Worldwide Ocean Optics Database
http://wood.jhuapl.edu/
Created and maintained at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the Worldwide Ocean Optics Database (WOOD) contains several hundred datasets, gathered over time from much of the world's oceans, specifically on optics. The data can be searched via an applet or a text-based query system that includes parameters such as date, depth, salinity, upwelling radiance, turbidity, secchi depth, and many more. The site provides several downloadable software programs that allow users to further utilize the data at their convenience and a link that offers information on how to decipher the specific codes used in the datasets. Even though a few links occasionally did not work correctly and users will need a little time to familiarize themselves with the database, the site does provide those working in related field access to valuable information. [JAB]
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Global Volcanism Program
http://www.volcano.si.edu/gvp/index.htm
Maintained by the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History, the Global Volcanism Program "seeks better understanding of all volcanoes through documenting their eruptions--small as well as large--during the past 10,000 years." The extensive Web site contains up-to-date and archived information about volcanic eruptions in the form of short reports from local observers. A large amount of additional information about volcanoes around the world is available, making it an indispensable source of information for those interested in or studying volcanoes. [JAB]
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World Soil Resources: Map Index
http://www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/WSR/mapindx/maps.htm
From the US Department of Agriculture's office of Natural Resources Conservation Service, the World Soil Resources Map-Index Web site contains nineteen global maps as well as several regional and country maps related to soil. The global maps include such topics as Global Soil Regions, Soil Temperature Regimes, Water Holding Capacity, and Wind Erosion; the regional maps contain information from Afghanistan, Africa, Albania, Lithuania, and Indonesia. Each map contains information on its specifications and source, and can be viewed online or downloaded as a high quality bitmap (.bmp) file. [JAB]
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The New Zealand Geographic Place Names Database
http://www.linz.govt.nz/databases/geographic/geoname.html
The New Zealand Geographic Place Names Database, offered by Land Information New Zealand, contains more than 40,000 official and non-official place name entries from the mainland of New Zealand. Searches can be done by partial name or by location; results yield a description of the place (such as a beach or hill), its district, and its latitude/longitude. Additional searches can also be done to include all place names surrounding an area. Although intended to assist in the production of core topographic maps, researchers and graduate students may find this online collection, as well as the downloadable version, useful in various pursuits. [JAB]
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National Coal Resource Assessment [.pdf]
http://energy.er.usgs.gov/ncra/
The National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA) is a project of the US Geological Survey Energy Program. The project's homepage has lots of information and documents about the five main regions that were the focus of the study. Many professional papers, executive summaries, and factsheets are free for download. There are area maps of each region, as well as photographs that show current and historical views of mining practices. The Mining Info/Videos section has a link to an interesting paper -- Surface Mining and Reclamation Operations for Fort Union Coal; it could take a while to download on a slow connection, though. [CL]
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ChemSpy.com: The Internet Navigator for the Chemical Industry
http://www.chemspy.com/
ChemSpy.com is a wonderful resource for chemistry-related news and information. The site is frequently updated with important headlines and industry trends; other news stories are divided into several categories for easy browsing. One of the best features of ChemSpy.com is its vast collection of links to quality, offsite chemistry tutorials. The tutorials cover numerous topics and are appropriate for high school or college students. Many chemistry databases can be directly searched from the Web site, and the Portal section provides links to various kinds of chemistry information and journals. All of the resources listed on the site are free of charge and do not require registration. [CL]
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Cartographic Boundary Files
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/
The Cartographic Boundary Files Web site from the US Census Bureau contains "generalized extracts from the Census Bureau's TIGER geographic database for use in a Geographic Information System (GIS) or similar mapping systems." The files are mainly from the 2000 census and contain such things as Congressional Districts, School Districts, Urbanized Areas, and more. The Descriptions and Metadata link gives users an idea of what is contained in each file before downloading, and the Download Boundary Files link lists each file that can than be downloaded, all available in several formats. [JAB]
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AstroWeb
http://www.stsci.edu/astroweb/astronomy.html
The AstroWeb Consortium, a collaboration of nine individuals at seven institutions, maintains the AstroWeb Web site. This collection of hundreds of links includes categories such as Data, People, Publications, Organizations, Areas of Research, and more -- all related to Physics. The simple but well designed site gives alphabetical listings of each category, as well as a short description and direct link to each site. Another impressive feature is the claim that most of the links are checked three times daily for "aliveness." [JAB]
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Teach Space [.pdf]
http://www.space.com/teachspace/module_astronaut_0900/lesson_library_0900.html
From the multimedia company and Web site Space.com (last mentioned in the December 7, 2001 Scout Report) comes the Teach Space educational site dedicated to upper elementary and middle school teachers. Teach Space delivers "easy-to-teach" space science lessons divided into monthly modules of a certain topic, stand alone lessons from varied subjects, and even a lesson library. Each lesson contains an overview, objective, materials needed (including any worksheets or data required procedures), links, and more. Even though the subject is fairly focused on the site, teachers will appreciate the quality material offered not to mention its excellent design. [JAB]
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Droplet and the Water Cycle [Flash]
http://kids.mtpe.hq.nasa.gov/droplet.html
From NASA's For Kids Only Earth Science Enterprise Web site comes the interactive learning game, Droplet and the Water Cycle. Using Flash Macromedia, kids get to control an animated droplet of water falling from the sky in hopes of learning more about the water cycle. Controls are described on the first page, which allow you to move the droplet through a forest, a river, and an ocean while avoiding things, like butterflies and insects, which are very thirsty. The game can be downloaded to PC and Macintosh computers for free or played online. Although it is fun and challenging to play, it could use some more questions or other means of reinforcing the learning. [JAB]
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ABC's of Nuclear Science
http://www.lbl.gov/abc/Basic.html
Produced by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the ABC's of Nuclear Science site gives high school students and perhaps even entry level college students a good general overview of nuclear science. Through descriptions and illustrations, students get to explore nuclear structure; radioactivity; alpha, beta, and gamma decay; half-life; reactions; fusion; fission; cosmic rays; and antimatter. Although only a one-page lesson (except for the antimatter link), the site offers clickable definitions of various words and helpful diagrams that enhance the user's learning experience. [JAB]
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Atlas of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks, Minerals, and Textures
http://www.geolab.unc.edu/Petunia/IgMetAtlas/mainmenu.html
"Constructed to aid undergraduate instruction at the Geology Department of the University of North Carolina," the Atlas of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks, Minerals, and Textures Web site helps students learn to identify minerals in thin section. The Atlas contains dozens of examples with general descriptions and hints for distinguishing each, as well as information about the rock type and its locality. Various minerals also have examples with varying polarized light, accessible by clicking the links at the right of each photograph. Although simple, this site gives students a great resource for learning a difficult subject. [JAB]
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Education: Oceans and Coasts
http://www.education.noaa.gov/socean.html
Created as a section of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Educational Resources page, Oceans and Coasts provides an annotated listing of NOAA's educational resources related to all aspects of marine life and ecology. The page lists approximately a dozen sites primarily aimed at the elementary and secondary school levels. Each site takes a slightly different focus, offering a wide variety of resources ranging from bilingual coloring books (Hawaiian-English) to satellite communications connecting students to the ship Townsend Cromwell. Both students and educators professing an interest in ocean-related topics will find a number of wonderful, high-quality sites herein, all created and developed by NOAA to improve understanding about the intricate role that oceans continue to play in the world today. [LB]
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Clouds
http://seaborg.nmu.edu/clouds/
Created by Carl Wozniak, Clouds attempts to make the study of clouds and the processes of cloud formation more accessible for elementary and early secondary classroom study. The site accomplishes this by breaking information down into five sections, complemented by both descriptive text and relevant pictures. Pictures and graphics are perhaps the most classroom-friendly section of the site, as they are intended for use in non-profit, educational settings. Another primary section of the site is the glossary, aimed at explaining cloud-related terminology at a very simplistic level, understandable by younger students. [LB]
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Park Geology: Tour of National Parks
http://www2.nature.nps.gov/grd/tour/index.htm
A great site from the National Park Service, Geologic Resources Division provides information on geologic features of our national parks. The site is aimed at a young audience (K-8), but is a pleasure to browse for anyone. Organizing the site by geologic features (e.g., Hot Springs, Oldest Rocks, and Volcanoes) allows readers to compare the geology of various national parks and explore maps, photos and other related links. [REB]
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AirJunk: Specks, Flecks and Particles in the Air
http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/airjunk/index.html
This amusing, albeit small, virtual exhibition by the Boston Children's Museum and supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) examines the everyday science of dust. It is part of an online science series sponsored by HHMI called Cool Science for Curious Kids, with each exhibit developed by a different museum. The series introduces the science behind something children "already know." Among the participating museums are the Chicago Academy of Sciences, San Jose Children's Discovery Museum, the Scotia-Glenville Children's Museum, and the Minnesota Children's Museum. AirJunk helps children explore dust and its effect around the home by encouraging experimentation and observation. The brevity of this exhibition makes it appropriate only for young learners. In addition to the learning opportunities, this site has the funniest animated nose this reviewer has ever seen. [DJS]
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TerraFly
http://www.terrafly.com/
Associated with the School of Computer Science at Florida International University, the High Performance Database Research Center (HPDRC) released TerraFly in November 2001, a Web-based application that allows users to view Geographic Information Systems (GIS) images. In agreement with TerraFly, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) provides the project with many of its satellite images in exchange for a public service: free Web-based access to its application. Through a rather sophisticated Java applet, users have a bird's eye view of the images, much like other Internet services have provided in the past, such as TerraServer (last mentioned in the June 28, 1998 Scout Report). TerraFly, though, improves the still picture delivery of these services by enabling users to view the images continuously and seamlessly, giving the user a feeling of "flying over" the photographed land areas. Different resolutions are available, and the interface is extremely slick though somewhat complicated initially. Users of low bandwidth or active memory should be wary; the applet demands a lot from your computer. Also, even though access to the Web-based application is free through the USGS agreement, users should be aware that the TerraFly Project seems to have mostly commercial motivations. (Note: This reviewer had difficulty using Terrafly with Mac Netscape 4.7. Mac Internet Explorer functioned properly.) This site is also reviewed in the April 5, 2002 Scout Report. [TS]
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The Degree Confluence Project
http://www.confluence.org/
The goal of the Degree Confluence Project is to have an organized sampling of the world by visiting each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world and take pictures at each location. Started by Alex Jarrett in February of 1996, there are currently 12,542 photographs taken by different people in 87 countries, along with narratives describing the adventures it took to get there. Visitors of the site can view the photographs and read the interesting stories, as well as learn how to find and take pictures of the degree confluence near them. [JAB]
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Magnet Man: Cool Experiments with Magnets
http://www.execpc.com/~rhoadley/magindex.htm
Developed by magnet enthusiast Rick Hoadley, this site for middle and high school students is no-nonsense in style. The explanations and experiments on this page are designed around a series of increasingly more complex issues of magnetism from What is magnetism? to Build your own Gaussmeter (a device that measures the strength of a magnet). Each experiment is systematically written in clear terms with images for crucial steps. Mr. Hoadley even offers price estimates for each item needed to perform the experiment. To continue learning about magnetism, brief resource lists for additional Web resources and books on magnets are also offered. [DJS]
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Eclipse Home Page
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html
Whatever else one might say about the subject, eclipses are events not to be missed. So, if you're tired of missing eclipses because you just aren't sure when they are going to occur, or where, you no longer have such an excuse, as this site lists all eclipses, lunar and solar, past and present, and their ideal viewing locations all over the planet. Sponsored and maintained by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the site offers information for anyone interested in astrophysical events, especially planetary conjunctions. For each eclipse featured on the site, date and time are listed first, followed by additional facts and figures, including detailed charts of the course of planetary alignments that indicate, among other things, duration and magnitude of the event and the locations where it can best be viewed. Particularly worth visiting is the Seven Thousand Year Catalog of Very Long Eclipses. And, for those just starting out, there is a beginner's introduction to the study of eclipses. [WH]
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Science in Space [QuickTime]
http://www.lsc.org/spacescience/spacescience.html
Offered by the Liberty Science Center, the Science in Space Web site provides a visually pleasing way to explore topics about the sun. Links include Sunspots, Solar Wind, Solar Flares, Fusion, Plasma, Magnetic Fields, Earth's Atmosphere, and the Sun's Layers, all of which include subtopic links. Visitors will enjoy the simple descriptions and mix of multimedia offerings that culminates in a brief but well done site for interested surfers. [JAB]
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Near Real Time Earthquake List
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/
The United States Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center site offers readers near real time updates of seismological events worldwide. As one can gather from a glimpse at the report, our planet is in a near constant state of geophysical change and upheaval, given the numerous earthquakes registered on a daily basis by the NEIC, sometimes up to a dozen or more. Readers will discover that the NEIC Web site lists, in chronological order, the earthquakes of the past several days, each with its own hyperlink to separate pages that detail geographic location and magnitude of specific events, as well as the faults responsible for geological upsets. Beyond the above, the site lists activity for the past week and month -- all with charts, maps, and detailed descriptions of regions cited. [WH]
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Life, the Universe, and the Electron: An Exhibition to Celebrate the Centenary of the Discovery of the Electron [Quicktime, Shockwave]
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/electron/index.asp
Although earlier scientists argued these tiny subatomic particles (with a mass later discovered to be 9*10-31 kg or 1 two thousandth of the mass of a proton) must exist, no objective proof had been offered. While conducting experiments on cathode rays, J. J. Thomson "showed that cathode rays were particles with a negative electric charge and much smaller than an atom." These early experiments laid the foundation for our understanding of the atom and the birth of electronics. The exhibition follows this chronology of our evolving understanding of atomic structure and explains briefly each discovery along the way. This exhibition delivers each episode in the history of nuclear physics in a clear, straightforward manner and supplements essays with short animations and clips. Produced to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the electron in 1997, this virtual exhibition from the Science Museum (London) and the Institute of Physics remains a useful and attractive learning tool for high school students and learners of all ages. [DJS]
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Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapses
http://nsidc.org/iceshelves/larsenb2002/index.html
The National Snow and Ice Data Center recently reported that a huge ice mass on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula has shattered and separated from the continent. The Web site provides a description of the event -- along with photographs, movies, and several informative links that include ones to additional articles written about the event. [JAB]
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Electricity
1. Electricity Online
http://library.thinkquest.org/28032/cgi-bin/psparse.cgi?src=home
2. Edison's Miracle of Light
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/edison/
3. Electricity
http://clarkpublicutilities.com/electric.htm
4. Overview of the Electric Power Industry
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/page/primer.html
5. Multimedia Activities
http://www.explorescience.com/activities/activity_list.cfm?categoryID=5
6. Activity Electricity
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/revisewise/science/physical/11_act.shtml
7. Dataset Information
http://thunder.nsstc.nasa.gov/data/
8. Background information for Electricity
http://www.science-tech.nmstc.ca/english/schoolzone/Info_Electricity.cfm
This Topic In Depth explores some of what the Web has to offer on the subject of electricity.
The first site from Thinkquest.org called Electricity Online (1) gives an excellent overview, with topics ranging from circuits and transformers to electricity's discovery and history. The site even contains games, activities, and quizzes. The second site, Edison's Miracle of Light (2) from PBS.org, is a companion site to a PBS special of the same name. The site explores the life and accomplishments of one of the 19th century's greatest inventors, offering a timeline, recordings, and more. From Clark Public Utilities of Clark County Washington, the next site is called Electricity (3). This Web site offers information from a public utilities perspective, with subjects like electrical safety, how electricity gets to your home, what it costs to run appliances, and so on. Next, from the US Department of Energy, is a site that offers an Overview of the Electric Power Industry (4). Here, visitors can find information, data, publications, statistics, and more relating to electric power in the US. The fifth site from ExploreScience.com is called Multimedia Activities (5) and contains just that. Geared towards students, the four interactive lessons include an introduction to electricity and magnetism, an introduction to plasma, coulomb force, and lissajous figures. The next site, provided by the BBC, is another interactive learning site, called Activity Electricity (6). Users click through a lesson about circuits and current, answering questions along the way. The site also contains a fact sheet and quiz. From NASA, the Dataset Information site (7) contains data archived and cataloged by the Global Hydrology Resource Center relating to lighting. Several datasets from varying sources are available for free and include such things as Long Range Cloud to Ground Data. The last site is offered by the Canada Science and Technology Museum and is called Background Information for Electricity (8). This Web site for kids offers simple descriptions and illustrations about electricity, who discovered it, conductors and insulators, fuses, and more. The electricity workshop link also contains lesson plans and additional student activities. [JAB]
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Below are the copyright statements to be included when reproducing annotations from The NSDL Scout Report for the Physical Sciences.
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From The NSDL Scout Report for Physical Sciences, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2002. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
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Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2002. The Internet Scout Project (http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/), located in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about the Internet to the U.S. research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the entire Scout Report provided this paragraph, including the copyright notice, are preserved on all copies.
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