High Energy Physics Information Center
http://www.hep.net/
The High Energy Physics Information Center provides related resources from around the world. The site contains everything from a virtual phonebook that furnishes links (categorized by experiment or site), laboratory contacts, and conference and other event information. Any researcher, graduate student, or other similarly interested person will appreciate this valuable resource. [JAB]
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Federal Funds for Research and Development: Fiscal Years 2000, 2001, and 2002
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf02321/start.htm
The latest Federal Funds for Research and Development publication was recently released from the National Science Foundation. The report presents data on federal funds for research and development by character of work, performer of research and development, geographic location, field of science for research, and more. The document is offered in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) formats. [JAB]
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GEOROC: Geochemistry of Rocks of the Oceans and Continents
http://georoc.mpch-mainz.gwdg.de/
Maintained by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, the Geochemistry of Rocks of the Oceans and Continents database (GEOROC) contains about 70,000 sample analyses. These include whole rock, mineral, and inclusion data from seven tectonic settings such as convergent margins, oceanic plateaus, and ocean islands. The database can be queried by several criteria including a handy precompiled file compilation, which can be downloaded for further examination. [JAB]
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JAMSTEC Data Site
http://www.jamstec.go.jp/data_site/index_e.html
From the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC) comes the JAMSTEC Data Site. Visitors can access several databases and data sites including the Deep Seafloor Image Database, Japan ARGO Delayed-mode Database, the J-CAD Compact Arctic Drifter, MIRAI Data Web, Research Results Report System, Submarine Cable Data Center, and the TRITON Buoy Data Web site. All provide marine science related information from Japan and around the world. [JAB]
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Climate Information Digest
http://iri.ldeo.columbia.edu/climate/cid/
The Columbia University's International Research Institute for Climate Prediction Web site (last mentioned in the October 27, 1999 Scout Report for Science & Engineering) offers a monthly publication called the Climate Information Digest, which is described as "a global quick look at seasonal climate, its impacts and outlooks." The free digest offers timely climate summaries, predictions, and other information for those involved in related research or study. [JAB]
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Deepwater Gulf of Mexico 2002: America's Expanding Frontier [.pdf]
http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/whatsnew/techann/2002-021.pdf
A recent release from the US Government's Minerals Management Service is entitled Deepwater Gulf of Mexico 2002: America's Expanding Frontier. The report "details the extraordinary growth of oil and gas industry activity in the deepwater (1,000 feet of water or more) Gulf over the past seven years and its anticipated continued growth." The near 150-page downloadable Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file contains information on leasing, drilling and development, reserves and production, summaries and conclusion, and all related figures and tables. [JAB]
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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center
http://www-eosdis.ornl.gov/
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center for Biogeochemical Dynamics "is a source for biogeochemical and ecological data useful for studying environmental processes. These data have been collected on the ground, from aircraft, or by satellite or have been generated by computer models. The extent of data ranges from site-specific to global, and duration's range from days to years." Information can be searched by a wide range of criteria that include key word, timeline, subject, map, and attribute. [JAB]
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Observational Science Branch
http://osb1.wff.nasa.gov/
The Observational Science Branch (OSB), working within the Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes of the Earth Sciences Directorate at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, conducts research in the oceanic, atmospheric, and terrestrial sciences. "We design, fabricate and operate both remote and in-situ sensing instruments for aircraft, balloons, and rockets. We plan and conduct laboratory and field measurements to improve the fundamental knowledge of earth sensing and to evaluate sensor systems as well as quantify and demonstrate their performance." The main Web site contains links to the various activities the OSB undertakes, including the Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment, the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System, and the Upper Air Instrumentation Research Project just to name a few. [JAB]
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Energy Lesson Plans, Curriculum, and Educational Materials
http://www.eren.doe.gov/education/
The US Department of Energies Education Web site contains many excellent learning resources with hopes to teach students about energy, particularly energy efficiency and renewable energy. The site includes energy education programs; science projects; lesson plans, curriculum, and educational materials; student competitions and contests; student resources for reports; higher education opportunities; and much more. [JAB]
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The Interactive Plasma Physics Education Experience [Flash]
http://ippex.pppl.gov/
As part of Princeton University's Plasma Physics Laboratory, the Interactive Plasma Physics Education Experience Web site contains interactive plasma physics topics, ranging from electricity and magnetism to energy and fusion. Although some of the activities have difficulty running on old browsers and Macintosh computers, the interactive lessons give students a fun and engaging way to explore physics topics. [JAB]
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Explorer
http://explorer.scrtec.org/explorer/
Supported by the US Department of Education, the Explorer educational Web site is a collection of educational resources geared to k-12 students that include instructional software, lab activities, lesson plans, student created materials, and more. The physical science related material includes matter, energy, force and motion, waves and vibrations, and electricity, as well as many earth science topics. The site also contains a wealth of life science and mathematics material, which helps to make it an good, overall science educational resource. [JAB]
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Double Helix Experiments
http://www.csiro.au/helix/experiments/index.html
Supported by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, the Double Helix Web site offers scientific educational material for kids. The Double Helix Experiments page contains dozens of fun and easily conducted activities in biology, chemistry, environment, mathematics, physics, space, weather, and more. The other sections of the site, including the "Helix" and "Scientriffic" online magazines, are also worth a look. [JAB]
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Causes of Color
http://webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/
One of the latest from Webexhibits.org (last mentioned in the March 21, 2000 Scout Report for Social Sciences is the Causes of Color site. The activity attempts to answer the question, "Why are things colored?" by covering things such as the eye, made light such as lightbulbs, lost light as in water, moved light as in a rainbow, and other light related topics such as colorblindness and animal sight. A very unique collection that includes material for students from introductory to advanced levels, visitors of almost any age will find interesting facts, photographs, illustrations, and more. [JAB]
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Exploratorium Online Exhibits [Shockwave]
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/f_exhibits.html
Although Exploratorium has been previously highlighted several times, the Online Exhibits Web site compiles old and new activities on a single well designed interactive page. From here, students can choose from topics such as seeing, mind, life science, matter/ world, and hearing categories; and then partake in the many activities within each. For example, the squirming palm activity uses Shockwave to spin dots in a direction and tells you to look at your palm after 15 seconds to see that it appears to be rotating in the opposite direction. [JAB]
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Chemguide
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/
The Chemguide Web site is written and maintained by chemistry teacher and author Jim Clark. In his goal to help students better understand chemistry concepts, he offers several topics that include Atomic Structure and Bonding, Inorganic Chemistry, Basic Organic Chemistry, Organic Reaction Mechanisms, Instrumental Analysis, and Chemistry Calculations. The pages offer descriptions and illustrations, which, although may not give wide ranging information, can be a good supplemental source for students wishing to clarify or better understand material. [JAB]
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Rocks and Mineral Links
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/rocks.html
Offered by the Educational Technology Center at Kennesaw State University, the Rocks and Mineral Links page lists dozens of educational Web sites. Categories include Research and Informational sites, Online Lesson Plans, Online Activities, Offline Lesson Plans, and Offline Activities. A great resource for students and teachers alike. [JAB]
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SunStorms
http://tlc.discovery.com/tlcpages/sunstorms/sunstorms_main.html
The latest offering from Discovery.com explorers the world of sun storms. This superb addition to the Discovery online lineup contains narrative, video, photographs, and more of what sun storms are, what they look like, the science behind their existence, the history of their effects, and the answer to the question "Do we Really Need to Worry?" Although not for the "modemly" challenged, the site exemplifies the current capabilities of online technology and information communication. This site is also reviewed in the July 26, 2002 Scout Report. [JAB]
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Everyday Chemistry
http://www3.telus.net/everydaychemistry/
Everyday Chemistry is presented by Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Northern British Columbia Dr. Todd Whitcombe. The Web site contains articles that deal with Chemistry that is "all around us, in the things we see and do everyday, from making bread to the beauty of rainbows." Some articles include experiments you can try at home, while all contain simple descriptions, which, although are not visually stunning, do make for interesting reading. [JAB]
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California Institute for Physics and Astrophysics
http://www.calphysics.org/index.html
The California Institute for Physics and Astrophysics "is dedicated to exploring fundamental problems in physics (e.g. gravitation, inertia, the nature of mass) as well as very-long range technological possibilities that may emerge from the properties of the quantum vacuum." The Web site offers information about the organization as well as online articles such as Mass Medium, Nature of Mass, Origin of Inertia, Gravitation, Zero-Point Energy, and more. [JAB]
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Weather Science Hotlist
http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/hotlists/weather.html
The Franklin Institute Online offers the metadata Web site Weather Science Hotlist. The page contains dozens of links organized into ten topics that include Online Exhibits, Weather Right Now, Background Information, Severe Weather, El Nio/ La Nia, Historical Weather, Career Connections, Activities, Atmosphere, and Weather Forecasting. A great source for anyone looking for online weather information. [JAB]
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Illustrated Glossary of Alpine Glacial Landforms
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/lemke/alpine_glacial_glossary/glossary.html#erosionallandforms
The Illustrated Glossary of Alpine Glacial Landforms is maintained by the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point's Department of Geology and Geography. This simple but well done site lists over twenty landforms as either an erosional landform, depositional landform, or an ice feature -- each including a brief description. Clicking on the corresponding link brings up a page with a photograph, a topographical map, a more in-depth description, and links to additional examples. [JAB]
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Geographical Names
http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/english/
Maintained by the Secretariat of the Geographical Names Board of Canada, the Geographical Names Web site helps make sense of the more than 350,000 official and formerly official geographical names in Canada. Visitors can search names, explore origins of names, research name changes, and much more. [JAB]
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A Review of Statewide Watershed Management Approaches [.pdf]
http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/approaches_fr.pdf
A report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was recently released entitled A Review of Statewide Watershed Management Approaches. The objectives of the review were to identify and describe the different models of statewide watershed management, characterize and assess the experiences of selected states using different models for statewide watershed management, and develop recommendations to improve EPA's support and states' implementation of statewide watershed management. The near 70-page document is available online only in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. [JAB]
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The Biomes of the World
http://redbaron.bishops.ntc.nf.ca/wells/biomes/index.htm
Maintained by Bishops College science teacher Patrick Wells, The Biomes of the World Web site explores the various biomes found on earth. Visitors can read about and see photographs of terrestrial and aquatic biomes including tropical forests, savannas, deserts, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and more. The well designed site gives a good basic overview of the subject and is definitely worth a look. [JAB]
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Diamonds
1. The Nature of Diamonds
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/?src=h_h
2. De Beers Industrial Diamonds
http://www.debid.co.uk/
3. Industrial Diamonds Statistics and Information
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/diamond/
4. The Diamond Deception
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/diamond/
5. How Diamonds Work
http://www.howstuffworks.com/diamond.htm
6. The Science of Diamonds
http://www.diamondcutters.com/science.html
7. Diamonds
http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~jill/images5.html
8. The Hope Diamond Legend
http://www.bsu.edu/teachers/academy/gems/activity12.html
The first site related to diamonds comes from the American Museum of Natural History entitled The Nature of Diamonds (1). A comprehensive site, visitors can learn about what a diamond is, its related history, mining, industry and technology use, and more. The next site, offered by De Beers Industrial Diamonds (2), offers a history of industrial diamond use as well as a look at their various applications such as saw and wheel grits. The third site, Industrial Diamonds Statistics and Information (3), is maintained by the US Geological Survey. Various publications related to diamonds can be found here, including yearly mineral commodity summaries and mineral yearbooks. Next, a companion Web site to the PBS broadcast "The Diamond Deception" (4) chronicles the efforts to create synthetic diamonds. The site contains the science behind the sparkle, diamonds on other planets, an interactive look inside diamonds, and more. The fifth site comes from HowThingsWork.com that is called How Diamonds Work (5). Descriptions of the origin of diamonds, their properties, famous diamonds, etc., are offered here. Next is The Science of Diamonds (6) site, offered by DiamondCutters.com. Uniquely offered is a description of the diamond cutting process along with other diamond science and history information. From a University of Wisconsin Geology Course Web site comes a photographic gallery called Diamonds (7). Dozens of photographs of diamonds, colored diamonds, and synthetic and diamond simulants can be found here. Lastly, a lesson plan entitled The Hope Diamond Legend (8) is offered by Indiana Academy. Among other things, students can learn that carbon atoms can bond to one another in chains, rings, and branching networks to form a variety of structures, including synthetic polymers, oils, and the large molecules essential to life. [JAB]
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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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