Thousands of people in the Andes mountains of Peru are having their lives affected in both a practical and cultural way by climate change, which is causing the region's glaciers to melt. This document explores the causes of the glacial melt and its impacts on the local cultures. Full description.

In this lesson, students assess the causes and effects of massive arsenic contamination in the water supplies of 43 of Bangladesh's 64 districts. Students evaluate why this contamination occurred, how it affects the population of Bangladesh, and why this environmental catastrophe is proving so difficult to solve. Full description.

This program uses actual weather data from recent forecasts as part of the students' learning experience. The Users' Guide covers three areas: how to get started (equipment and internet requirements, navigating the homepage), available weather products (maps, datasets, remote imagery), and a listing of miscellaneous materials (map symbols, update schedules for weather products, listings of weather ... Full description.

This article deals with the phenomena of El Nino and La Nina. Topics include the apparently widespread effect of these phenomena on weather systems around the Earth and new methods to detect their arrival and departure. There is a discussion of the use of SeaWIFS satellite data to detect changes in the distribution of oceanic algae (phytoplankton) which occur when warm or cool water masses move, as ... Full description.

This program provides an overview of the issues surrounding the construction of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River in China. When it is completed, this dam will produce the energy of 15 nuclear power plants and tame some of the river's deadliest floods. However, it is also the subject of much controversy. Topics include the loss of important archaeological, cultural, and paleontological ... Full description.

Students participating in this lab activity will construct a simulated aquifer in the classroom. The aquifer is constructed from readily available materials, and instructions, data sheets, vocabulary, and diagrams are provided. This simple model is intended for student inquiry into groundwater systems. Students are instructed to try things (within the context of the model), observe what happens, and ... Full description.

Materials presented here outline basic concepts related to groundwater, answering questions like "What is groundwater?" and "What is an aquifer?" More detailed topics include groundwater quality, sources of contamination, engineering problems presented by groundwater, and safeguards to the groundwater supply. A bibliography and links to other water-related sites are included. A French translation ... Full description.

This NASA site contains a wealth of information about hurricanes, including how they are created, how they move, and the dangers they pose. Also included are sections that deal with naming of hurricanes, hurricane hunters, a VR trip through a hurricane, satellite instrumentation, and a video of hurricane Andrew. Full description.

This site provides an overview of the Earth's atmospheric greenhouse effect by briefly exploring the atmospheres of nearby planets and discussing the greenhouse gases of our atmosphere, such as, water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and nitrous oxide. Students will learn that the heat-trapping ability of a greenhouse is influenced by a number of factors, including the transparency of the greenhouse ... Full description.

For ecologists, the horseshoe crab is an important creature- a vastly adaptable organism that predates most species on the planet, with a lifecyle that is interlocked with other animals. Users can view information, photographs, and diagrams that explain the anatomy, range and habitat, lifecycle, ecological niche, reproductive cycle, and medical uses of the horseshoe crab. Full description.