1. Urban Infrastructure and Landslides School/program name Date

2. Background Information (for facilitator) It is important to distinguish between the processes of erosion, weathering, transportation, and deposition. Erosion is the removal of rock or soil from where it originally formed, or from where it was later deposited, and weathering is the physical or chemical breakdown of rock. In the case of mechanical weathering, rock breaks down due to forces such as abrasion, ice wedging, or thermal expansion. Chemical weathering occurs when rocks break down by reacting chemically with substances such as water or chemicals from organisms such as lichen. Erosion is distinct from transportation in that, while erosion is the removal of material, transportation is the movement of eroded material to another location. Natural agents such as water or wind transport the eroded material to other places. After rock or soil has been transported, it is deposited in a new location that is at a lower elevation; the force of gravity causes this deposition. The mode of erosion and transportation depends on the slope of the land and the materials of which the land consists. Steeper slopes and more loosely cemented rock materials can produce rock falls and landslides, whereas gentler slopes made of more consolidated materials are more likely to change gradually as materials move down slope in a process known as creep. Landforms that are produced by the combination of erosion, gravity, and transportation by water include landslides, mudslides, glacial lakes, sandy beaches, deltas, and canyons. Note that the terms landslide and mudslide can be used to refer to the transportation event as well as the resulting landform.

3. Agenda Opening (30 minutes) Setting the Stage (15 minutes) Activity: What Lies Beneath (60 minutes) Break (15 minutes) Setting the Stage (5 minutes) Activity: Look Out Below (45 minutes) Cyber Investigations 215 minutes) Lunch (30 minutes) Recess: Balloon Stomp (30 minutes) STEM-tastic Careers (30 minutes) Dream School Engineering Challenge: Phase Seven (45 minutes) Mind Snacks (15 minutes) Dream School Engineering Challenge: Phase Eight (55 minutes) STEM Camp Notebook Reflection (10 minutes) Wrap Up (5 minutes) Dive Into Digital Project (60 minutes)

4. Learning Objectives To explain why certain areas are more prone to landslides than others To determine how landslide risk must be taken into account during city planning and building

5. Today’s Vocabulary Gravity Sediment Erosion

6. Setting the Stage

7. What do you think? How does gravity as an agent of erosion? How can engineers combat landslides when designing urban infrastructure? What measures can you take in your city’s design to prevent landslides?

8. Activity: What Lies Beneath?

9. Setting the Stage

10. What are things to look for when evaluating a landslide? Video: Mass Wasting

11. Activity: Look Out Below!

12. Cyber Investigations

13. STEMtastic Careers

14. What kind of expertise do the scientists of the USGS Landslide Hazards Program possess? What type of research do the scientists of the USGS Landslide Hazards Program do? How do geologists use their careers to help protect people from natural disasters such as landslides? What kind of education do you think would be beneficial to a career in geology?

15. Dream School Engineering Challenge: Phase Seven

16. Mind Snacks Video: A Look at Sinkholes: Florida’s Most Common Natural Disaster

17. Dream School Engineering Challenge: Phase Eight

18. Notebook Reflection Based on what you have learned so far this week about urban infrastructure and geologic factors what types of experts would you hire to help build your Dream School? Why?

19. Wrap Up

20. Think about this… What do you think the public’s response will be to your Dream School? What will be the biggest selling points for the community to embrace your new school?