Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The River Mystery
Mystery Phenomenon: “Bloody River in the Tennessee Desert”
Prompt A:1st piece of evidence to solve the mystery:
Your teacher gives you a picture of the Ocoee River in East Tennessee, which looks like a “Bloody River,” and tells your class the fish and land animals that live near it have started to
become sick.
Copyright © 2020, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
Fill in the chart below with your observations and questions.
I Notice I Wonder
Prompt B:2nd piece of evidence to solve the mystery:
1
Your teacher shows you this diagram of one of the mountains surrounding the Ocoee River. Fill in the diagram to explain how the copper embedded in the mountain’s ore came to be in the
Ocoee River.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-
2020
Copper embedded in the mountain’s ore
↓
Copyright © NS Media Group Limited
Large pieces of broken copper on the mountain. Explain how these pieces broke away from the ore embedded in the mountain.
2
↓
Copper found in the Ocoee River. Explain how the copper pieces ended up in the river.
3
Prompt C:3rd piece of evidence to solve the mystery:
The Tennessee Copper Company began mining the copper in the Appalachian Mountains above the Ocoee River. The copper miners cut down so many trees to use in the mining process that it
left a big brown spot. In 1931, 30 years later, the empty dirt land became known as the Tennessee desert.
Before After
Copyright © Georgia Mineral Society, Inc.
In prompt B, you explained how the copper embedded in the mountain naturally came to be in the river. The pictures here show the mountain and the Ocoee River before the mining
operation.
4
Copyright © 2020, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2020 TripAdvisor LLC
C1. Explain what changed from before and after the mining operation?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
C2. Why did this change cause pollution in the Ocoee River?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5
Mystery Solved! Please help clean up “The Bloody River”!
Prompt D:The Tennessee Valley Authority is choosing between two plans to restore the Ocoee River
before the mining operation. Use the information below to help you decide which plan best meets the criteria.
Criteria
Slow down the process of erosion on the mountain above the Ocoee river.
Plan A- Erosion Mats and Storm Drains
© AK Trading CO Jute Erosion Control, Soil Saver Mesh Blanket
Plan B- Trees and mineral Spray
Erosion control mats will be installed on the bare soil. These mats are embedded with grass seed. As the mat decomposes, the grass roots help to hold soil in place. One problem is that the mats can be washed away before grass roots grow long enough to hold them in place. The mats can also threaten wildlife movement and activities. Storm drains will be installed so there is a place for water flow. Drains can be clogged easily.
First, the bare soil will be sprayed with minerals. This improves soil quality so that new plants can grow in the dry dirt. One problem is that the mineral spray can be harmful for animals and children. Second, baby trees will be planted. Tree roots help hold soil in place. The baby trees will take many years to grow large deep roots.
6
D1. Describe how each plan would work to control erosion and help the copper polluted Ocoee River.
Plan A:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Plan B:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
D2. Which solution would you select? Describe why the plan you selected is a better solution.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7
