The concepts of forward modeling and inverse modeling

Provenance: Lee Slater, Rutgers University-Newark
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This unit introduces the student to the concept of geophysical inversion, which is the process of estimating the geophysical properties of the subsurface from the geophysical observations. The basic mechanics of the inversion process used to estimate spatial variations in electrical conductivity from electrical imaging (EI) datasets are introduced in a way that avoids the heavy mathematics. The challenges of inverting two dimensional geophysical datasets and the strategies for limiting the inversion to geologically reasonable solutions are described. The unfortunate characteristics of geophysical images (blurriness, imaging artifacts) are explained to highlight the limitations of inversion and to emphasize that the inverted images never match with geological reality. Students use the Excel-based Scenario Evaluator for Electrical Resistivity (SEER) tool introduced in Unit 3, Field Geophysical Measurements, to investigate key inversion concepts associated with measurement errors and the benefits of adding boreholes to surface data using synthetic datasets. Students are then led through an inversion of the two-dimensional EI dataset acquired in Harrier Meadow using ResIPy, a Python-based graphical user interface developed for instructional use. Following the instructional video, students then perform the inversion in ResIPy themselves and explore how variations in inversion settings related to the errors in the measurements result in distinctly different images.

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Screenshot of the slider tool used to relate geophysical images to vegetation pattern

Provenance: Lee Slater, Rutgers University-Newark
Reuse: This item is in the public domain and maybe reused freely without restriction.
In this unit, students explore spatial associations between the three-dimensional electromagnetic (EM) conductivity inversions and the visible patterns of Salicornia (Pickleweed) introduced in Unit 1, Exploring Harrier Meadow. The Arcview Storymap started in Unit 1 allows students to overlay inverted electrical conductivity patterns for different depths on aerial photographs of Harrier Meadow that highlight the patches of Pickleweed. Students analyze how conductivity patterns vary with depth and explore for evidence for a relationship between electrical conductivity and Pickleweed patches based on the hypothesis introduced in Unit 1. Students then perform an integrated interpretation of both the EM and electrical imaging inversions along with the results of direct sampling (coring, pore water sampling, soil characterization) conducted at locations selected using the electrical conductivity patterns observed in the EM dataset. Students perform basic qualitative assessments of the correlation between physical and chemical properties of the sampled soils and soil electrical conductivity from the EM inversions. Students finish the module by evaluating the extent to which the geophysical dataset and supporting direct measurements support the hypothesis pertaining to the cause of the Salicornia clusters introduced in Unit 1.

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Keeping pace with our dynamic economy and society constantly challenges the Census Bureau's data collections. Our users want more data, and want it sooner. The cost of using our existing methods keeps going up, while statistical budgets are tight. We stay current by making research the basis of everything we do at the Census Bureau. Our researchers explore innovative ways to conduct surveys, increase respondent participation, reduce costs, and improve accuracy. They analyze the data we collect and uncover trends that give us a deeper understanding of our complex society.

These guides showcase education and public outreach resources from across more than 20 NASA astrophysics missions and programs. The twelve guides - one for each month - contain a science topic, an interpretive story, a sky object to view with finding charts, hands-on activities, and connections to NASA science. The guides are modular, so that educators can use the portions that are the most useful for their audiences/events. Following is the theme for each month: January - Betelgeuse, February - Orion Nebula, March - Pleiades, April - Pollux; May - Hubble Deep Field, June - Hercules Cluster, July - Ring Nebula & Veil Nebula, August - The Search for Habitable Worlds, September - Milky Way Galaxy, October - Upsilon Andromedae, November - Andromeda Galaxy, and December - Crab Nebula.

In this activity, students analyze regions of sea ice using data and ImageJ software. They measure ice mass and calculate effective albedo, and plot changes in solar energy and water/ice cover percentages. This is part 4 of a four-part activity on polar science. Data access information is provided in the attached appendix. This activity is one of several learning activities connected with the 2007 GLOBE Earth system poster.

In this session we will examine how to utilize Dynamic Digital Maps (DDMs) in undergraduate petrology courses to bring inaccessible and exciting volcanic field areas to the students in the classroom and to engage the students in authentic research experiences. A DDM is a stand-alone "presentation manager" computer program that contains interactive maps, analytical data, digital images and movies. They are essentially complete geologic maps in digital format, available on CD-ROM and on line. We have developed two different kinds of exercises that use DDMs to provide field-based context for undergraduate research projects in petrology. In one, the students use the DDM of the Tatara-San Pedro volcanic complex of the Andes Mountains of central Chile to develop a group research poster on part of the volcano's evolution, to present to the class, modeled after what would be presented at a national meeting. The second exercise focuses on the Springville Volcanic field, where the students try to understand the magma evolution using both field relations and quantitative modeling skills.
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Read a complete description of how dynamic digital maps work, with more ideas for the classroom. (from Teaching with Data, Simulations and Models)

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In this activity, student teams learn about research design and design a controlled experiment exploring the relationship between a hypothetical planet, an energy source, and distance. They analyze the data and derive an equation to describe the observations. Includes student data sheets, a teacher's guide, and a tutorial on how to use the spreadsheet program Excel. This is Activity A in module 3, titled "Using Mathematic Models to Investigate Planetary Habitability," of the resource, Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate? The course aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.

In this activity, students build a simple computer model to determine the black body surface temperature of planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Experiments altering the luminosity and distance to the light source will allow students to determine the energy reaching the object and its black body temperature. The activity builds on student outcomes from activity A, "Finding a Mathematical Description of a Physical Relationship." It also supports inquiry into a real-world problem, the effect of urban heat islands and deforestation on climate. Includes a teacher's guide, student worksheets, and an Excel tutorial. This is Activity B of module 3, titled "Using Mathematic Models to Investigate Planetary Habitability," of the resource, Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate? The course aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.

Students explore how mathematical descriptions of the physical environment can be fine-tuned through testing using data. In this activity, student teams obtain satellite data measuring the Earth's albedo, and then input this data into a spreadsheet-based radiation balance model, GEEBITT. They validate their results against published the published albedo value of the Earth, and conduct similar comparisons Mercury, Venus and Mars. The resource includes an Excel spreadsheet tutorial, an investigation, student data sheets and a teacher's guide. Students apply their understanding to the real life problem of urban heat islands and deforestation. The activity links builds on student outcomes from activities A and B: "Finding a Mathematical Description of a Physical Relationship," and "Making a Simple Mathematical Model." This is Activity C in module 3, Using Mathematical Models to Investigate Planetary Habitability, of the resource, Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate? The course aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.

In this activity students will use statistics and regression models to explore the effects of carbon dioxide on blood pH by measuring pH changes that occur over time as carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid. Physiological pH changes caused by exercise are also examined.

This activity is for an introductory oceanography course. It is designed to allow students to use various tools (satellite images, Google Earth) to explore the shape of the sea floor and ocean basins in order to gain a better understanding of both the processes that form ocean basins, as well as how the shape of ocean basins influences physical and biological processes.

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Students will utilize an applet to further expand their knowledge of confidence intervals.

Documentário "VIDAS E VOZES QUILOMBOLAS E SUAS RELAÇÕES COM O RIO LIVRAMENTO" é um Produto Educacional do Mestrado Profissional em Ensino de Ciências Ambientais - PROFCIAMB/ Polo Belém- PÁ. Esse documentário é parte integrante da dissertação de mestrado de Antônia Leonildes Lameira de Ataíde sob orientação do Prof . Dr Ronaldo Adriano Ribeiro da Silva.
A História da humanidade revela que os rios foram responsáveis pela construção e desenvolvimento das primeiras grandes civilizações. O objetivo geral da pesquisa foi o de compreender os saberes locais da Comunidade Quilombola Nossa Senhora do Livramento e suas relações com o Rio Livramento. O produto educacional resultante da investigação foi um documentário denominado Vidas e Vozes Quilombolas e suas relações com o Rio Livramento para ser usado no ensino e aprendizagem das Ciências Ambientais. Dessa maneira se propõe que as relações da Comunidade Quilombola com o Rio Livramento . O documentário narra as vozes a partir das particularidades locais e das interpretações dos sujeitos da pesquisa, protagonistas de suas histórias.

Imagen dinamica que informa sobre las caracteristicas generales de las vacunas que los adultos mayores necesitan.

In this problem set students are provided with an EXCEL spreadsheet containing major element analyses of lavas frm Thingmuli Volcano in Iceland. They are asked to construct variation diagrams (Harker plots) and then explain the trends they see for various elements. I use this problem set to introduce the use of EXCEL and to help students to think about the connections between mineral assemblage and rock chemistry.

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This is a lesson about the vertical dimension of the atmosphere and includes four activities. Activity 1 Introduces concepts related to distance, including length and height and units of measurement. Students are asked to make comparisons of distances. In activity 2, students learn about the vertical profile of the atmosphere. They work with a graph and plot the heights of objects and the layers of the atmosphere: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. In activity 3, students learn about other forms of visual displays using satellite imagery. They compare images of the same weather feature, a hurricane, using two different images from MODIS and CALIPSO. One image is looking down on the hurricane from space, the other looks through the hurricane to display a profile of the hurricane. Activity 4 reinforces the concept of the vertical nature of the atmosphere. Students will take a CALIPSO satellite image that shows a profile of the atmosphere and use this information to plot mountains and clouds on their own graph of the atmosphere. The recommended order for the activities is to complete the first two activities on day one, and the second two activities on day two. Each day will require approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.

Ecologists are investigating whether Weddell seal pups that spend more time in the water learning to swim with their moms have a higher chance of surviving to return and have pups of their own. Weddell seals live all their lives in Antarctica, and are the southernmost mammal in the world. Weddell moms spend a lot of time with their pups coaxing them into the cold Antarctic water and helping them learn to swim. Footage includes interviews with Montana State University ecology professors Bob Garrott and Jay Rotella. Video production by Mary Lynn Price. Additional footage by Jessica Farrer, Jesse DeVoe, Henry Kaiser, Rob Robbins, and Steve Rupp. More information at http://WeddellSealScience.com.

Video clips from federal and regional agencies show scientists at work with tools used to collect data about the climate and weather. This article, from the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, will help students visualize the tools and how they are used in the atmosphere, at sea, and other hard-to-access locations.

This is a virtual lab activity on the photoelectric effect based on a Java applet simulation of the experiment.

As producers of knowledge with a particular focus on social (in)justice, racial, gendered and transnational journeys, Guttman Community College scholar-activists have constructed a new digital canon that offers New Yorkers the opportunity to contribute testimonies of tumultuous times. Curated by Dr. Samuel Finesurrey, Guttman undergraduates Elsy Rosario, Tigida Fadiga, Luz Hidalgo, Phisarys Sidemion, and Sadaf Majeed and digitized by Guttman staff members Joanna Wisniewski, Ivan Mora, and Kristina Jiana Quiles, this collection democratizes the production of knowledge by empowering community college students, largely deriving from immigrant households, to shape the narratives told about their communities and their generation. Organized into five themes, with testimonies gathered in six languages, this archive documents a diverse set of New York experiences. Funded by the American Council of Learned Societies and the Mellon Foundation, this exhibition helps us rethink struggles and movements of the past and present, to unearth the human networks that carry all New Yorkers in difficult times.