The Whipped Topping Ozone Demo

A hole in the ozone layer develops over Antarctica every September-November. But why care - nobody lives there? This week's resource is a demonstration that helps students understand how the hole affects the ozone layer over the rest of the world. All that you need is some whipped topping, a little red food coloring, a couple plastic lids, and some kitchen utensils.CLICK HERE to read the instructions and see the photos.

Snake Butte in North-Central Montana

This week's resource is a landmark in north-central Montana that serves as an example of how to make geology more interesting by providing real-world connections. The geology of Snake Butte is fascinating with its columnar jointing and unique "boulder train". But by showing students that it played a important role in a historical construction project, and explaining why it is important to a culture, Snake Butte becomes even more interesting and relevant to students. CLICK HERE to learn about Snake Butte's interesting connections to people.

This example will be more meaningful to those who have seen the butte and for those who live in Montana. However, this approach is something to think about as you teach students about geology in your area. I've tried to promote this strategy in Montana with a "picture of the week" web site. Teachers in Montana simply decide which picture (from the list) will be the "picture of the week" for their classes, they post the number in their classroom, and then students use the generic worksheet to complete the assignment. A copy of the worksheet can be printed from the web site: www.formontana.net

It would be very beneficial to Earth Science education in your state if your state had a similar resource. The development of such a site would be a great project for a state science teachers, or Earth science teachers, association.

Animations Help Students Understand Tides

CLICK HERE to see a series of tide animations provided by Coastal Carolina University. The first demonstrates that the Earth-Moon system has a center of gravity (called the barycenter), the second shows the inertial tide, and the final shows the gravitational tide.

The second is provided by NOVA (PBS). CLICK HERE and then select "Launch Interactive".

CLICK HERE to read about the day in our nation's history when tides and moon phases were crucial to what happened. Finally, CLICK HERE to see a related problem-solving activity.

Mesmerizing Wind Animation

This week's resource is a "real-time wind animation" provided by HINT.FM. The animation uses computer models to compile data on wind speed and direction in the US and then overlays the wind flow on a map. Google recommends using its Chrome web browser to get the best results. CLICK HERE to see the animation. Project it onto a large screen to have students look for patterns and determine the location of highs and lows based on wind direction. Check with a current weather map to find out if they've gotten it right. CLICK HERE to see a good surface map for comparison.

Here's another good current wind map: www.wunderground.com

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

Milankovitch Cycles: An Astronomy - Climate Connection

Graph courtesy of www.globalwarmingart.com

One of the fun things about teaching Earth Science is helping students understand connections between geology, astronomy, meteorology, and oceanography. One such connection is the link between ice ages and changes in the Earth-Sun relationship. This week's resource is a tutorial that will help students explore Milankovitch Cycles. CLICK HERE to go to the tutorial.

According to the Milankovitch Theory, the advance and retreat of "ice ages" (technically "glaciations, or glacial periods") over the past 3 million years have been caused (at least in part) by changes in the relationship between the Earth and Sun. The theory is named for Serbian astronomer Milutin Milankovitch, who painstakingly calculated how changes in Earth's orbit affected the amount of solar radiation that reached different latitudes at different seasons.

Though he did his work in 1920's, Milankovich's results weren't proven until the 1970s. A 1976 study, which examined deep-sea sediment cores, found that Milankovich's findings corresponded to periods of climate change. Although there is a consensus that Milankovitch cycles do influence the waxing and waning of ice ages, there are several problems. One mystery about the ice ages has to do with the change in frequency of glaciations that happened about 1 mya (see graph above). Why did the timing switch from once every 41,000 years to once every 100,000 years? To read more about Milankovitch Cycles and other mysteries related to ice ages, CLICK HERE. To watch, and listen to, an explanation (pencast), CLICK HERE.

Maps of Recent Earthquakes

CLICK HERE to see the location of earthquakes over the past 7 days. The interactive map shows worldwide earthquakes with M4.5+ (earthquakes with M2.5+ within the United States and adjacent areas). Colors of the boxes indicate when recent the quakes occurred and the size of the boxes tells the magnitudes. You can zoom in to look at specific areas, and then click on the boxes to learn details. Students will notice the strong correlation between earthquakes and plate boundaries. The site is provided by the the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

By the way, did you know we haven't been using the Richter Scale since 2002? CLICK HERE to find out more.

Here's another resource, posted by Mark Colberg, Associate Prof. of Geol. at Southern Utah University. Colberg's web page outlines the basic principles of earthquakes and provides links to the best animations of seismic waves that I've seen. CLICK HERE to view the page and then scroll down to access the animations.

Geology Labs On-Line

Geology Labs On-Line was initiated to develop Web-based activities which enhance the learning and teaching of earth science from middle school through college classroom. The site offers on-line exercises called "Virtual Earthquake", "Virtual Dating", and "Virtual Rivers". Students complete a sequence of tasks that require observation, measurement, and data analysis. Upon successful completion, students receive a personalized certificate.

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