Each fall, Techniques in Environmental Geochemistry (GEOSC 413W) students take on a project of their own development to answer an environmental question through field sampling, chemical analysis, and data analysis.  This year, the class is using geochemical indicators to determine groundwater-surface water interactions on intermittent, 1st order and 3rd order streams in the Shaver’s Creek watershed. Student collected groundwater, stream water and soil samples along transects at Katy Creek, Shavers Creek and in the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSHCZO). While SSHCZO is a small-forested catchment, Katy and Shaver’s creeks currently flow through a former lakebed, which is dominated by graminoids. This experimental design provides platform to also quantify the influence of variations in lithology and vegetation on groundwater-surface water interactions. Come February of 2014, the downstream dam restoration will be completed and Lake Perez will once again be flooded. As a result the data collected by this years GEOSC 413W will provide a critical baseline for quantify the geochemical response of the ecosystem to this large hydrologic perturbation.

For the updated article written by Anne Daahy on December 13, 2013 , Drained Lake Perez gives students a chance to study water chemisty, click the article title!