This on-line project is part of the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) program, which has developed internet activities for the elementary, middle, and high school level student. This project involves comparing the water quality of local rivers, streams, lakes or ponds with other fresh water sources around the world. The focus is to assess the quality of water based on physical ... Full description.

Virtual Earthquake is an interactive web-based program designed to introduce the concepts of how an earthquake epicenter is located and how the Richter magnitude of an earthquake is determined. Virtual Earthquake shows the recordings of an earthquake's seismic waves detected by instruments far away from the earthquake. The instrument recording the seismic waves is called a seismograph and the recording ... Full description.

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.

In this investigation, students examine Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. After becoming familiar with a bathymetric/topographic map of the area, students select a transect along the seafloor to study some of the geological, biological, and physical features that are present. In this activity students use a bathymetric/topographic map as a tool for recognizing geobiological features of the sanctuary, ... 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 site provides a brief overview of the earth's climate, which is generally defined as the average weather over a long period of time. The climate of a region is determined by both natural and anthropogenic (human-made) factors. The natural elements include the atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, while the human factors can include land and resource uses. Changes in any of these ... Full description.

This applet simulates what happens inside a house when the temperature and dew point change outside. The user of this applet has control over the outdoor values of the two thermometers (one for temperature and one for dew point). The relative humidity meter will instantly display the value for the outside. The user will learn that as the outdoor values are changed, the indoor environment is slower ... Full description.

This site provides a brief overview of processes and properties associated with global climate change and its rate of change, which is of current concern to scientists. The carbon cycle is discussed including its sources, sinks, and release agents along with the fact that it is critical to the biosphere and must continue cycling to support life on Earth. The information at this site should lead students ... Full description.

The Virtual Courseware Project produces interactive online simulations to help enhance the learning and teaching of geology and other Earth and environmental science topics. Each lab provides a brief introduction to the topic and a quiz to assess understanding of the material. Materials include an activity in which seismic waves are used to determine the magnitude of an earthquake and to locate its ... Full description.