A component of the course “Filling the Pipeline: Agricultural Drainage Education to Meet 21st Century Water Management Needs”
Instructor: Dr. Laura Christianson, University of Illinois
Overview: This module provides detail for those who are planning, implementing, and analyzing data from subsurface drainage edge-of-field monitoring systems.
Zip file with all files included
Learning Objectives:
After completing this module, students will:
- Understand terms and processes associated with:
- Water sample collection
- Drainage discharge monitoring, specifically use of weirs
- Proficiently use Excel for monitoring activities (mail merge, If/Then statements)
Step by Step Guide to Complete the Module:
Understand terms and processes associated with water sample collection
- Watch Video 1 “Documenting data and data quality” (13:13 min)
- Watch Video 2 “Water sampling: grab versus automated” (07:03 min)
- Watch Video 3 “Sampling: how and when?” video (07:51 min)
- Answer these thought questions: For your monitoring application, will you use: grab sampling or automated samplers? Discrete or composite samples?
- Optional:
- Watch the Optional Video “Programming an ISCO autosampler” (07:24 min). This is recommended if you will be using ISCO autosamplers.
- Watch the water sampling video from the “Monitoring Magic” video series (2:09 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrnhnWRadzY&list=PLw1dLme8sNGbK4Di-8AnP8Q1MJkVVd91s&index=3
- Watch Video 4 “Sample labeling and mail merge in Excel/Word” (12:17 min)
- Watch Video 5 “From the field to the lab” (06:52 min)
- Watch Video 6 “Quality in the lab” (09:16)
- Optional:
- Watch Video 6a “Lab analysis QAQC calculations in Excel” video (06:34 min). This video is recommended if you will be completing the homework.
- Optional:
- Understand terms and processes associated with drainage discharge monitoring, specifically use of weirs
- Watch Video 7 “Weirs” (06:25 min)
- Watch Video 8 “Drainage flow monitoring with weirs” (8:37 min)
- Proficiently use Excel for monitoring activities (mail merge, If/Then statements)
- Watch Video 9 “Weir equations in Excel” (17:31 min)
- Perform the homework assignment using the data provided.
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture (award number 2018-70003-27661). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
