WATER SPOTTERS: Water, energy, isotopes and experiential learning in the Colorado Front Range

Providing students with tangible examples of the two-way interaction between human society and the climate system is a pressing challenge. Water is at the core of many issues in environmental change from local to global scales. In climate research, there are significant uncertainties in the role water plays in the climate system. "Water" can also act as a central theme that provides opportunities for science education at all levels. WATER SPOTTERS takes advantage of the prominent agricultural landscape of the region, which is a poignant example of how society influences the climate through irrigation, evaporation/transpiration and run-off and whose productivity is influenced by the climate system. Both natural grasslands and alpine ecosystems in the surrounding regions serve as examples of the native landscape. The centerpiece of this project is a 300m tower that is fully implemented with gas sampling lines and micrometeorological equipment to study the energy and water budgets of the region. Middle Schools that surround this site, many of which exist in visual contact with the tall tower, are provided with meteorological stations, which provide rainfall rates, temperature, humidity and radiation data. In coordination with the St Vrain Valley School District MESA (Math Engineering Science Achievement) program, students collect rain water samples that are analyzed and used as a core component of the research goals. The students use the weather stations as a way to directly explore their local climatology and provide data that is needed in research. We present an overview of the curriculum goals and associated physical infrastructure designed for middle school students in the Colorado Front Range to explore their local water cycle using water isotopes. The fixed infrastructure at the schools and tall tower are supplemented by mobile instruments such as an automated precipitation collector and snowflake photography system, which both fulfill science needs and provide opportunities for experiential learning.