Geoscientists face increasingly complex problems in the workplace that require ever more sophisticated tools. With the large number of graduates finding employment in environmental geology, particularly hydrogeology, applied geophysical techniques that focus on these fields are of growing importance. This institution has developed and taught for 6 years a successful Field Geophysics course that emphasizes environmental and hydrological applications. This project augments the standard undergraduate teaching suite of geophysical instruments (seismograph, gravimeter, magnetometer, and DC electrical resistivity) with two electromagnetic sensors that are of emerging importance in environmental studies: a ground-conductivity profiling system and a transient-pulse sounder. These instruments give undergraduates experience with electromagnetic methods in both the frequency and time domains, allow them to investigate a range of relevant environmental problems not previously possible, and provide interpretive techniques that are complementary to those used for other data.
