An approach to improve direct runoff estimates and reduce uncertainty in the calculated groundwater component in water balances of large lakes

The final publication is available at Elsevier via © 2015. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.Groundwater is important in the overall water budget of a lake because it affects the quantity and quality of surface water and the ecological health of the lake. The water balance equation is frequently used to estimate the net groundwater flow for small lakes but is seldom used to determine net groundwater flow components for large lakes because: (1) errors accumulate in the calculated groundwater term, and (2) there is an inability to accurately quantify the direct runoff component. In this water balance study of Lake Pyhäjärvi (155 km2) in Finland, it was hypothesized a hydrograph separation model could be used to estimate direct runoff to the lake and, when combined with a rigorous uncertainty analyses, would provide reliable net groundwater flow estimates. The PART hydrograph separation model was used to estimate annual per unit area direct runoff values for the watershed of the inflowing Yläneenjoki River (a subwatershed of the lake) which were then applied to other physically similar subwatersheds of the lake to estimate total direct runoff to the lake. The hydrograph separation method provided superior results and had lower uncertainty than the common approach of using a runoff coefficient based method. The average net groundwater flow into the lake was calculated to be +43 mm per year (+3.0% of average total inflow) for the 38 water years 1971–2008. It varied from −197 mm to 284 mm over that time, and had a magnitude greater than the uncertainty for 17 of the 38 years. The average indirect groundwater contribution to the lake (i.e., the groundwater part of the inflowing rivers) was 454 mm per year (+32% of average total inflow) and demonstrates the overall importance of groundwater. The techniques in this study are applicable to other large lakes and may allow small net groundwater flows to be reliably quantified in settings that might otherwise be unquantifiable or completely lost in large uncertainties.Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry Foundation || Pyhäjärven suojelurahasto || Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC

A Course Template for Integrating Chinese Dual-Degree Students into a Science Program and Enhancing Their Communication Skills

In 2013 and 2014, Waterloo’s Earth and Environmental Sciences Department piloted EARTH 10 to provide social and academic support for Chinese dual-degree students during their first term in Canada (these are students who complete BSc degrees in Waterloo after two academic years in China). The 10-week non-credit course focuses on encouraging self-improvement in a safe, supportive environment. Students received content-based instruction from Earth Science faculty and language instructors in activities designed to improve English competency, help them adjust to academic and department specific requirements, and integrate them into the Waterloo community. The course emphasized active learning through hands-on activities (a geological field trip, a lab tour and demo, and group work for an oral presentation). Students completed 2-draft projects that allowed for formative assessment of their scientific and language competency. Peer mentors were key to the course’s success: they helped students with assignments, conversation practice, socializing, and orientation to the department. According to subjective and quantifiable metrics that included student self-assessments (interviews and questionnaires), in class progress on assignments, and comparison of performance (grades) in other courses, participants universally benefitted from the course in terms of increased confidence and measurably better academic and classroom performance than non-participant peers. The primary outcome of the course was developing the socio-cultural and interactional competence necessary to achieve academic success. Improvements to design and delivery over the 2-year pilot have made EARTH 10 a worthwhile extracurricular complement to academic programming, one which Waterloo’s Faculty of Science will be offering in four different departments next Fall