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SWEL

Stream and Watershed Ecosystem Laboratory

SWEL

The Stream and Watershed Ecosystem Laboratory at Hampshire College offers a wide range of opportunities for students studying water resources. Hampshire's 800 acre campus containing small streams and wooded wetlands as well as the nearby Connecticut River and tributaries provide many locations for classes and independent projects. Students have access to equipment for stream surveying, water quality sampling, groundwater monitoring, and biota identification. When the streams are frozen during the cold New England winters, students utilize the indoor Geographic Information Systems (GIS) computer labs and the Wet Lab Space located on the first floor of the Cole Science Center Building. The wet lab contains a 1m x 2m recirculating stream table, a groundwater flow model as well as bench space for macroinvertebrate identification, flow simulations, etc. The SWEL lab was designed to provide equipment and space to support water resources classes as well as independent studies and Division II and III projects.

	Students measure flow rates to compute discharge of the nearby Fort River. This is part of a semester long project assessing the condition of the Fort River with a focus on geomorphology and habitat.
	Student using a Surber sampler to collect macroinvertebrates. The class then identified the individuals back in the lab and calculated community metrics.
	Students at the Hampshire Farm Center irrigation pond. The pond has been used in a variety of courses. Students calculate water budgets for the pond and assess the irrigation needs over the course of the summer.
	Students use the stream table in the lab to model flow, sedimentation and erosion, meander creation, etc.
	Students use ArcGIS to determine the velocity and direction of flow of a pollutant from a treatment lagoon to a nearby bay.  The goal of this project was to identify sources threatening the water quality of the bay.