The Gulf Stream Voyage is an online multidisciplinary project which utilizes both real time data and primary source materials to help guide students to discover the science and history of the Gulf Stream. Students will investigate this great ocean current, how it affects the Atlantic Ocean and some of mankind's experiences dealing with it. This voyage includes activities for marine science, earth ... 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.

BASINS is a multipurpose environmental analysis system for use by regional, state, and local agencies in performing watershed and water quality based studies. This new software makes it possible to quickly assess large amounts of point source and nonpoint source data in a format that is easy to use and understand. Installed on a personal computer, BASINS allows the user to assess water quality at ... Full description.

Part of the USGS Water Science for Schools site, this resource defines irrigation water use and includes several tables and maps showing water use by various irrigation systems, by state, by crop, and by percentage of fresh water available. Students and teachers can look at their state and see 1990 data for how much ground water and how much ground water and surface water is used for irrigation. Various ... Full description.

The Mote Marine Laboratory Phytoplankton Ecology Program focuses on microscopic plants in the oceans, many of which produce harmful toxins. This program addresses phytoplankton behavior, photophysiology and bloom dynamics. This site contains data from investigations, which utilize remote sensing technology for monitoring natural phytoplankton blooms as well as laboratory studies to understand how ... Full description.

This data center provides information on waterborne commerce, vessel characteristics, port facilities, dredging, and lock performance. Data can be queried and are available by state, by commodity, and by waterway. Metadata are also available. Fact sheets explain the US waterways, their management, and their role in the economy. There are also numerous publications availabe via the site and an interactive ... Full description.

The Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Project develops and supports systems that provide information on the location and extent of red tide blooms in the Gulf of Mexico. The Experimental HAB bulletin alerts subscribers to developing blooms and changes in the location and extent of existing blooms. The HAB Mapping System (HABMapS) provides the position of an identified bloom and data from environmental conditions ... Full description.

This booklet includes 11 problems of increasing difficulty that explore the properties of black holes. Students learn about the relationship between black hole size and mass, time dilation, energy extraction, accretion disks, and what?s inside a black hole by working with a series of math problems that feature simple algebra, scientific notation, exponential functions, and the Pythagorean Theorem. ... Full description.

This booklet includes 17 problems relating to the Moon and its exploration. Images from NASA are analyzed to determine image scales and the physical sizes of various crates and features. The probability of meteor impacts near a lunar colony are calculated, and the horizon distance is determined using simple geometry. Also covered are: determining the mass of the Moon, a simple model for the lunar ... Full description.

This booklet includes 31 problems that involve a variety of math skills, including scientific notation, simple algebra, and calculus. Topics covered include black holes, ice on mercury, a mathematical model of the solar interior, sunspots, the heliopause, and coronal mass ejections, among many others. (8.5 x11, 28 pages, 11 color images, PDF file) Full description.