Glacier Movement Animations and Interactives

Here is an animation that shows the movement of a glacier in three different scenarios - stable climate, cooling climate, and warming climate. CLICK HERE to see it. It helps students understand the formation of an end moraine and helps them see how the front of a glacier can be receding as the glacier is flowing downhill. The animation was created by W. W. Norton and Company.

Here's another resource related to valley (alpine) glaciers created by the PhET (?) project. The PhET™ project at the University of Colorado provides interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena for free. Check out this Glacier Simulation (select "run now") and then browse through their other Earth Science-related simulations

To view a convenient list of all the resources that have been posted on this "Earth Science Guy" blog site, CLICK HERE.

Below: Speaking of glacial movement, this 48-second segment from NOVA shows 5 months of ice-flow from BENEATH Mt. Blanc in the Alps.

60 Minutes Segment: Volcanoes (12 minutes)

Can you say "Eyjafjallajökull"? (CLICK HERE to listen.
This week's resource is a segment from a recent episode of 60 Minutes. The segment features Eyjafjallajökull, Vesuvius, and Yellowstone.

To view a convenient list of all the resources that have been posted on this "Earth Science Guy" blog site, CLICK HERE.

SNOTEL Sites Monitor Snowpack in Mountains

It's important to keep track of how much snow is present in the mountains because spring and summer runoff has an impact on irrigation, fishing/guiding, wildfire tendencies, hydropower, flooding, and other aspects of life in western states. SNOTEL (SNOwpack TELemetry) sites are automated stations that measure how much snow has fallen in remote mountainous areas. The system is operated by the Natural Resource and Conservation Service.

SNOTEL data are used to make management decisions regarding reservoirs (flood control, etc.) - Click on the map to make it bigger, and you will see that there is A LOT of snow in the mountains of western Montana right now (April 4, 2014). CLICK HERE to learn more about the SNOTEL System, and then check out the Interactive Montana SNOTEL Map to find out how much snow exists at each site.

To view a convenient list of all the resources that have been posted on this "Earth Science Guy" blog site, CLICK HERE.

Mudslide Interative Shows Scope of Disaster in Oso, WA

When there is a natural disaster, The New York Times website often features great interactive graphics to help viewers understand what happened. These resources have proven very helpful as I explain recent disasters to my students. Their graphic to illustrate the scope of the recent mudslide in Washington is another great one, allowing viewers to compare the Oso area before and after the recent tragedy.

CLICK HERE to see the resource - Once the page opens up, select "before" or "after" in the upper right to compare.

To see an image comparison from a satellite view (courtesy of NASA), CLICK HERE. To see one more from the Washington Post CLICK HERE.

To view a convenient list of all the resources that have been posted on this "Earth Science Guy" blog site, CLICK HERE.

50 Years Since Great Alaska Earthquake

March 27 marks the 50th anniversery of the second strongest earthquake ever recorded. Here are a couple really good YouTube videos about the Alaska Earthquake. The first one was contributed by IRIS Education and Outreach and the bottom one by the USGS.

To view a convenient list of all the resources that have been posted on this "Earth Science Guy" blog site, CLICK HERE.

Craters of the Moon Animation

From Regents University of California - This week's resource is an animation that shows the timing and extent of lava flows that created the Craters of the Moon volcanic area in south-central Idaho.

CLICK HERE to view the animation.

This recent volcanic activity at the Craters of the Moon is thought to be caused by "leftovers" from the hot spot that currently sits beneath Yellowstone Park. In fact the Snake River Plain IS the path of the hot spot* over the past 15 million years. To learn more about the geologic past of this area CLICK HERE.

Another interesting aspect of the hot spot is the impact it had on ancient rhinos in Nebraska - CLICK HERE to learn more about that chapter in the geologic story of the area.

*Actually, it is the North American Plate that has been moving over the stationary hot spot.

Blog Site to Cover Earth History in 2014

Richard Gibson is an author, geologist, historian and tour guide in Butte, Montana. On January 1st Gibson started a blog that aims to explain (in one year) important happenings in Earth's history in chronological order: History of the Earth Calendar

For what I'm interested in, this is one of the best resources I've come across in awhile. The very impressive site includes photos, diagrams, text as well as short PodCasts. Each day Gibson helps the reader/listener understand one aspect of Earth's history. You can go back to January 1st and get caught up, or you can pick and chose based on your interests. I have always been fascinated with the "Belt Supergroup", so I wanted to see what Gibson had to say about it - I found that it had been the focus of his January 24th post, and I was not disappointed! Belt Basin

About Richard Gibson

Map courtesy of Idaho State University