Engineering Environmental Solutions: River Dynamics & Mosquito Control
Students recreate flooding conditionsCopyright Sarah Crary
Students learn how seasonal flooding from snowmelt affects rivers and evaluate how changing environmental conditions, such as flood levels and temperatures, influence the distribution and abundance of organisms such as mosquitoes. In this hands-on activity, students build a river model using stream tables to explore the factors that affect water flow and velocity. Using what they learn, students predict how flooding impacts mosquito populations. Finally, they develop a vector control strategy to reduce mosquito populations and help prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
Environmental engineers work to understand how water flow, weather patterns, and climate change influence natural events such as flooding. By building a river model and analyzing water flow, students are mimicking the work of environmental engineers, who design solutions to manage water systems, prevent flooding, and protect habitats. Additionally, developing a vector control strategy to reduce mosquito populations ties into public health, a key area of environmental engineering, as these engineers create systems to prevent the spread of diseases and improve environmental conditions for human and ecological health.
After this activity students will be able to:
- Evaluate the activity claim using evidence that changing environmental conditions can impact the relative abundance and distribution of organisms.
- Explain the factors that impact river flow.
- Identify vector control strategies and identify trends in mosquito-borne illnesses.
- Use a model to predict areas prone to flooding.