This week's 15 January 2005 "Earth Science Sites of the Week" feature:
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1) top science stories of 2004
2) summary of tsunami stories
3) atmospheric optics
4) river plumes and black water
5) when ice collides
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1) TOP SCIENCE STORIES OF 2004, Boston Globe, as picked by Science
magazine Dec. 17, 2004 issue, among the stories chosen: water on Mars,
"little people" from Indonesia, and cloned embryos:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2004/12/28/top_10_science_stories_mars_water_evidence_leads_list/
--The Year in Science Top 100 Stories from Discover Magazine:
http://www.discover.com/issues/jan-05/features/top-100-stories/
(abstracts only)
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2) SUMMARY OF TSUNAMI RESOURCES, USGS, (suggested by Joseph Kerski, USGS
and John McDaris, SERC):
--Schoolgirl saved 100 people after learning about tsunamis in school
two weeks before the event:
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050102/w010210.html
<http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050102/w010210.html>
--Visualizations from SERC, Carleton College:
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/visualization/collections/tsunami.html
--USGS site with general information about tsunamis and USGS tsunami
research: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/
--NOAA website: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/spotlight/tsunami/tsunami.html
--How Tsunamis Work: much movie footage here at the bottom of the page:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/tsunami.htm
--Asia's Deadly Waves (NY Times):
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/html/international/20041227_QUAKE_FEATURE/index.html
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3) ATMOSPHERIC OPTICS, Les Cowley, (suggested by Kent Ratajeski, Montana
State University), find high quality imagery of such visual spectacles
as rainbows, halos, glories, coronas and more. The site is
comprehensive. There are, for example, 9 different types of rainbows
photographed. Short descriptions accompany each image.
http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/atoptics/phenom.htm
<http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/black_water.shtml>
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4) RIVER PLUMES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO: Earth Observatory, NASA, The
outflows of several rivers are clearly visible as dark greenish
swirls outlining the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Tehuantepec on the
Pacific side of Southern Mexico is also visible. The accompanying text
describes several features and probably causes.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16723
--Oh Black Water Keep on Rollin: Science Focus, GSFC, NASA. Four
satellite images including ones showing the Uruguay River and the Parana
River cutting across the Rio de la Plata estuary, and the confluence of
the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimoes at Manaus are clearly described. A
description of geological and biological influences on black water
rivers is provided.
http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/black_water.shtml
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5) GIANT ICEBERG ON COLLISION COURSE, RedNova News, (suggested by Cheryl
Dodes, Port Washington, New York), large fragment of a much larger
iceberg that broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000 is on a
collision course with the Drygalski Ice Tongue in Antarctica. "It's a
clash of the titans, a radical and uncommon event," says Robert
Bindshadler, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and if
the two giant slabs of ice collide, we could see one of the best
demolition derbies on the planet. Read all about it, with illustrations
here:
http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=114563
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These links are archived at RESOURCES FOR EARTH SCIENCE AND GEOGRAPHY
INSTRUCTION at http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi . The
links are organized around the sequence of topics typically taught in an
introductory earth science or physical geography class. Links are also,
available for environmental science, earth science/geography education,
career opportunities, and more. The sites selected are based on image
quality, ease with which lesson plans can be developed, organization,
authenticity, scope, and format. Please contact me at
Mark.Francek@xxxxxxxxx to remove yourself from the mailing list, add a
new subscriber, or suggest a site to be listed.
Mark Francek