The New Millennium Observatory (NeMO) is a seafloor observatory off the coast of Oregon, which studies the relationships between submarine volcanic events and the chemistry and distribution of hydrothermal vents and the biologic communities that depend on them. The research activities at NeMO provide an extraordinary educational opportunity, both from the daily reports from expeditions at sea and ... Full description.

The PALEOMAP Project illustrates the plate tectonic development of the ocean basins and continents, as well as the changing distribution of land and sea during the past 1100 million years. The reconstruction of paleoclimates is also discussed. Maps are viewed as animations where the time component can be user-manipulated. Included are a variety of background materials which supplement the animations. ... Full description.

Discovering Plate Boundaries is based on 5 world maps containing earthquake, volcano, topography, satellite gravity, and seafloor age data. The novel aspect of the exercise is the "jigsaw" manner in which student groups access the maps and use them to discover, classify, and describe plate boundary types. The exercise is based only on observation and description, which makes it useful at a wide variety ... Full description.

This website integrates video footage and information with lesson plans and activities to teach students about the concept of relative dating. Students will graph a range chart for ammonites, determine the geologic age for several rocks, and determine which rocks will be most useful for oil companies looking to drill oil. This site contains lesson plans, student worksheets, discussion questions, and ... Full description.

This site provides a brief overview of the properties associated with the atmosphere, the thin envelope of air that surrounds our planet and is a mixture of gases, each with its own physical properties. It will help students to recognize that while ninety nine percent of the atmosphere is made up of nitrogen and oxygen, the rest is made up of trace gases that can have a large impact on atmospheric ... Full description.

This reference provides detailed information and activities related to the geology of Yosemite National Park. The introduction provides a history of ideas on Yosemite's origin. An overview describes the geologic history of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. An interactive timeline is featured to provide users with a temporal reference on park history. For students, there is a field journal with interactive ... Full description.

This web site provides a short, interactive, four-question quiz on earthquakes focusing the the largest earthquake in both the world and in recent US history, preparedness, and the development of seismic instrumentation. Full description.

Volcanoes in the Solar System is a Windows to the Universe Exploratour and provides information and images about shield volcanoes, cinder cones, ash, lava, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Io, and the Moon. Windows to the Universe is a user-friendly learning system pertaining to the Earth and Space sciences. The objective of this project is to develop an innovative and engaging web site that spans the Earth ... Full description.

This interactive lesson on metamorphic rocks starts with a review of the rock cycle and goes on to describe the relationship between metamorphic rocks and their parent rock. The lesson then describes the agents of metamorphism (temperature, pressure, and chemical change) and moves into a discussion on contact, regional, and dynamic metamorphism. The remainder of the lesson consists of descriptions ... Full description.

This resource provides an overview of the concept of global warming, which is thought to be due to man-made emissions of greenhouse gases, which are largely a result of the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. It explores the possibility that the impacts of global warming may include desertification and the destruction of other ecosystems, extreme weather conditions, and a danger to agriculture. ... Full description.