More than 75 years ago, Professor J. Harlan Bretz of the University of Chicago began to explore the dusty scablands of eastern Washington in an attempt to learn more about this rather unique area and also to determine how this land was transformed over time. Bretz soon came to the conclusion that the scablands were not the result of slow geological weathering, but rather the result of a massive...

As if the possibility of a regular volcanic eruption wasn't disturbing enough to some readers, it turns out that there is another class of volcano whose destructive power is much more frightening. Known to scientists as a supervolcano, this type of volcano produces at least 240 cubic miles of magma in a single eruption. A recent documentary produced by NOVA looks into the possibility of a...

This recent episode of NOVA, which aired on June 27, 2018, examines the devastating 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Within the course of weeks, Hurricane Harvey unleashed an estimated 30-50 inches of rain to Houston, Texas; Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on a number Carribean islands and the state of Florida; and Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico and Dominica, causing massive damage and a death...

The Classroom Resources section of the National Science Foundation website is extensive and impressive. Take, for instance, this collection of Earth & Environment Classroom Resources. Here educators will discover links to 16 different resources, most of which have been culled from the National Science Digital Library (NSDL). Notable resources include the Earth & Environment Research Overview, a...

As this engrossing site from the National Science Foundation (NSF) website notes, most ecosystems in the United States depend on snow. Whether it is the aggregated snowpack that feeds into the rivers that sustain our agriculture, or the spring flowers that need the nutrients that come from snow to thrive, heterogenous components of our geographies need the winter months. On the site, various...

Striking an area west of New Orleans all the way east to Pensacola, Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc across the southeastern United States earlier this week. One meteorological aspect that reduced the relative effect of the storm was the fact that a bit of dry air from the Midwest weakened the hurricane before it reached land and pushed the storm slightly to the east. While the damage to the area...

The Ohio Sea Grant and Lake Erie Programs are housed at The Ohio State University, and are responsible for maintaining a number of scientific laboratories and research endeavors that focus primarily on Lake Erie. A number of their most valuable online resources are made available on their homepage, including the Lake Erie Information Discussion Board (where visitors can get answers to Lake...

The mission of the Ohio Seismic Network, with 25 stations strategically located throughout the state, is to "detect and precisely locate earthquakes within the state's borders, report the severity and potential damage from an event to emergency response officials, and to rapidly respond to media and citizen inquiries after a felt earthquake." Seismologists can view waveform data, find data on the...

Designed to excite children about earth processes, this website is the newest addition to the American Museum of Natural History's Ology web pages, first reported on by the NSDL Scout Report for the Life Sciences on May 8, 2002. Through a series of images and explanations, users can explore igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks; as well as volcanoes, mountains, earthquakes, and Pangaea....

Many faculty members of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences have created digital educational resources for their students. In the interest of sharing these excellent resources, the Open Educational Resources site presents digital video, texts, simulations, animations and illustrations crafted by these learned individuals. First-time users can get started by looking over the Featured...