Users can read about the discovery of ice on Earth's moon, which occurs in the form of ice crystals accumulated near the lunar poles. The discussion covers the use of the neutron spectrometer as a tool for detecting water by sensing the hydrogen it contains, some ideas on the origin of the ice, and the fact that water has been found elsewhere in the solar system (on Europa, Jupiter's fourth-largest ... Full description.

Researchers have identified approximately 140 individual impact craters on Earth. These craters probably represent only about 25 percent of those to be found. Assuming an equal rate of impact around the globe, many more craters remain to be discovered, particularly in remote land regions of our planet and in the oceans. This activity uses satellite images of several craters on the earth to study impact ... Full description.

This NASA Module investigation compares and contrasts physical processes that occur on Both Earth and Mars. Students are given unidentified images of Earth and Mars. Their task is to arrange the images into pairs that show evidence of similar physical processes. Then they identify each image as one of Earth or of Mars by comparing and contrasting physical features that they observe in the image pairs. ... Full description.

In this lesson, students learn about meteors, meteorites, and comets by reading and discussing a related New York Times article about the Leonid meteor showers and the methods that scientists are using to learn from these meteors. Students then create and observe a comet in their classroom. Full description.

These resources include sections on the latest quakes, science project ideas, puzzles and games, online activities, a glossary, and cool earthquake facts. In addition, there is an Ask A Geologist section, and earthquake FAQs. One link leads to a teacher page with grade level topics and educational materials. Full description.

An interactive slide show explores the journey of a single snowflake onto and through a glacier. This journey, which can take as much as 30,000 years to complete, shows that the life cycle of a glacier can be more complex than originally perceived. Full description.

This booklet provides a brief introduction to the concept of plate tectonics and complements the visual and written information in This Dynamic Planet, a map published in 1994 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Smithsonian Institution. The booklet highlights some of the people and discoveries that advanced the development of the theory and traces its progress since its proposal. Although ... Full description.

NeMO studies the dynamic interactions between submarine volcanic activity and seafloor hotsprings at an observatory called Axial Seamount. The research activities at NeMO provide an extraordinary educational opportunity, both from the daily reports from expeditions at sea and from creative learning materials based on NeMO results. The site features curriculum materials designed for high school 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.