Earth Science

Page Updated June 2022 .

About Temperature  Produced in cooperation with the NASA Skymath project, this site gives a good introduction to the subject of temperature.

Air Quality Index  EPA's new Air Quality site discusses what makes air dirty and which people are most at risk for getting sick from air pollution. The site also furnishes a dictionary, a "What can I do?" section and games.

Alaska Volcano Observatory  See images of volcanoes.

All About Rainforests  Learn about the rainforests, which are extremely important in the ecology of the Earth.

Amber  Organic flypaper! Its history and uses.

Arctic Studies Center  The Arctic Studies Center invites you to explore the history of northern peoples, cultures, and environments and the issues that matter to residents today.

Ask an Earth Scientist  The questions and corresponding answers are divided into the following categories: volcanoes; earthquakes and seismology; natural hazards; environment and hydrology; sedimentary rocks and igneous rocks.

Ask GeoMan!  This site features answers to many commonly asked questions in the area of geology. Topics include minerals; rocks; internal processes; global tectonics; geological time; surface processes and astronomy.

At the Edge: Monitoring Glaciers to Watch Global Warming  By monitoring the change in size of glaciers around the world, scientists can learn about global climate change.

Atmospheric Optics  At this site, you'll learn about the atmospheric pyrotechnics that make light do fabulous things: ice halos, twilight rays, rainbows, and cloud shadows.

Auroras: Paintings in the Sky  What are auroras? What makes them happen? Where can you see them? These questions and more are answered at this site. A very visually attractive site.

The Electronic Sky  This site, written by an amateur astronomer with 30 years of study and interest, explains the equinox with photos and charts.

Backyard Nature  Learn about the plant, animals and rocks found in your backyard.

Barringer Meteorite Crater  Daniel Moreau Barringer was a man on a mission: He worked tirelessly to prove his theory about the impact origin of the gigantic hole in the middle of the Arizona desert.

BBC News : Climate Change  A good overview - includes: Key Stories, Hague Conference, Analysis, Case Studies.

Before the Earth was Formed  A history of the formation of Earth.

Cascades Volcano Observatory Web Pages  Explore both recent and historic volcanic activity complete with graphic images showing the power of nature. Learn about volcanoes in the U.S. and worldwide while viewing before and after pictures of the violent eruptions.

CERN (The European Center for Nuclear Research)  CERN (The European Center for Nuclear Research) is the world's largest particle physics research center. CERN's large accelerator rings reside 100 meters (320 feet) underground, beneath vineyards and pastureland along the French/Swiss border.

Cloud Catalog  Learn about how clouds develop and their different classifications.

Cloud Forests of Costa Rica  Visit the rain forests of Costa Rica. Be sure to view the Photo Gallery to see the forests and their animals.

CVO Photo Archives  See a lot of photos of various volcanoes and other activities involved in the study of volcanoes.

Deserts: Geology and Resources  A site that provides information on where deserts form, how atmosphere influences aridity, desert and dune types, features, and wind effects, and remote sensing. Australia is the driest continent.

Drinking water and ground water kids' stuff  Activity for students to observe animated and print-outs of the water cycle.

Earth: Real Time Software engineer Cameron Beccario created this website, which allows visitors to view a, "near real-time visualization of global weather conditions." Using data from a number of sources, including the Global Forecast System (GFS), the Ocean Surface Current Analyses Real-time (OSCAR) database, Real-Time Global Sea Surface Temperature (RTGSST) analysis, and more, Beccario has designed an animated, interactive globe. Visitors can choose from a variety of modes (air, ocean, chem[ical], and particulates) in order to view near real-time model information.

Earthguide  An interactive and easy-to-use educational resource about Earth, oceans and the environment.

Energy Information Administration Kid's Page  Information on renewable and nonrenewable energy, milestones in the history of energy. You can also take an energy quiz.

Energy: 31 Questions & Answers  From the Explorit Science Center in Davis, CA.

Environmental Exploration  Do you love nature? Would you like to contribute to its defense? This article gives you some pointers about how to start a volunteer activity in the naturalistic field.

Florida's Springs: Protecting Nature's Gems  The site includes photo galleries and stories about the formation of springs and their flora, fauna, threats and protection efforts.

Geology.com  Every day Geology.com is visited by thousands of geologists, earth scientists, students, teachers and others who are interested in geology or searching for geological information.

Geothermal Education Office  (GEO) helps to provide a better understanding of what geothermal energy is, what it can do and its place in providing the clean energy necessary to protect our environment while providing needed power.

Grand Canyon  Come visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Great Lakes: Environmental Atlas and Resource Book 51 Pages (PDF)

Great Lakes: State Of The Great Lakes 1995 64 pages (PDF)

Great Lakes: State Of The Great Lakes 2003 114 pages (PDF)

Great Lakes: State Of The Great Lakes 2007 21 pages (PDF)

Great Lakes Islands Conservation Gateway 160 pages (PDF)

Hawaii Center for Volcanology  Get the latest news on Hawaii's volcanoes at this site!

How Quicksand Works  You know how in movies, quicksand just swallows people in seconds? Well, the movies are wrong. Find out how quicksand really acts and what to do if you happen to fall into it.

How Volcanoes Work  A comprehensive educational Web site on the science behind volcanoes and volcanic processes. It is sponsored by NASA under the auspices of Project ALERT.

IRIS Seismic Monitor  View an interactive map showing location and magnitude of recent earthquakes.

Korea from Space  Selected images of the Korean peninsula illustrating local and regional features. The site presents two maps with highlighted areas in the North and South. Click and see a photo from space. Click the globe at the page bottom and choose related activities.

Lake Baikal Home Page  Information on the deepest lake in the world, which contains one fifth of the world's reserves of fresh surface water and which feels the effect of air and water pollution. This site has maps, statistics, information about land and water animals and more.

Life Along the Fault Line  Go on a virtual field trip with the Exploratorium fault line crew as they explore research facilities, check ongoing experiments, and observe daily life along the San Andreas fault.

Live from the Rainforest  Feel like you're in the Rainforest while looking through this informative site!

Luray Caverns  Visit these Virginia caverns or take the “virtual” tour!

Magnetic Storm  Investigate the magnetic field surrounding Earth. What would happen if it reversed directions or disappeared? How would this affect animals?

Making a Horizontal Sundial  Learn how to make a sundial. Instructions are for beginners, intermediate, or advanced, and work for either the northern or southern hemispheres.

Maldives (Views from Space)  Learn about the atolls of the Maldives and how scientists use satellites to study these coral reefs.

Mission: Biomes  A biome is a community of plants and animals living together in a certain kind of climate. Explore the world’s biomes with NASA.

NASA's Earth Observatory  Welcome to NASA's Earth Observatory, where you can monitor regional and global changes on our planet almost as they happen.

National Earthquake Information Center  Worldwide map of recent earthquakes, plus links to others.

National Energy Education Project NEED's website offers well over one hundred curriculum guides and "infobooks" containing data-driven lesson plans and activities for K-12 students that are downloadable as free PDFs. These resources are organized thematically and by reading level, and they can be applied to multiple academic subject areas.

NASA: Global Climate Change For science teachers and others interested in learning more more about global climate change, NASA hosts this collection of resources dedicated to the topic. On the Graphics and Multimedia page, visitors will find a variety of simulations, short documentaries, infographics, and interactive quizzes.

National Lakes Assessment A Study of the nation's lakes. 118 pages (PDF)

National Snow and Ice Data Center NSIDC (USA)  NSIDC monitors sea ice concentrations and snow extent using near-real time satellite images.

NOAA Great Lakes Research Visitors can find a variety of resources on this website related to Great Lake ecosystems - including data, infographics, research summaries and more.

NOAA Photo Collection  The NOAA collection spans centuries of time and much of the natural world from the center of the Earth to the surface of the Sun.

NOAA's Tsunami Research Program  Seeks to mitigate tsunami hazards to Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Research and development activities focus on an integrated approach to improving tsunami warning and mitigation.

Northern Lights  Experience the aurora borealis through text, pictures, video, and sound.

Paleomap Project  The goal of the PALEOMAP Project is to illustrate 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.

Radiation Protection  Includes history, aspects, risks, and protection.

Savage Earth Online  From PBS and WNET/NY Channel 13, a survey of our savage earth. With links and information about ordering the “Savage Earth” video series.

SciJinks SciJinks is a resource for K-12 science educators created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) dedicated to teaching young scientists about weather and weather-related careers. This resource contains interactive games, educational videos, images, posters, and classroom activities.

Sea & Sky  Welcome to Sea and Sky, a Web Site dedicated to our last two great frontiers. Come explore the awesome splendors of the sea, and the endless wonders of the universe.

Surf Your Watershed by the EPA  Watersheds are those land areas that catch rain or snow and drain to specific marshes, streams, rivers, lakes, or to ground water.

Terrestrial Impact Craters  With all the talk recently about near Earth asteroids, this site on impact craters should help with any discussions.

The Mineral Gallery  Explore rocks and minerals. Includes pictures.

The Water Cycle at Work  This site contains a beautiful graphic of the water cycle.

Tsunamis  General information on how earthquakes generate local tsunamis. This site has animations, virtual reality models of tsunamis, and summaries of past research studies. Start with The Basics: Life of a Tsunami. Plugins are needed for some features.

Types of Deserts  Deserts are classified by their geographical location and dominant weather pattern as trade wind, mid latitude, rain shadow, coastal, monsoon, or polar deserts.

UCMP Web Time Machine  Learn about everything from the Cenozoic to the Hadean Eras.

Understanding Plate Motions  Scientists now have a fairly good understanding of how the plates move and how such movements relate to earthquake activity. Most movement occurs along narrow zones between plates where the results of plate-tectonic forces are most evident.

USGS Earthquake Hazards Program  This United States Geological Survey Web site puts together materials about the past, present and future of earthquakes. Under Education, check out Earthquake ABCs, Today in Earthquake History and Cool Earthquake Facts.

USGS Geology  Visit the web site for the Geology Section of the United States Geological Survey. Find a collection of links to the various science programs of the Survey, including real-data sets, background information, etc.

West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center  Are there any tsunami warnings and watches in effect? Where were the most recent major tsunamis? Learn about tsunamis and what causes them from the scientists in charge of predicting them.

What's It Like Where You Live?  Learn about different biomes and climates in the World.