Human Impact on Coastal Wetlands: Providing an Authentic STEM Experience for High School Students

Wetlands are valuable because they protect our coasts, serve as natural water filtration systems, are a source of great biodiversity, and serve as nurseries to fish and other organisms. They are threatened by agriculture, drainage, commercial development, and climate change. Coastal wetlands, such as salt marshes, mangroves, and tidal freshwater wetlands serve as a major sink of greenhouse gases because they preserve carbon in anoxic, cold conditions. This unit has been aligned with NASAs mission to expand our knowledge and scientific understanding of Earth as a system and its response to natural and human-induced changes and to improve our ability to predict climate, weather, and natural hazards. The lessons are intended to provide students with background information on the importance of salt marshes as ecosystems, emphasizing the ecosystem services they provide as well as their intrinsic value. Students will examine the impact humans have had on climate change and as a result, its impact on wetland ecosystems. Specifically, students are taking a deeper look at evidence supporting climate change and its resulting effects on increased occurrences of drought, fire, and sea level rise. The unit is also aligned with NASAs mission to highlight diversity and inclusion by relating the work to each students interest and celebrating their background where they are analyzing sea level data in their neighborhood or home country. Students are also examining how dam building has affected wetlands as a specific ecosystem and targeting several case studies. Field and lab work rounds out the unit with a trip to a local salt marsh to collect core samples. These samples are then brought back to the lab for foraminifera analysis and to obtain a snapshot of sea level rise. This provides a hands-on, authentic research experience for students and immerses them in real field work and data collection and analysis. The lessons utilize a variety of NASA resources to help students investigate how humans have impacted wetlands.