Particulate air pollution is a serious human health hazard in locations around the world, connected to nearly seven million deaths each year. Recently, the digital science magazine Undark (featured in the 2017 Best of the Scout Report) published Breathtaking, a special series of articles focused on a specific classification of particulate pollution, PM2.5. Here, readers are taken on a journey that...

More and more people are beginning to return the sometimes neglected field of geography to understand the world of environmental change (and degradation). In the process, the skills of highly trained cartographers and geographic information specialists are in great demand. Organized as an official United Nations Environment Programme centre, the GRID-Arendal group provides public policy officials,...

Painters and poets throughout the millennia have explored the aesthetic beauty of trees in great detail, and in the past few centuries, humans have become intimately aware of how trees form the foundation of many natural systems. Recently, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched their major worldwide tree planting campaign, "Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign". One major...

Many persons are interested in seismic hazard maps, including geologists, everyday citizens, and persons working in the insurance and actuarial fields. This site will be of great interest to all of those persons, as it contains the national seismic hazard maps created by the United States Geological Survey. User can view the latest series of maps via their homepage, and then proceed to look over...

The University of Alabama in Huntsville created the Earth System Science Center (ESSC) "to encourage interdisciplinary study of the Earth as an integrated system across traditional boundaries." This website offers innumerable links to research projects associated with the Center. Users can learn about studies to understand the accumulation of ozone and other oxidants near the ground, the use of...

The University of California - San Diego's Broadband Seismic Data Collection Center offers real-time and archived data, maps, and graphs of measured earthquakes from all over the world. The easily navigable website supplies information about regional networks, arrays, and portable deployments that have been collected and analyzed by the Center. Users can find extensive, comprehensible materials on...

This University of Florida website educates the public about soil texture, which is the distribution of sizes of mineral particles found in soils. After learning the basics about soil separates, students and educators can learn about the USDA textural triangle and the characteristics of the twelve textural classes. Researchers can discover how to determine the correct soil texture in the field....

The University of Illinois Extension's catchphrase is "Your doorway to the University," and this website offers exactly that. The Extension's work is designed to create learning partnerships that put knowledge to work in areas including food security and safety, environmental stewardship, and sustainable and profitable food production and marketing systems. Over 2.5 million Illinois residents take...

The University of Illinois has a well-regarded department of geology with staff members and associates who have created a trove of resources for students and educators seeking to know more about the Earth and its forms. The resources are divided into two dozen topical sections, including Big Bang, Building Blocks of Earth, and Geologic Time. Each section contains links to high-quality resources...

At this website, the University of Washington discusses its hydrology research focused on large- and small-scale surface water hydrologic modeling. Individuals can find forecasts on hydrologic, streamflow, and reservoir systems in the western United States. Researchers can learn about the group's surface water monitoring as well as its collaborative projects dealing with climate change and...