high concentrations. Maintaining a database of these research results provides the basis for planning future teaching and student research.