Research: Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
http://www.nasm.si.edu/ceps/research/research.htm
The Center for Earth and Planetary Studies (CEPS), which is part of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, "conducts an active research program in planetary and terrestrial geology and geophysics using remote sensing data from Earth-orbiting satellites and manned and unmanned space missions." The Research portion of the site allows visitors to view the many projects that have taken place, such as the Topographic Mapping of Mercury project being conducted by Dr. Anthony Cook. Each page contains a description of the project; a link to each researcher's staff page; and links to images, graphs, maps, and more. Anyone interested in planetary research will find visiting this and the larger CEPS site (last mentioned in the July 21, 1999 Scout Report) worthwhile. [JAB]
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Soil Landscapes of Canada
http://map1.agr.ca/scripts/esrimap.dll?name=SLC&Cmd=Map&Lang=En
The Canadian Land Resource Networks (CLRN) online mapping application, Soil Landscapes of Canada, utilizes GIS technology to view the major characteristics of soil and land for the country and is "organized according to a uniform national set of soil and landscape criteria based on permanent natural attributes." Users can view coverage from eighteen areas and ten different attributes -- including soil development, surface material, slope, and vegetation cover; with or without cities and roads; and in three different sizes. Containing a title and legend, the completed map can be clicked to zoom, recenter, or query the attribute for each particular polygon. Those users with smaller screens may find it difficult to fully appreciate this rich resource, but all will appreciate the unique capabilities and information provided by this application. [JAB]
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Art Restoration: A Chemical Perspective
http://www.chemsoc.org/exemplarchem/entries/2001/esharp/Default.htm
Chemsoc (last mentioned in the April 25, 2001 Scout Report) is the home of the Royal Chemistry Societies's electronic network and "provides interesting features and useful services for the chemistry community." Written by Emma Sharp from King's College London, The Art Restoration: A Chemical Perspective Web site delves into the science behind the painstaking task of restoring history's greatest works of art. The Introduction page describes pigment analysis techniques that are required "to structure the conservation or restoration of a piece and can also be useful in dating or authentication." The Techniques page gives a more detailed look at three different analysis techniques, and the Case Studies link provides pictures and illustrations of three works of art and the various methods of analysis performed on them. Although the general public may enjoy taking a look, this site's discussion of specific analysis techniques may be more suited for professionals interested in pigment identification procedures. [JAB]
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Science Conferences
http://www.allconferences.net/Science/
Would you like to know what professional conferences are being held around the world at any specific time? AllConferences.net provides this free service. Over thirty science categories are represented and include everything from the 2002 Geological Society of America Annual meeting in Denver to the upcoming Environmental Flows for River Systems Conference & Fourth Ecohydraulics Symposium in Cape Town, South Africa. Each entry includes a description of the event, times, locations, contact information, and relevant links. Users can search or browse the events by category and even submit a conference of their own. Now all you need is funding for the trip. [JAB]
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Annual Energy Outlook 2002 with Projections to 2020 [.pdf]
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html
The latest Energy Outlook report was released in late December by the Department of Energy, looking at key factors of change over the last year and offers projections of change to 2020. The report contains specific information on energy issues, prices, use, production, and more, including graphs and tables (when applicable) that relate to the nation as well as specific regions. [JAB]
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Hong Kong Observatory Almanac 2002
http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/astron2002/almanac_index_e.htm
The Hong Kong Observatory is a department of the Government of the Hong Kong and provides various timely meteorological data to the public. The Almanac 2002 page contains information in sections specific to Hong Kong, like Times of Rise and Set of the Sun and Planets at Hong Kong, and worldwide information, like sections named World Map of Time Zones and Climatological Normals of Some Selected Cities. The site gives some very interesting and specific information from a source that probably has not been utilized by many US professionals. [JAB]
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Database of Ship Collisions with Icebergs
http://www.nrc.ca/imd/ice/scdb_index.html
As part of the Institute for Marine Dynamics of the National Research Council Canada, Database of Ship Collisions with Icebergs is written and managed by Brian T. Hill. The database contains 560 incidents and "concentrates on iceberg collisions in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland and Labrador but does include a few incidents further north, around Greenland, and also in the fiords of Alaska." The database loads onto one page but is linked to various categories, including a chronological listing and alphabetical listing by vessel. Each brief entry contains a position of impact section, a description of the incident, number of lives lost or injured, and damage done to the vessel. If interested, the database can be viewed as an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file for printing or downloaded as a .ZIP file. Mac users should be wary of the Web site version though; it has some bugs with certain Mac browsers, most notably IE 5 for Mac. [JAB]
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Fireworks [Quicktime or RealPlayer, Shockwave]
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fireworks/
The new companion Web site to the PBS special Fireworks! (which premiered January 29, 2002) contains excellent information for anyone wanting to learn more about the science behind the controlled chaos of pyrotechnics. The interactive site features a section called Name That Shell, where you can view movies of fireworks and compare them to different varieties shown in photographs. Using a Flash presentation, the Anatomy of a Firework explains what happens from ignition to explosion of a firework shell. An interview with Dr. John Conkling, adjunct professor and former executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, is featured in the Pyrotechnically Speaking section, and the On-Fire link gives another interactive activity that describes and shows the science behind combustion. For teachers, the site offers online and printable activities that can be completed with or without watching the program (which, if needed, can be purchased through the site or watched during rebroadcasts). [JAB]
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Ask the Answer Worm!
http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/CCS/squirm/skworm.html
A product of the National Resource Conservation Service and the US Department of Agriculture, the Ask the Answer Worm Web site gives teachers a great resource to teach young students about the importance of soil as a natural resource. S.K. Worm answers thirteen important questions related to soil conservation, such as "How does water stay in the soil?" and "Why do plants like soil?" Each concise answer is accompanied by a fun and colorful illustration of S.K. Worm commenting on the question at hand. Although the activity is short, the subject matter is not often covered for this age group, making this site an excellent addition to any conservation or science-related curriculum. [JAB]
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Understanding the Universe [RealPlayer]
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/universe/
The Understanding the Universe Web site is part of Discovery.com's excellent educational resource DiscoverySchool.com site and is a joint effort with the American Museum of Natural History. This attractive site contains three major sections. The It's Awesome page has a time line of the universe that links to the Universe in One Year page -- a great way of learning the difficult concept of geologic time by showing that, if the history of the universe was compressed into one year, modern humans wouldn't appear until 11:54pm on December 31. The Galaxy Tour section contains descriptions of the Milky Way and other galaxies, and provides questions that are answered via RealPlayer audio files by Frank Summers, an expert from the American Museum of Natural History . Finally, the StarGazers section highlights pioneers in the study of our Universe, such as Copernicus and Einstein. For educators, the Teacher's Tip link gives a suggested grade level of 5-8 and describes how to use the Web site most effectively. [JAB]
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Ballistic Simulator
http://www.sci-ctr.edu.sg/interexh/java/Cannon/index.html
Interactively teach kids the relation among velocity, gravitational potential, and the effects of frictional drag caused by wind speed blowing opposite to the direction of a projectile. The Virtual Science Center's interactive exhibit Ballistic Simulator allows the user to (via a well designed Applet) fire a cannon ball at a target and adjust the angle, velocity, gravitational force, and wind speed. Although fairly simple, this fun activity that can be done by the teacher or students will surely raise questions and foster discussions on the physics behind the game. [JAB]
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Xpedition Hall [.pdf]
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/hall/
Presented by National Geographic, Xpedition Hall is a highly interactive and visually stunning geography site that resembles the game Myst. The physical geography portion of the site allows students to view ecosystems of the world and see the effects of volcanoes, wind, and rain on the islands of Hawaii. By dragging their mouse across the islands, users are able to see the mountains lower into the ocean to see the lava within. Other portions of the Hall include terrific geography related activities that will keep the attention of students for hours. Although it may just be best to allow students to explore and discover what's available on their own, the downloadable teacher's guide gives instruction and advice on using the Web site. [JAB]
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Newton's Apple Index
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/newtons/tryits/index.html
Newton's Apple, the award-winning national science program for kids, has a companion Web site with lots of good lesson plans and activities. The Science Try Its page contains hands-on science activities from the past six seasons of shows, including such things as making a barometer and a hovercraft. Each Try It includes a description, illustration, and explanation of the science behind the result. Teachers, parents, and kids will love how easy it is to conduct experiments that can be completed with readily available materials. [JAB]
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Geo Mysteries with Rex the Dinosaur [QuickTime]
http://216.37.53.73/geomysteries/mysteries.html
As a companion site to The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the Geo Mysteries with Rex the Dinosaur gives kids an excellent interactive geological lesson. Activities include learning how sedimentary and metamorphic rock forms; how to distinguish among a rock, mineral, and fossil; and more. The Web site has great movie clips, animations, and illustrations, along with straightforward descriptions making it easy and fun for kids to use. [JAB]
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Science Lesson Plans
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/science.html#sci1
Presented by the private educational service Columbia Education Center (CEC), the Science Lesson Plans page gives teachers access to several hundred categorized lesson plans. The plans are divided into K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade levels, and cover all areas of science. Giving teachers a good resource of quality information, each no-frills link brings up a single page description of the lesson plan that includes an overview, purpose, objective, materials needed, and additional resources information. [JAB]
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Comment on the 2002-2007 DOI Strategic Plan [.pdf]
http://www.doi.gov/gpra/
The Department of the Interior (DOI), which oversees nine office/bureaus, including the US Geological Society and National Park Service, has made available online their 2002-2007 Strategic Plan for review by the public. The Adobe Acrobat files include a Departmental Overview and plans for the nine subagencies within the DOI, which describe the outcome goals and performance measures for each. If interested, comments on the plans, which are scheduled to be completed by March of 2002 in time for the 2004 budget formulation process, should be made through the provided fax number, email, or regular mail address. Even if you don't want to comment, the plans give an interesting look into one of the largest agencies of the federal government and offer the public good descriptions of what the agency is responsible for and its goals for the future. [JAB]
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Earth Like a Puzzle [Flash]
http://www.sio.ucsd.edu/voyager/earth_puzzle/
Presented by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Earth Like a Puzzle Web site gives a visually interesting and easy-to-follow description of plate tectonics, the geologic theory that explains how the continents and oceans move across the surface of the planet. A highlight of the site, the Recycling Plates page contains an interactive map of the earth, where users can click to view the locations of tectonic plates, spreading centers, and their relationship to volcanoes and earthquakes. Although brief, the site does a good job of explaining this geologic phenomenon in a way that anyone can understand and enjoy. [JAB]
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Countries A to Z
http://www.atlapedia.com/online/country_index.htm
The free access portion of the Atlapedia Online site, Countries A to Z, provides an attractive political and physical map of each country of the world, including basic information such as its capital, system of government, population, geography, climate, religions, languages, currency, modern history, trading partners, exports, military, and more. Giving students of any age access to interesting and fun facts, the database can be searched easily or browsed by the first letter of each country. Although I found that some information is not completely up-to-date (such as the current use of the Euro), the majority of its content is timely, and the site does warrant a look. [JAB]
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Largest Earthquakes in the United States
http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/10maps_usa.html
Presented by the National Earthquake Information Center of the US Geological Survey, the Largest Earthquakes in the US Web site gives visitors information on the location, date, time, and magnitude of the 15 largest earthquakes in the United States and the 15 largest in the contiguous United States. Each link contains a description of the event and the resulting damage, and several, such as the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska quake, include isoseismal maps, seismograms, and damage photos of the area. Anyone interested in or studying earthquakes will appreciate the brief but informative information provided and may want to visit some of the other links for additional facts, such as The Largest Earthquakes in the World or United States Earthquake History, State by State sites. [JAB]
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Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/
Eric Weisstein, the Technical Internet Encyclopedia Developer at the technical software company Wolfram Research, Inc., authors the World of Scientific Biography site. This section of the larger World of Science site is continually growing and includes over 1000 biographical entries of notable scientists throughout history. Visitors can search by keyword or browse by branch of science, gender/minority status, historical period, nationality, prize winners, and alphabetical index. And for those who don't know where to begin, the author even provides a unique Random Entry link that brings up, you guessed it, a random entry. Results may include photographs, descriptions of major scientific contributions, links to other scientists who the person may have worked with, and references. Everyone from grade school students to adult learners will enjoy this well done and easy-to-navigate site. [JAB]
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Geographic Information Systems
http://info.er.usgs.gov/research/gis/title.html
The Geographic Information Systems page from the US Geological Survey gives an introductory look into the uses and workings of GIS. Through basic descriptions and GIS screen shots, users can follow the online learning exercise and come away with a good idea of the main concepts behind a powerful application that is growing in popularity in nearly every scientifically related pursuit. [JAB]
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Edgar Fahs Smith Collection [Flash]
http://dewey.library.upenn.edu/sceti/smith/
Part of the University of Pennsylvania Library, the Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text & Image offers a unique collection of chemistry related photographs. The pictures are in three categories and include scientist's portraits, apparatus images, and laboratory images. For example, a link to a 19th century pressure chamber brings up the photograph, information on the people in it, image information, and any other available facts. This very interesting collection can be browsed or searched by keyword and will easily take up several hours of your time. [JAB]
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Beach Erosion [QuickTime]
http://whyfiles.org/091beach/index.html
The Beach Erosion site of the WhyFiles (last mentioned in the August 9, 1996 Scout Report), a project funded by the graduate school of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been recently updated. Its newest addition includes a story about the population of the tiny Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu that is preparing to abandon its home due to rising sea levels. The site takes a look at this subject and the resulting increased beach erosion that takes place around the world. Visitors can read about the physical processes of beach erosion, view a QuickTime movie of a house falling into the ocean, and more. The site includes good descriptions, photographs, and links to additional information (although some were broken at the time of this annotation), giving interested readers insight into this widespread phenomenon. [JAB]
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Snow
1. Startribune.com: 500 Saved From Afghan Avalanche
http://www.startribune.com/stories/670/1605905.html
2. Avalanche.org
http://www.avalanche.org/
3. NOVA: Avalanche
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/avalanche/snowsense.html
4. The National Snow and Ice Data Center
http://nsidc.org/index.html
5. The Alaska Climate Research Center
http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/
6. DiscoverySchool.com: Avalanche Lesson Plan
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/ragingplanet-avalanche/
7. Snowschool.com
http://www.snowschool.com/sci.html
8. Snow Crystals
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/
Snow can be one of the most destructive forces in nature but also one of the most fun to learn about.
An article from Associated Press writer Lourdes Navarro, featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (1), describes the avalanche in the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan. Avalanche.org's Web site (2) offers visitors up-to-date avalanche information for the western US and one area in the east, as well as accident statistics and additional links. The NOVA site Avalanche has a Snow Sense link (3) that gives practical advice on maximizing your safety in avalanche terrain and even rescue techniques. For those interested in data related to snow, ice, glaciers, and more, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) compiles and distributes such records to the public in this extensive site (4). The Alaska Climate Research Center, (5) which is funded by the State of Alaska, contains a weather web cam, a link to Alaskan climatology, and even long term climatological records. The next site, from DiscoverySchool.com (6), is a lesson plan geared for students in the 6-8 grade called Avalanche. The activity involves learning the necessary conditions that create an avalanche, such as lack of friction. More lesson plans from snowschool.com (7) include snow melting and snow density lesson plans, geared for students between the grades of 2-6. The final site Snow Crystals (8), created by California Institute of Technology Physics Professor Kenneth G. Libbrecht, is a terrific site dedicated to snow crystals and snowflakes, showing "how these remarkably complex and beautiful structures appear, quite literally, out of thin air." The site is definitely worth a look for anyone interested in snow and snowflakes. [JAB]
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