Where oceans and seas meet land, the change is abrupt and sudden. The plants and animals that call this transition zone home have interesting adaptations. Users can view pictures and read about several types of shorelines and coastal features (sandy shores, barrier islands, rocky shores, tide pools, estuaries, salt marshes, mud flats, and mangrove forests), the plants and animals that inhabit them, ... Full description.

This site offers a virtual walk-through tour of a hydroelectric facility. The creation of hydroelectricity begins at the dam, where the power plant converts the force of falling water into electricity. It shows how dams operate and the equipment necessary for electrical generation. Full description.

This activity explores understanding the greenhouse effect through a lab experiment. The effect on the atmosphere is included too. Full description.

This resource covers components of the hydrologic (water) cycle. Although it is geared to high school level, middle school students could grasp the content with assistance from an instructor. Specific topics include the distribution and movement of water in the Earth system, such as evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and ground water. Full description.

This document describes the functions and values of wetlands, and includes keywords and illustrations. Wetlands have received wastewater discharges from many different situations in the past, but only recently have they been recognized as potentially cost-efficient treatment systems. They can effectively remove or convert large quantities of pollutants from point sources (municipal and industrial ... Full description.

This site is maintained by the Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology. A Microbe Zoo and the Microbe of the Month are included. The site provides some background material on many different types of Microbes, in ponds, around the deep sea vents, and various other locations. Two water regions are represented on the site, although mention is made of several others. Full description.

When different kinds of oil enter the sea, many physical, chemical and biological degradation processes start acting on them. This resource describes the factors that decide the physical, chemical and biological degradation of the oil, as well as potential environmental damage, effects on wildlife, and effects on habitats, of the spill. The text is color-coded to reflect the sources of the information, ... Full description.

Sound Health 2001 highlights water quality conditions, the status of living organisms, trends in land use and development, and other indicators of environmental health for Long Island Sound. Materials presented here address the following questions: Are the waters and sediments getting cleaner?, Are fish and wildlife populations more abundant?, Are fish and wildlife habitats being protected and restored?, ... Full description.

February 2nd of each year is World Wetlands Day, which marks the date of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands in 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. As part of the observance, the Ramsar Convention makes available to order a variety of materials such as posters, leaflets, logos and stickers, and a video. Many of these materials are available in French and Spanish. ... Full description.

Using the European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory, Spanish and Italian astronomers have for the first time measured the total amount of water in cold regions of the Milky Way. The findings and implications of this research are discussed here, with emphasis on the fact that water is abundant in these cold regions and exists mostly in the form of ice. Images and videos are included. Full description.