Classroom activities based on how scientists study active volcanoes on the deep ocean floor. Activities include: locating an earthquake epicenter, recording geological and biological information during an ocean floor traverse, creating cross-section profiles of the ocean floor, and graphing seafloor data. Resources include videos and teacher guides. Full description.

National Ocean Service (NOS) scientists collect, study, predict and disseminate information about tides and water levels. Tutorial introduces the causes and variations of tides and currents, their impacts on human activities, navigation and organisms. Lesson plans include data for classroom activities, as well as resource links and teacher guides. A NSTA SciLinks selected site. Full description.

Teaching activity illustrates how levees on the Mississippi River exacerbated flood damage in St. Louis during the Great Flood of l993. Students build a model of a river system and observe the results of flooding without levees, with wetlands (sponges), and with levees. Part of a teacher's guide accompanying a NOVA special aired on PBS. Full description.

Take this virtual tour of hydrothermal vents to learn the basics about vents, how they are studied, the associated biology and geology, and consider the ethics about vent mining. This highly interactive site also has a forum for discussion, glossary, and classroom learning activities. A certificate of achievement is available for download once students successfully navigate the sight and become vent ... Full description.

SEACOOS is a collaborative university partnership that collects, manages, and disseminates integrated regional ocean observations and information products for the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The site offers a multitude of classroom activities, including Seamaven, an interactive introduction to ocean observing systems, and COOS 101, an ocean observing system primer. ... Full description.