Field Study in the Cornell University Science of Earth Systems Program

Cornell University has granted degrees in the Science of Earth Systems since 2000. The SES program is a multi-college and multi-disciplinary effort to integrate the study of the solid earth, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. An intensive, experiential component was added to the curriculum in 2001 with the introduction of the first Hawai'i-based field course. In 2004 the winter intersession field class was expanded to a full semester-length field program supporting the SES curriculum. The Earth and Environmental Systems (EES) Field Program on Hawai'i Island is open to well-prepared undergraduate students from any college or university. While it is designed to fulfill requirements in the SES curriculum, students from majors spanning the earth sciences, life sciences and engineering have participated, thus creating a multidisciplinary student body as well as faculty. Instruction is entirely field-based. Students learn from hands-on activities across a variety of topics, including volcanology, watershed hydrology, oceanography, biogeochemistry, and cultural and historical studies. The Big Island of Hawai'i is the world's premier field site for the study of Earth system interactions. The age progression of its five hot spot volcanoes and the island's location within the band of persistent NE trade winds combined with 4000 meters of vertical relief produce a 3-dimensional matrix of dramatic topographic, environmental, and temporal gradients that can be used in a variety of ways to study the effects of environmental change on natural and anthropogenic systems. The intensive nature of field-based learning produces outcomes different from a classroom environment. The students have been removed from their comfort zone and that this does indeed make them uncomfortable. Students must confront new modes of learning, are forced to learn independently, and from each other. The unequivocal result is that the students become more capable and independent learners. Second, the projects that students undertake are embedded in a real-world context, either as part of an ongoing scientific study or as community service. Through this experience students are inspired and empowered by the opportunity to make a real and substantive contribution. They are highly motivated to learn and to achieve, and are very successful. Connecting the curriculum to the community that hosts us has been the most successful aspect of the EES program.