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Links are provided for convenience only. Hyperlinks that Earthguide provides to external websites do not imply official Earthguide endorsement of, or responsibility for, the content contained on those sites. These are provided as a service to the user, and Earthguide does not retain editorial control over them. No endorsement of a product or a point-of-view should be inferred.
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Oceans
General
BRIDGE: Ocean Sciences Education Teacher Resource Center
BRIDGE offers links to many online resources for marine science education.
Supported by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, and sponsored by the National Marine Educators Association and the national network of Sea Grant educators.
Ocean Planet
Companion to a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution, promoting education and awareness about our "Ocean Planet."
Smithsonian Institution
Quarterdeck ONLINE
Quarterdeck Magazine is a 24-page, tri-annual publication produced by the Department of Oceanography at Texas A&M University. All the articles are written by professors, staff, students, and alumni of the Department of Oceanography.
Texas A&M University
Global Seafloor topography from Satellite Altimetry
Maps of seafloor elevation based on data collected by satellites. The satellite can't "see" the bottom of the ocean, instead it measures the elevation of the ocean and infers the shape of the seafloor. It seems like magic, but it's really science. See how cleverly it's done on the
methods page.
Walter H. F. Smith, NOAA Geosciences Laboratory
David T. Sandwell, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Chemistry
Coastal Processes
Geologic History of Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Information about how the cape formed after glaciation and how it is still changing.
Donna Newman, USGS
Coral Reefs
NOAA's Coral Reef Information System
"a single point of access to NOAA coral reef information and data products, especially those derived from NOAA's Coral Reef Initiative Program."
NOAA
About Coral Reefs
"Coral reefs are complex, biologically diverse ecosystems. Countless studies, books and papers have been devoted to exploring and understanding the nature of these unique marine environments. These four essays discuss some of the most important aspects of coral reefs. Many of their physical and biological characteristics are discussed in detail. Coral reef threats, both natural and anthropogenic, also are explored."
Coral Reef Information System, NOAA
Coral Reefs
"... two sections devoted to learning about coral reefs: an online tutorial, and an educational roadmap to resources. The Coral Tutorial is an overview of the biology of and threats to coral reefs. The tutorial is rich in substance and is presented in easy-to-understand language. It is made up of 11 "chapters" or pages (plus a reference page) that can be read in sequence by clicking on the arrows at the top or bottom of each chapter page. The tutorial includes many illustrative and interactive graphics to visually enhance the learning process. The Roadmap to Resources complements the information highlighted in the tutorial. The roadmap directs you to specific coral data offerings within the NOS and NOAA family of products."
National Ocean Service, NOAA
Coral Mortality and African Dust
This site poses the potential cause-and-effect relationship between the death of corals in the Carribbean with sources of atmospheric dust from the Sahara.
U.S. Geological Survey
Currents
Pacific Toy Spill Fuels Ocean Current Pathways Research
"When several containers of children's bathtub toys spilled over a ship's side and were released into the Pacific Ocean, who would've thought a concerted research project to study the ocean's currents would be the result?"
Curtis C. Ebbesmeyer, Evans-Hamilton, Inc., Seattle, Wash.; W. James Ingraham Jr., National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Wash.
Drugs from the Sea
Drugs from the Sea
"Inside, in biologist William Fenical's lab, it's good-bye to the sea's charms and hello to the smelly and slimy, the creepy and crawly, the disgusting and fascinating world of creatures scooped from that ocean outside, ground up, and thrown at every frightening disease he can think of." See what Dr. Fenical does at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Looksmart and Discover
Energy Resources
Fisheries
FAO Fisheries
Global fisheries information.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations
Marine Life
Dinoflagellates
Noctiluca scintillans
A spectacular sequence of photos showing several life stages of Noctiluca scintillans. Our favorite photo shows Noctiluca after it's eaten a diatom chain. Slow loading but worth the wait.
Jan Rimes
Radiolarians
Radiolaria
"Spectacular objects for the microscope."
Brian Darnton and Wim van Egmond
Physics
Polar Oceans
Pollution
Productivity
Sea Level
Sinking City of Venice: Weighing the Solutions
Describes flooding problems in Venice, Italy caused by the dual problems of sinking land and rising sea level and a technological fix.
by John Keahey; NOVA, PBS
Sediments
Tides
Earthguide Tide Calendar
Annual and monthly view tide calendar allowing comparison of tide predictions at several locations. Moon phase also included.
Earthguide
Water Level Tidal Predictions
Tide tables for many locations around the U.S.
NOAA/NOS
Scripps Institution of Oceanography Pier: Tide Predictions
Convenient tide chart for Scripps Pier, San Diego, California.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library
Tides
An online tutorial about tides.
National Ocean Service, NOAA
What Causes the Tides?
Animated diagram illustrates causes of the two tidal bulges on Earth.
by Rick Groleau; NOVA, PBS
Giant Fundy Tides
Information about this classic locality from the Hopewell Rocks Park organization. They have an interpretative center at the north end of the Bay of Fundy.
The Hopewell Rocks
Tsunami
USC Tsunami Research Group
University of Southern California
Tsunami!
University of Washington
Killer Surf!
"Scientists hasten to predict and prepare for a monster wave threatening California's coast." SCIENCE NOTES is written and illustrated by the students in the Science Communication Graduate Studies Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
By Krista Conger and illustrated by Zeke Smith, Science Notes, UCSC
NGDC Geologic Hazards Photos
Photos of earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides, and other geologic hazards. Free photos online and slide sets for sale.
NOAA National Data Centers, NGDC
Water Quality
Waves
Freshwater
General
The Water Debate
Many articles discussing issues related to world water resources.
BBC News
Water Science for Schools
"Information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge."
U.S. Geological Survey
The World's Water
"a site dedicated to providing water information, data, and resources to individuals, organizations, and institutions working on solutions to a wide range of global freshwater problems."
Pacific Institute
Science in your Watershed
The purpose of this site is to help you find scientific information organized on a watershed basis.
U.S. Geological Survey
Water Supply and Sanitation
"In helping our members rise to meet this challenge, we seek to foster approaches that are people-centered, market-based and earth-friendly."
The World Bank
U.S. Water News - Links
Water resources links for state, federal, international, professional, non-profit, and general agencies and organizations.
U.S. Water News
The Water Cycle
NASA Earth Observatory
Atmospheric Vapor & Clouds
WW 2010
WW2010 (the weather world 2010 project) is a WWW framework for integrating current and archived weather data with multimedia instructional resources using new and innovative technologies.
Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Clouds Photography
Weather Photography, H. E. Edens
Dams
World Commission on Dams
"The WCD was an independent, international, multi-stakeholder process which addressed the controversial issues associated with large dams. It provided a unique opportunity to bring into focus the many assumptions and paradigms that are at the centre of the search to reconcile economic growth, social equity, environmental conservation and political participation in the changing global context. The Commission completed its work with the launch of its final report and disbanded." Be sure to read the Commission's
Report.
Dams and Development Project (DDP), UN Environment Programme
On the Colorado River
Hoover Dam
Part of The American Experience series by PBS and WGBH
Hoover Dam: National Historic Landmark
The Story of the Hoover Dam
U. S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation
On the Yangtze River
China's Three Gorges: Before the Flood
"China's most ambitious project since the Great Wall, the Three Gorges Dam will displace nearly two million people as it swallows up cities, farms, and the canyons of the Yangtze River." (See the magazine for a full copy of the article)
By Arthur Zich, photographs by Bob Sach
National Geographic, September 1997, pages 2-33.
Glaciers
All About Glaciers
The National Snow & Ice Data Center
Antarctica Online
Australian Antarctic Division
Snow Crystals
California Institute of Technology
Groundwater
Aquifer Basics
Distribution of aquifers across the U.S.
U.S. Geological Survey
Groundwater Information Pages
Information about the groundwater resources of the U.S. and the groundwater activities of the USGS
U.S. Geological Survey
Professor J. David Allan
MTBE in Drinking Water
Office of Water, Environmental Protection Agency
Earth's Water: Groundwater
Water Science for Schools, U.S. Geological Survey
Hydrology
Water Science for Schools
"... information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge."
U.S. Geological Survey
Lakes
Lake Nyos
What Happened at Nyos?
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/mhalb/nyos/index.htm
Michel Halbwachs, University of Savoie
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea
Satellite image of the Salton Sea
Center for Inland Waters, San Diego State University
Rivers & Streams
Water Watch: Maps and Graphs of Current Water Resources Conditions
Click on the nearest stream and see how current flow stacks up with past flows.
U. S. Geological Survey (USGS)
The Colorado River
Grand Canyon
"A natural wonder... The Colorado River... Meeting the Natives... Resources"
PBS: Nature
The Mississippi River
Just Doing my Job: The Mississippi Flood of '93
Story told as personal account with activities for students.
NASA
The Rhine River
The "Miracle" of the Rhine
"Fish are once again swimming in the Rhine River but it took an ecological catastrophe for the countries it flows through to clean up their act"
The UNESCO Courier
Other Rivers
The Geologic Story of the Ocoee River
USGS, Forest Service, and the Tennessee Valley Authority
Water Quality
Acid Rain and Our Nation's Capital
An installment in the "General-Interest Publications" series
USGS
Water Resources
UN - Indicators on Water Supply and Sanitation
Table showing percentage of population with access to drinking water and sanitation facilities by country.
United Nations Statistics Division
World Water Assessment Programme
"The UNESCO Water Portal is intended to enhance access to information related to freshwater available on the World Wide Web."
UNESCO
Earth Trends: Environmental Information
"EarthTrends is a comprehensive online database, maintained by the World Resources Institute, that focuses on the environmental, social, and economic trends that shape our world." See section on
Water Resources and Freshwater Ecosystems.
World Resources Institute
Biosphere
General
The Biology Project
An online interactive resource for learning biology.
University of Arizona
Biodiversity
Bioluminescence
The Bioluminescence Web Page
Haddock, S. H. D., McDougall, C. M., and Case, J. F., 2000
Luxgene.com
This is an educational website, created to provide information, experimental data, images and animations of bioluminescent organisms in action.
Luxgene
Latz Laboratory Home Page
Bioluminescence lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Related article in Explorations
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Carbon Cycle
Global Carbon Cycle
Details of the carbon cycle.
Office of Global Programs, NOAA
Cell
How Cells Divide: Mitosis vs. Meiosis
An interactive website with basic information.
NOVA Online, KPBS
CELLS alive!
"This website represents over 25 years of experience capturing film and computer-enhanced images of living cells and organisms for education and medical research. A stock video library provides producers with a range of subjects, and includes both live recording and computer animation. A variety of immune cells, bacteria, parasites, and aquatic organisms are available for licensing for educational, broadcast, and commercial use."
James A. Sullivan, Quill Graphics
A Microscopists' View of Chromosome Organization
Images of genetic material including chromosomes and chromatin.
Gwen V. Childs, University of Texas Medical Branch
Fundamentals: Genetics
Basic information and illustrations.
The Merck Manuals, Online Medical Library
Genomics 101: A Primer
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Department of Energy
Human Genome Project Information
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Department of Energy
Facts About Genome Sequencing
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Department of Energy
Human Genome Project Information
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Department of Energy
Human Genome Project Information
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Department of Energy
Chemistry
Chemosynthesis
Nova: Into the Abyss
Site follows researchers at sea as they work to bring a piece of the mid-ocean ridge back to the surface from the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the North Pacific.
NOVA Online
Life with Toxic Sulfide
Access Excellence, Alissa Arp
This Whale's (After) Life
What happens when a dead whale falls to the bottom of the sea? Find out what "biological oceanographer Craig Smith of the University of Hawaii and his research associates, including graduate student Amy Baco: observed in the Santa Cruz Basin offshore California.
by Julie Zeidner Russo, NOAA's Undersea Research Program
Ecosystems
Coral Reefs
NOAA's Coral Reef Information System
"a single point of access to NOAA coral reef information and data products, especially those derived from NOAA's Coral Reef Initiative Program."
NOAA
About Coral Reefs
"Coral reefs are complex, biologically diverse ecosystems. Countless studies, books and papers have been devoted to exploring and understanding the nature of these unique marine environments. These four essays discuss some of the most important aspects of coral reefs. Many of their physical and biological characteristics are discussed in detail. Coral reef threats, both natural and anthropogenic, also are explored."
Coral Reef Information System, NOAA
Coral Reefs
"... two sections devoted to learning about coral reefs: an online tutorial, and an educational roadmap to resources. The Coral Tutorial is an overview of the biology of and threats to coral reefs. The tutorial is rich in substance and is presented in easy-to-understand language. It is made up of 11 "chapters" or pages (plus a reference page) that can be read in sequence by clicking on the arrows at the top or bottom of each chapter page. The tutorial includes many illustrative and interactive graphics to visually enhance the learning process. The Roadmap to Resources complements the information highlighted in the tutorial. The roadmap directs you to specific coral data offerings within the NOS and NOAA family of products."
National Ocean Service, NOAA
Coral Reef Ecology
Dr. Dustan's lab page
Dr. Phillip Dustan, Department of Biology, University of Charleston
Coral Reef Protection: a Watershed Approach
General information and links to other resources with a focus on U.S. reefs.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Water, Oceans and Coastal Protection Division
Evolution
Understanding Evolution
"... an evolution website for teaachers."
Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley
Evolution
A co-production of the WGBH/NOVA Science Unit and Clear Blue Sky Productions on KPBS
Genes
Genomics and Its Impact on Science and Society: The Human Genome Project and Beyond
Basic information about the genome and related topics.
U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Project
Genome: The Secret of How Life Works
An interactive website with basic information for kids.
Pfizer
How Cells Divide: Mitosis vs. Meiosis
An interactive website with basic information.
NOVA Online, KPBS
DOE: Genomes.org
"Genome programs of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science - founder of the Human Genome Project and leader in systems biology research."
Office of Biological and Environmental Research, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science
Global Change
Global Change
General information covering these topics - Global warming: The scope of the problem - The greenhouse effect - The Keeling Curve
Wolf Berger, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Global Warming
General information answering these questions - What is the problem? - Greenhouse Gases? How serious is it? - What do we know? - How much do we emit? Now? In the future?
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Global Warming
Summary of knowledge, impacts and possible solutions.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Habitats
Tidepool EG original
Diagram showing vertical distribution of different types of organisms in a southern California tidepool.
SIO Explorations and Earthguide
Living Things—Organized by Taxa
General
Animal Diversity Web
"An online database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation biology at the University of Michigan."
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
Micscape
"Informal monthly web magazine encouraging readers to explore the 'miniature world' around them." Archives include wonderful images of living things.
Microscopy UK
The Tree of Life Web Project
"A collaborative Internet project containing information about phylogeny and biodiversity"
David R. Maddison, et al.
Archaea
Arthropods
Sand Crabs Along California Beaches Emerita analoga
Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association
The Pacific Mole Crab Emerita analoga also know as the "sand crab"
Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association
Horseshoe Crab Limulus polyphemus
Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce
Biology of Copepods
Carl von Ossietzky, University of Oldenburg, Germany
Krill
Australian Antarctic Division
Bacteria
Prochlorococcus
Possibly "the most abundant photosynthetic cell in the oceans."
Earthguide
Birds
Cnidarians
NOAA's Coral Reef Information System
"a single point of access to NOAA coral reef information and data products, especially those derived from NOAA's Coral Reef Initiative Program."
NOAA
About Coral Reefs
"Coral reefs are complex, biologically diverse ecosystems. Countless studies, books and papers have been devoted to exploring and understanding the nature of these unique marine environments. These four essays discuss some of the most important aspects of coral reefs. Many of their physical and biological characteristics are discussed in detail. Coral reef threats, both natural and anthropogenic, also are explored."
Coral Reef Information System, NOAA
Coral Reefs
"... two sections devoted to learning about coral reefs: an online tutorial, and an educational roadmap to resources. The Coral Tutorial is an overview of the biology of and threats to coral reefs. The tutorial is rich in substance and is presented in easy-to-understand language. It is made up of 11 "chapters" or pages (plus a reference page) that can be read in sequence by clicking on the arrows at the top or bottom of each chapter page. The tutorial includes many illustrative and interactive graphics to visually enhance the learning process. The Roadmap to Resources complements the information highlighted in the tutorial. The roadmap directs you to specific coral data offerings within the NOS and NOAA family of products."
National Ocean Service, NOAA
Coral Reef
General information and links to other resources about coral reefs.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Silent Sentinels: The Future of Coral
Silent Sentinels was originally broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV in 1999. This site contains Real Audio commentary by internationally recognized scientists.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Ocean World: Coral Reefs
General information about coral reefs.
Texas A&M University
Early Warning Signs of Global Warming: Coral Reef Bleaching
Short summary with references.
Union of Concerned Scientists
The 1997-1998 Mass Bleaching Event Around the World
"There has been significant bleaching of hard and soft corals in widely separate parts of the world from mid-1997 to the last months of 1998. Much of this bleaching coincided with a large El Nino event, immediately switching over to a strong La Nina. Some of the reports by experienced observers are of unprecedented bleaching in places as widespread as (from west to east) the Middle East, East Africa, the Indian Ocean, South, Southeast and East Asia, far West and far East Pacific, the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean."
Compiled by Clive Wilkinson, Global Coordinator, Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, Australian Institute of Marine Science
The Truth About Jellyfish
by Tony Corey, Rhode Island Sea Grant
Siphonophores
"It provides an introduction to the biology of siphonophores, and is intended for both a scientific and general audience. In the near future it will also consolidate data on siphonophore systematics and provide access to digitized siphonophore literature. These latter objectives are being met in collaboration with Dr. Philip R. Pugh of the National Oceanographic Centre in the United Kingdom."
by Casey Dunn, www.siphonophores.org
Echinoderms
Prickly Prize: Briny Depths off La Jolla Yield Some of the most Coveted Sea Urchin on Earth
Article from the San Diego Union Tribune about prized sea urchins harvested offshore San Diego.
Catalina Offshore Products and the San Diego Union Tribune
Fish
FishBase
General reference for a wide variety of fish species. Site may take a little time to load.
FishBase
The Coelecanth: More Living than Fossil
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Ancient Creature of the Deep
"Meet the coelecanth, a bizarre fisn and "living fossil" that has changed little in its 400 million years on Earth."
NOVA, PBS
The Fish Out of Time
All about coelecanths, including videos.
Third Wave Media Inc.
Ocean Sunfish
All about the ocean sunfish (
Mola mola).
OceanSunfish.org
Orange Roughy: Delicacy from the Deep
Student and teacher resource.
Ministry of Fisheries, New Zealand
The Orange Roughy Management Company Ltd.
Corporate site include information about the biology of orange roughy
The Orange Roughy Management Company Ltd.
Seafood WATCH
Information to help you buy fish in a way that supports conservation.
Montery Bay Aquarium
Humans
Human Evolution: The Fossil Evidence in 3-D
Interactive website that includes 3-D skulls that you can rotate and compare.
Phillip L. Walker and Edward H. Hagen, University of California Santa Barbara
Marine Mammals
El Niño Impacts on Pinnipeds by Species
National Marine Mammal Laboratory, NOAA
This Whale's (After) Life
What happens when a dead whale falls to the bottom of the sea? Find out what "biological oceanographer Craig Smith of the University of Hawaii and his research associates, including graduate student Amy Baco: observed in the Santa Cruz Basin offshore California.
by Julie Zeidner Russo, NOAA's Undersea Research Program
Mollusks
Bivalves
—includes clams, oysters, scallops, mussels
Cephalopods
—includes octopus, squids, cuttlefish, nautilus
Coastal Pelagic Species - Market Squid
Basic information and movies about the market squid,
Loligo opalescens. This species has recently become the most valuable fishery in California.
Dr. John Butler, Fisheries Resources Division, NOAA Fisheries
CephBase
"The purpose of CephBase is to provide life history, distribution, images, catch and taxonomic data on all living species of cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus)."
The Giant Octopus Web Page
A "site, devoted to the Giant Octopus in Alaska, where for the past five years I have been studying the ecology of this animal" - David Scheel.
David Scheel, Alaska Pacific University
In Search of Giant Squid
"This online exhibit explores and interprets the mystery, beauty and complexity of giant squids - the world's largest invertebrates"
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
Gastropods
—includes snails, slugs, limpets, nudibranchs
Morro Bay and Abalone
Abalone and Red Alga Harvest
Historical Morro Bay, California
Historical photos and short accounts of a bygone industry.
Historical Morro Bay, California
The History of the Commercial Fishermen of Morro Bay
Content about the rich history of Morro Bay's commercial fishing industry. Contains oral histories, photos and more.
California Sea Grant
Other Mollusks
—includes chitons, tusk shells
Plants
Poriferans (Sponges)
Introduction to Porifera
Includes information about the evolution of sponges over geologic time.
UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology
Phylum Porifera: Sponges
Segment on sponges accompanying a PBS series covering major phyla.
The Shape of Life, PBS
No Where Else on Earth: Protecting the Unique Glass Sponge Reefs of Hecate Strait
Living glass sponge reefs off the coast of British Columbia, Canada.
Aquanews, Vancouver Aquarium
Sponges
About sponges and the history of the sponge industry in Kalymnos, Greece. Don't miss the buttons that lead to other content at the bottom of the short front page.
Municipality of Kalymnos
Diving the Skafandro Suit
History of the diving attire that contributed to the death and disability of sponge divers.
Diving Heritage
Sponge fishing in Key West and Tarpon Springs
History of the sponge industry in the U.S. in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Diving Heritageb
Protists
Coccolithophorids
Diatoms
Dinoflagellates
Pfiesteria piscida
Latest on an organism that causes fish kills in coastal waters and estuaries of the east coast of the U.S.
North Carolina State University
Radiolarians
Other Protists
—includes algae, kelp
Reptiles
Worm Phyla
Ice Worms
Speculating on the origin of worms in the Robert Service poem, "The Ballad of the Ice-Worm Cocktail."
by T. Neil Davis, Alaska Science Forum; Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
The Ballad of the Ice-Worm Cocktail
A poem by Robert Service.
Water Resources of Alaska, USGS
Marine Biology
This Whale's (After) Life
What happens when a dead whale falls to the bottom of the sea? Find out what "biological oceanographer Craig Smith of the University of Hawaii and his research associates, including graduate student Amy Baco: observed in the Santa Cruz Basin offshore California.
by Julie Zeidner Russo, NOAA's Undersea Research Program
Origin of Life
People
U.S. Census Bureau
Data on the U.S. population and around the world.
U.S. Census Bureau
Photosynthesis
What is Photosynthesis?
Arizona State University
Productivity
Resources
NOAA Fisheries
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Terrestrial Biology
USDA PLANTS Database
The PLANTS Database is a single source of standardized information about plants. This database focuses on vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. The PLANTS Database includes names, checklists, automated tools, identification information, species abstracts, distributional data, crop information, plant symbols, plant growth data, plant materials information, plant links, references, and other plant information. PLANTS reduces costs by minimizing duplication and making information exchange possible across agencies and disciplines.
United States Department of Agriculture
Programs and Research, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Includes information about types of southwest deserts and images.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Geoscience
General
Plain Geology
"More than 50 years ago former [USGS] Director George Otis Smith recognized that scientific reports are often couched in words and phrases that are understandable only to other scientists, engineers, or technicians. His plea for 'Plain Geology' was a classic, just as applicable now as it was in 1921. It is herewith reprinted to make it generally available."
George Otis Smith (1871-1944), USGS
U.S.G.S. Geology in the Parks
Great connections between basic earth science themes and National Parks. Excellent images.
Cooperative project of the U.S. Geological Survey Western Earth Surface Processes Team and the National Park Service.
Geologic Map of the United States
Philip B. King and Helen M. Beikman, U.S. Geological Survey
Deserts
Deserts: Geology and Resources
Part of the USGS "General-Interest Publications"
USGS
Earthquakes
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
Earthquake Activity:
US Geological Survey
Virtual Courseware: Earthquake
Earthquake is an activity that shows how an earthquake epicenter is located and how the Richter magnitude of an earthquake is determined.
Virtual Courseware for Earth and Environmental Science
IGPP Broadband Seismic Data Collection Center
Earthquake reports and information.
Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD
CalTech Seismological Laboratory
California Institute of Technology (CalTech)
The IRIS Seismic Monitor
IRIS is a consortium of United States Universities that have research programs in seismology. The purpose of IRIS is to develop and operate the infrastructure needed for the acquisition and distribution of high quality seismic data.
The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS)
Southern California Earthquake Center
"A regionally focused organization founded in 1991 with a mission to gather new information about earthquakes in Southern California, integrate that knowledge into a comprehensive and predictive understanding of earthquake phenomena, and communicate this understanding to end-users and the general public in order to increase earthquake awareness, reduce economic losses, and save lives."
SCEC
Earthquakes
The Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose, California
Earthquakes for Kids & Grownups
Earthguake Hazards Program, USGS
NGDC Geologic Hazards Photos
Photos of earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides, and other geologic hazards. Free photos online and slide sets for sale.
NOAA National Data Centers, NGDC
Earthquakes
An Installment in the "General-Interest Publications" series
USGS
The Severity of an Earthquake
Discusses how earthquakes are measured, the Richter scale, and the differences between intensity and magnitude.
USGS
NGDC Geologic Hazards Photos
Photos of earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides, and other geologic hazards. Free photos online and slide sets for sale.
NOAA National Data Centers, NGDC
The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive
"The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive is a database of significant, publicly-funded research and development literature, photographs, data, and software in earthquake, structural, and geotechnical engineering. It includes full text for EERC, SEMM, and PEER reports published at UC Berkeley, the NISEE software library, and images from EQIIS, including the
Steinbrugge,
Godden, and
Kozak collections."
National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering (NISEE) at UC Berkeley
Erosion
Significant Losses from Coastal Erosion Anticipated Along U.S. Coastlines
Article highlighting predicted loss of "approximately 25% of homes and other structures within 500 feet of the U.S. coastline and the shorelines of the Great Lakes."
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Faults & Other Upheavals
Fossils
Fossils, Rocks, and Time
An Installment in the "General-Interest Publications" series
USGS
Museum of Paleontology
University of California, Berkeley
Fossils
Isotopic Analysis of Teeth and Bones Solves a Mesoamerican Mystery
Case where isotopes help to solve an archaeological mystery - Where did the remarkably successful ruler of Copán, Yax K'uk Mo, originate? Yax K'uk Mo is credited with transforming Copan from "a modest village" to "among the most accomplished Maya cities in art, architexture, and astronomy."
Physics Today, Volume 57, Number 1, January 2004, pages 20-21.
Geologic Time
Web Geological Time Machine
Geologic time chart including some detail in the Precambrian.
Museum of Paleontology, UC Berkeley
Climate TimeLine
"The Climate TimeLine uses a "powers of ten" exponential approach to frame 1) meteorological and climatic processes (Climate Science) and 2) specific climate events of the past at varying timescales."
National Climatic Data Center, NOAA
The Geological Time Scale
Geologic time chart without detail in the Precambrian.
Cascades Volcano Observatory, USGS
Geologic Time
General content about geologic time
William L. Newman, U. S. Geological Survey
GSA Geologic Time Scale
Detailed time scale chage that includes geomagnetic polarity reversals. Suitable for printing.
The Geological Society of America
Geologic Timeline
Geologic time chart with some detail in the Precambrian and highlighted events for each time
San Diego Natural History Museum
Glaciers
Glacier
Educational and informative website about glaciers.
Rice University
All About Glaciers
The National Snow & Ice Data Center
Quaternary GIS Library
The Quaternary GIS Library "supports quantitative spatial analysis of glacier, climate, and other environmental relationships at high latitudes." Includes animations and maps related to glaciation, including an animation showing rising sealevel and inundation of the Bering Land Bridge over the last 21,000 years.
INSTAAR, University of Colorado
Animation of Bering Land Bridge
Animation showing rising sealevel and inundation of the Bering Land Bridge over the last 21,000 years.
1.6 Mb .mov file.
INSTAAR, University of Colorado
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)
Central website and link to their resources.
INSTAAR, University of Colorado
Snow Crystals.com
"all about snow crystals and snowflakes -- what they are, where they come from, and just how these remarkably complex and beautiful structures are created, quite literally, out of thin air."
snowcrystals.com
Global Change
How Old is That Rock?
Hydrology
Landslides
The Mountain That Moved
"Prehistoric, giant landslides in Montgomery and Craig Counties, Va., in the Blacksburg/Wythe Ranger Districts of the Jefferson National Forest, are the largest known landslides in eastern North America and are among the largest in the world. One of the landslides is more than 3 miles long! The ancient, giant landslides extend for more than 20 miles along the eastern slope of Sinking Creek Mountain."
USGS
NGDC Geologic Hazards Photos
Photos of earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides, and other geologic hazards. Free photos online and slide sets for sale.
NOAA National Data Centers, NGDC
Magnetic Field
The Geodynamo
Modeled images of the magnetic field before, during, and after a reversal.
Gary Glatzmaier, UC Santa Cruz
What is the Magnetosphere?
About the part of the Earth's magnetic field that extends into space and interacts with the solar wind.
Space Plasma Physics Branch, Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA
Manganese Nodules
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Mineral Resources
Bancroft Mineral Collection
University of California, Santa Barbara
Petroleum
Office of Fossil Energy
Coal, petroleum, and natural gas.
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Learning About Fossil Fuels
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
International Energy Annual
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
The History of the Standard Oil Company
Copy of journalist Ida Tarbell's report on John D. Rockefeller's business practices in 1904.
University of Rochester
Plate Tectonics
Nova: Into the Abyss
Site follows researchers at sea as they work to bring a piece of the mid-ocean ridge back to the surface from the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the North Pacific.
NOVA Online
Tectonic Motion in North America
Maps of plate motion based on Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR).
NASA Space Geodesy Branch
This Dynamic Earth
Online edition of U.S.G.S book by Kious and Tilling. Static figures, but they're very nice.
W.J. Kious and R.I. Tilling, USGS
Our Changing Continents
Discusses the evidence for continental drift and the condition of the United States through geologic history.
John S. Schlee, USGS
The Paleogeographic Atlas Project
Site contains maps showing the distributions of tectonic plates over geologic time. Unlike other sites that only show changes in the position of the tectonic plates, the paleogeographic reconstructions here show changes in the distribution of oceans vs. land.
University of Chicago
The Paleogeographic Atlas Project
Site contains maps showing the distributions of tectonic plates over geologic time. Unlike other sites that only show changes in the position of the tectonic plates, the paleogeographic reconstructions here show changes in the distribution of oceans vs. land.
University of Chicago
Paleomap Project
GREAT Plate tectonic and paleoclimate animations.
Christopher R. Scotese
EarthByte Resources
Plate tectonic animations and stills..
EarthByte
PLATES Project
Plate tectonic reconstructions
L. A. Lawver, M. F. Coffin, I. W. D. Dalziel, L. M Gahagan, D. M. Campbell, and R. M. Schmitz, University of Texas Institute for Geophysics
Animation Downloads
Plate tectonic reconstruction and other animation downloads, including those created by Tanya Atwater.
UC Santa Barbara
Rocks & Minerals
Cement and Concrete Basics
Everything you wanted to know about rock, cement, and concrete - history, chemistry, production ....
Portland Cement Association
Rob's Granite Page
Everything you wanted to know about granite. Lots of photos with clearly visible mineral components.
Robert Reed
Gold
U.S. Bureau of Mines
Gemstones
An overview of the production of specific U.S. gemstones
USGS
Special Scenery
U.S.G.S. Geology in the Parks
Great connections between basic earth science themes and National Parks. Excellent images.
Cooperative project of the U.S. Geological Survey Western Earth Surface Processes Team and the National Park Service.
Stratigraphy
Volcanoes
Volcanoes
"This booklet presents a generalized summary of the nature, workings, products, and hazards of the common types of volcanoes around the world, along with a brief introduction to the techniques of volcano monitoring and research. "
Robert I. Tilling, USGS
Volcano World
University of North Dakota
Eruptions of Mount St. Helens: Past, Present, Future
Robert I. Tilling, Lyn Topinka, and Donald A. Swanson, USGS
Man Against Volcano: The Eruption on Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland
"One of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in the history of Iceland began in the early morning of January 23,1973, near the country's premier fishing port, the town of Vestmannaeyjar, on Heimaey, the only inhabited isle in the Vestmannaeyjar volcanic archipelago."
Richard S. Williams, Jr. and James G. Moore, USGS
Monitoring Active Volcanoes
"With precise instruments and refined data analysis, it is now possible to track the subsurface movements of magma by monitoring the earthquakes and measuring the ground changes that accompany such movements."
Robert I. Tilling, USGS
Volcanoes of the United States
Information about the volcanoes in the US, especially large eruptions.
Steven R. Brantley, USGS
On the Hawaiian Islands
Eruptions of Hawaiian Volcanoes: Past, Present, Future
Robert I. Tilling, Christina Heliker, and Thomas L. Wright, USGS
Volcanic and Seismic Hazards on the Island of Hawaii
"This booklet provides such information for the residents of Hawaii so they may effectively deal with the special geologic hazards of the island."
USGS
Loihi Volcano
A site devoted to Loihi volcano, a young and still submerged seamount of the Hawaiian-Emperor chain.
Hawaii Center for Volcanology, SOEST, University of Hawaii
What's Inside?
The Interior of the Earth
Information about the layers of the earth and the chemical composition of the Earth's interior.
Eugene C. Robertson, USGS
NGDC Geologic Hazards Photos
Photos of earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides, and other geologic hazards. Free photos online and slide sets for sale.
NOAA National Data Centers, NGDC
Atmosphere
General
Earth's Atmosphere
Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA
Ozone Hole Tour
University of Cambridge, Britain
Clouds
WW 2010
WW2010 (the weather world 2010 project) is a WWW framework for integrating current and archived weather data with multimedia instructional resources using new and innovative technologies.
Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Clouds Photography
Weather Photography, H. E. Edens
Hurricanes
Ozone
The Ozone Hole Tour
Centre for Atmospheric Science, Cambridge University
Ozone Depletion
"Within this area you'll find information about the science of ozone depletion, information about the regulatory approach to protecting the ozone layer, and information on alternatives to ozone-depleting substances, ..."
U.S. EPA
Ground-level Ozone
Summary of the sources, causes, and effects of ozone near the ground.
Air Quality Planning & Standards, U.S. EPA
The Ozone We Breathe
How ozone affects us.
April 19, 2002, by Jeannie Allen, NASA Earth Observatory
Deadly Smog
The Donora Smog Disaster, London: The Big Smoke, and Los Angeles: Welcome to Car Land - three vignettes about poor air quality due to smog.
NOW: with Bill Moyers, KPBS
Simple Test for Ozone Lung Damage
November 27, 2003, BBC News, World Edition
Ice
General
SnowCrystals.com
"... all about snow crystals and snowflakes -- what they are, where they come from, and just how these remarkably complex and beautiful structures are created, quite literally, out of thin air."
Kenneth G. Libbrecht
Warnings from the Ice
What it's like in Antartica.
NOVA
Ice cream
History of ice cream.
NationalGeographic.com Kids
Antarctica
Under Antarctic Ice
PBS website that accompanies a segment of the program "Nature." "This beautiful film was shot in high definition format over a period of two years by renowned underwater photographer Norbert Wu, who has been exploring the waters beneath the Antarctic ice cap for some time." Peter Brueggeman, Director of the Library at Scripps Institution of Oceanography accompanied Norbert Wu on this trip (see link below).
Nature, PBS.org
Antarctic Journal of Peter Brueggeman
"In 1997 and 1999, Peter Brueggeman assisted with a National Science Foundation sponsored underwater photography expedition led by Norbert Wu, a professional underwater photographer/cinematographer. The team was based at McMurdo Station on Ross Island in the Ross Sea and Peter did forty-nine scuba dives at various locations around McMurdo Sound."
Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library
Planets and Moons (Other than Earth)
Glaciers
Glaciers
Department of Geology and Geophysics 
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