This site from the Hydrologic Information Center of the National Weather Service discusses the flood risk in the United States. Maps and satellite images support the text. The site also provides information about snow levels, stream flow, soil conditions, forecasts and outlooks.
Human activities release a variety of substances into the biosphere, many of which negatively affect the environment. Pollutants discharged into the environment can accumulate in the air, water, or soil......
The earth's biogeochemical systems involve complex, dynamic processes that depend upon many factors. The three main factors upon which life on the earth depends are......
Water is an abundant substance on earth and covers 71 percent of the earth's surface......
This animation is of Acadia National Park in Maine. This animation was done as part of a series of animations to show Landsats view of our National Parks.
Plants and animals that live in water create some amount of acid in the water. The carbon dioxide that plants and animals release into the water makes the water acidic and unsafe for living organisms. This is why the water of captive aquatic animals and plants must be changed often.
When a city is built, habitat and most organisms living in it are killed or forced to flee. Cities use a lot of energy and water and create a tremendous amount of waste and runoff. Development is the biggest source of pollution.
Highlights of this course include: Major biological, chemical and physical components of the agricultural systems The scientific basis for understanding these systems and their management How has science influenced policies related to agriculture, food safety and environment in the United States? How have the policies evolved over time in the US? What has worked and what has not; what are the reasons and what are the consequences? Beyond science, what other factors influence policies? How do we link what we learn to ecological agriculture? How do we use what we learn for policy analysis?
An 8 question quiz to test your scientific knowledge of Air and Water
AlgaeBase is a database of information on algae that includes terrestrial, marine and freshwater organisms. At present, the data for the marine algae, particularly seaweeds, are the most complete. For convenience, we have included the sea-grasses even though they are flowering plants.
Large amounts of nutrients from agricultural runoff and pollution cause increased growth of algae. Algal blooms cause other organisms to die because the algae uses up all the oxygen in the water to grow. Eventually, this body of water will have no life in it.
This Ocean Explorer lesson plan (PDF) explores the questions: What colors, if any, are visible down in the deep sea? What is bioluminescence? Students will learn about white light (visible light), the quantity and quality of light as related to ocean depth, the difference in water penetration between red light and blue light, bioluminescent organisms, the color of most bioluminescent light, and why organisms bioluminesce. The lesson plan includes background information and keywords, a list of materials, teacher preparation instructions, learning procedures, related links, evaluation and extension ideas, and correlation to the national standards.
This is a laboratory course supplemented by lectures that focus on selected analytical facilities that are commonly used to determine the mineralogy, elemental abundance and isotopic ratios of Sr and Pb in rocks, soils, sediments and water.
This course details the quantitative treatment of chemical processes in aquatic systems such as lakes, oceans, rivers, estuaries, groundwaters, and wastewaters. It includes a brief review of chemical thermodynamics that is followed by discussion of acid-base, precipitation-dissolution, coordination, and reduction-oxidation reactions. Emphasis is on equilibrium calculations as a tool for understanding the variables that govern the chemical composition of aquatic systems and the fate of inorganic pollutants.
This demonstration should follow a class discussion on potential sources of pollution to drinking water supplies. To illustrate how water is stored in an aquifer, how ground water can become contaminated, and how this contamination ends up in a drinking water well. Ultimately, students should get a clear understanding of how careless use and disposal of harmful contaminants above the ground can potentially end up in the drinking water below the ground. This particular experiment can be done by each student at their work station.
The Aral Sea is actually not a sea at all, but an immense fresh water lake. In the last thirty years, more than sixty percent of the lake has disappeared because much of the river flow feeding the lake was diverted to irrigate cotton fields and rice paddies. Concentrations of salts and minerals began to rise in the shrinking body of water, leading to staggering alterations in the lakes ecology and precipitous drops in the Arals fish population. Powerful winds that blow across this part of Asia routinely pick up and deposit the now exposed lake bed soil. This has contributed to a significant reduction in breathable air quality, and crop yields have been appreciably affected due to heavily salt laden particles falling on arable land. This series of Landsat images taken in 1973, 1987 and 2000 show the profound reduction in overall area at the north end of the Aral, and a commensurate increase in land area as the floor of the sea now lies exposed.
Learn how the Arctic is a part of a global climate system in this video segment adapted from the National Film Board of Canada.
This organism is microscopic and does not cause disease and can be beneficial as a food source for other aquatic animals. A mm square grid is used to observe the measure of length of this organism.
This activity from our family magazine series challenges kids to go on a microbe quest to solve a riddle. The online activity begins with a page of directions for how to find the missing letters of the riddle. As kids click their way around a virtual lunchroom, they are given 11 Yes/No questions asking whether the featured bacteria helps people. Along with the answer to the riddle, kids get a round of applause when they correctly answer all 11 questions.
This site teaches students about access to water in Kenya, Ghana, and their own community as they read stories by Peace Corps Volunteers.
