Time to Revise How the Water Cycle is Taught in K-12 Schools

I was sitting in a meeting yesterday watching the heavy rain from an unspecified tropical area passing through Georgia. As the rain reaches the parking lot, some rush to the trenches while their portions are joined at the top. Ironically, the conference itself was a project sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that addresses the growing role of urban areas. At the time, I realized that the observed procedures did not reflect the water cycle that could be taught in most K-12 schools. Let me explain.


The water cycle USGS website Many schools probably teach some kind of water cycle in the diagram above. For example, the NGSS Standard: (MS-ESS2.C-4) states: “Earth's oceans, oceans, and atmosphere are constantly evolving, evaporating, thickening and shining, as well as rain, and mountains.” In the atmospheric part of the water cycle, the most common components include a specific reference for evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Once on the ground, water can flow upward (flowing) or (downstream) down, into the ground (inlet and piercing), or used by plants (inhaling and breathing). The definition usually ends with the water returning to the sea when the evaporation resumes the process. Evaporation, however, is not limited to the oceans, although the above picture seems to suggest that. Another picture of the water cycle NASA All right, Drs. Shepherd What are some of the wrong or incomplete water cycle studies methods? There are often shortcomings in standard water cycle diagrams like the examples above from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA. What's going on? If you guessed about going to the cities, you are right. Living in cities and inaccessible areas such as parking lots and roads greatly alters the features of the water cycle. More than half the world's population live in urban areas and that number is expected to grow in the coming years. However, we are still teaching children about the “water cycle,” which may not always fully represent their environment. On-air views in San Diego, California. Corbis with Getty photos Waterproof urban areas have at least two important impacts on the water cycle. It prevents water from entering the ground and causes an increase in the flow of rivers, streams, streams, and so on. I often say that “floods” are not the only cause of falls in the sky. As the USGS website points out, “As aquatic habitats live in cities, more vegetation is being replaced by inaccessible areas, thus reducing groundwater availability. Thus, stormwater runoff flows - a stream that must be collected in a comprehensive drainage system that includes slopes, sewers, and canals to allow stormwater to flow directly into streams. ”Because water reaches a river or streams very quickly, it can rise and flow with great force. This leads to flooding. Rhett Jackson is a hydrologist at the University of Georgia and has led the NSF conference on urban streams. Jackson once said in a media statement, "Because river water is everywhere, everything we see in the world has an impact on rivers." Although they talk about the quality of soil and water in very high rivers, it certainly applies to urban growth and flooding. By the way, I said "at least" at the beginning of this section because some of my research has revealed the "effect of urban rainfall" as well, but we will keep that in future articles. By the way, there are other ways that the “urban water cycle” differs from the natural water cycle. In cities, the water cycle includes rainwater, wastewater, clean water, and pumped water in and out of homes, businesses, and other structures. The website of the City of Rochester, Minnesota has an excellent discussion and diagram of a typical urban water circulation system. Installing tanks at a wastewater treatment plant in the Brisbane Western Corridor waste recycling program. (Photo ... [+] by Adrian Greeman / Architecture / Avalon / Getty Images) Getty Photos One way in which K-12 water cycle studies need to be reviewed is to account for climate change. Climate scientists have long warned that climate change could result in a hydrological cycle. For example, research shows that warming the climate can accelerate evaporation, especially at sea. A University of San Diego media report on the 2010 study said, “As water warms up, it evaporates faster and escapes into space. The atmosphere is able to hold water longer and release it more like rain and snow. ”This leads to changes in sea salt and rainfall patterns. Rain often increases as the sky warms up. “In recent years,” says the EPA, “large amounts of rain have fallen in the form of one-day events. Nine of the 10 worst weather events in a single day have occurred since 1996. I know that some teachers and school programs take into account the factors mentioned here. At the above NSF meeting, a colleague pointed out that simply pouring a cup of water on an outdoor basketball court and baseball field, respectively, is a good example for children in the "urban" water cycle compared to the "natural" one. The global system is changing and the way we teach needs to be improved as well. NASHVILLE, TN - MAY 04: City buildings and roads are still under water as the sun sets in May ... [+] 4, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. The rain over 13 inches is two days long, double the previous record of 6.68 inches and left about 10 people dead and thousands left homeless.