RSS Feed for ESSW
September 20, 2008
FEATURES
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GEOSPHERE
1) Exploring Geology: Sample chapters of Exploring the Earth
2) Fifth-Grader Corrects Smithsonian: NPR Interview
3) The Storegga Slide: One of the largest landslides in the world
4) Google Earth: 3-D image mapping
HYDROSPHERE
1) How regions are dealing with drought:
2) Sea level rise: Effects of sea level change
ATMOSPHERE
1) IPCC forth assessment report: key events in history
2) FAQ IPCC: Frequently asked questions
3) Dew point, air temperature and relative humidity: Flash file
SPACE
1) Phoenix making a landing: images of space mission
2) Lunar Eclipse Preview: List of lunar eclipse
3) NASA science for educators: NASA links
TEACHING
1) Edzapp and Teachers Teachers: Online recruiting website
2) Long Term Projects: Making checkpoints
ENVIRONMENTAL
1) Environmental Art: artistic depictions of environmental waste
GENERAL
1) Gas price lookup: gas prices for any zipcode
2) Workshops from NCAR
DEPARTMENTS
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ANIMATIONS
1) High wire repair technician: electricity and grounding
2) Oceanography animations
3) Earth Revealed: What goes on during an earthquake?
DEMONSTRATIONS
1) Mass wasting sock: mass movement
COMPUTER TIP
1) File sharing
IMAGE
1) EPOD
GOOD QUOTE
1)George Washington Carver
HUMOR
1) For all you lexophiles
FEATURES
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GEOSPHERE
EXPLORING GEOLOGY, Stephan Reynolds (suggested by David Smith) Finally found the website that has the sample chapters of Exploring Earth. These are so different from the traditional approach for an introductory geoscience text that it is really worth checking out:
http://www.mhhe.com/earthsci/geology/Reynolds1e/ReviewSite/
FIFTH-GRADER CORRECTS SMITHSONIAN, NPR, (suggested by Zach Miller) Hear an NPR interview of a 5th grader on his understanding of the Precambrian.
It's worth a quick listen (3 minutes) here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89355792#share
THE STOREGGA SLIDE, Hydro (suggested by Doug McKeever) "Around 8100 years ago, one of the largest landslides in the world occurred at Storegga, 100 kilometres north west of the Møre coast. An area the size of Iceland slid into the Norwegian Sea."
http://www4.hydro.com/ormenlange/en/about_ormen/key_features/storegga_slide/index.html
GOOGLE EARTH 4.3, Google (suggested by Scout Report) If visitors haven't already taken a look through Google Earth, the new version of this mapping application may pique their interest. The visual interface for the application displays a rendering of the globe, and return visitors will notice that the control panel is now translucent and rests in a corner of the map. The application also integrates with Google's 3-D rendering program, so users can place their new building in a real-life setting to see how it looks in context. This version is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4. [KMG]
http://earth.google.com/
HYDROSPHERE
HOW REGIONS ARE DEALING WITH DROUGHT, Matthew Power (suggested by Roy E. Plotnick)
http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/magazine/16-05/ff_peakwater/
http://www.wired.com/services/referral?messageKey=72322ad4fc9d6c79ac270b207fe5818e
SEA LEVEL RISE, Google (suggested by Shelly Olds), You you can check out what sea level changes would do to any place on earth. You can view it using satellite, map, terrain or a combination of images.
http://flood.firetree.net/
ATMOSPHERE
IPCC FOURTH ASSESSMENT REPORT, Maggie L. Walser (suggested by Cutler J. Cleveland) The Collection is anchored by an electronic version of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Nobel Prize-winning reports. It also includes articles by climate experts, biographies of individuals who have made important contributions to climate science and policy, a timeline of key events in the history of climate science and policy, a climate glossary, and much more. Scientists, educators, environmental professionals and concerned citizens should find the Collection to be an invaluable resource.
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Climate_Change_%28collection%29
FAQ, IPCC (suggested by Frank Niepold) In the IPCC Fourth Assessment Working Group I Report "The Physical Science Basis" there is a new section of FAQs.
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-faqs.pdf
DEW POINT, AIR TEMPERATURE, AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY, Thompson (suggested by Charles Burrows) If you're still interested, this flash file may be appealing...
http://www.morris.umn.edu/~sboyd/Phys1063_files/Phys1063-homework_files/T_45.swf
SPACE
PHOENIX MAKING A LANDING (suggested by Heather Renyck), Can you see the lander’s parachute silhouetted against the crater?
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/phoenix/collection_16/PSP_008579_9020_descent.tif
LUNAR ECLIPSE PREVIEW: 2001 – 2020 Fred Espenak (suggested by Rod McLeod) The table below lists every lunar eclipse (including penumbral) from 2001 through 2020. Click on the eclipse Dateto see a map and diagram of an eclipse.
http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/LEnext.html
NASA SCIENCE FOR EDUCATORS, NASA (suggested by Mindy Timothy) This gateway site provides exemplary links for the heliosphere, astrophysics, earth, and the planets.
http://nasascience.nasa.gov/
TEACHING
EDZAPP AND TEACHERS TEACHERS (suggested by Lara Fritz and Stephanie Brown) The online recruiting and hiring solution to connect qualified teachers, administrators and school staff with school districts.
http://www.edzapp.com/
and
http://www.teachers-teachers.com/
TEACHER TIP: LONG TERM PROJECTS, (suggested by Virginia Malone), For long term projects have some interim check points. Kids plan assignments by due date, i.e., they start the day it is due.
ENVIRONMENTAL
ENVIRONMENTAL ART, Chris Jordan (suggested by Alice Kasten) This is a fascinating link to artworks which depict a variety of environmental waste. This could be the jumping off point for some great discussions.
http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7
GENERAL
GAS PRICE LOOKUP, (suggested by Alice Kasten) Put in your zip code and get yesterday's gas prices for stations in your area. Ranks by price!
http://autos.msn.com/everyday/GasStations.aspx?m=1&l=1&zip=11023&x=12&y=8
NCAR’S CLIMATE DISCOVERY ONLINE COURSES FOR EDUCATORS
Are you seeking a K-12 professional development opportunity that will enhance your qualifications, competency, and self-confidence in integrating Earth system science, climate, and global change into your science classroom? NCAR offers a series of seven-week online courses for middle and high school teachers that combine geosciences content, information about current climate research, easy to implement hands-on activities, and group discussion. The courses run concurrently beginning September 19th and ending November 7th.
http://ecourses.ncar.ucar.edu
DEPARTMENTS
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ANIMATIONS
HIGH WIRE REPAIR TECHNICIAN, (suggested by Tim Wozniak) This worker doesn't make enough pay! This can serve as a good introduction to electricity and grounding.
http://videos.komando.com/2008/05/31/high-power-repairman/
OCEANOGRAPHY ANIMATIONS, (suggested by Bonnie Keller) “COSEE-West is collaborating with the USC Division of Animation and Digital Arts to begin producing a series of animated shorts focused on ocean concepts and current research by USC ocean scientists. Check out some of our pilot movies created by DADA graduate students and ocean scientists!!”
EARTH REVEALED (suggested by Scout Report) What goes on during an earthquake? Who came up with the theory of plate tectonics? What can the fossil record tell us about the evolution of life on Earth? These are all fine questions, and students and educators with a thirst for geological knowledge will find the answers to these (and many more) questions in the "Earth Revealed" television series. Offered as part of the Annenberg Media website, the 26-part series includes such episodes as "Geologic Time", "Mountain Building", and "The Birth of a Theory". As with many of the Annenberg Media offerings, visitors can view entire episodes here, and they can also take a look at a list of additional resources. [KMG]
http://www.learner.org/resources/series78.html
DEMONSTRATIONS
MASS WASTING SOCK, (suggested by Steve Houston) I once did a mass movement demo using a sock (make sure there aren't any holes in the sock!) filled with sand, small dry-erase board, and spray bottle filled with water. I got the surface of the dry erase board wet with water and created a slope by placing some old books underneath. I created just enough of a slope so that the sand-filled sock did not slide. I then sprayed the sand-filled sock with water (replicating heavy rainfall) until eventually we began to notice the sand-filled sock (the "unconsolidated mass") slowly move down slope. I had students provide explanations as to what was causing (or "triggering") the "mass movement" and in what ways we could change the rate at which the mass movement occurred. We could see how heavy rainfall, change in slope, and even vibrations (seismic activity) were some of the factors that could help to trigger mass movements. If you decide to try this, use some old books for creating the slope since they might get wet, a dry erase board you don't care to much about, and saturate the sand-filled sock with some water prior to the demo. It's simple, but it at least provides a nice way to "kick-start" mass movements.
COMPUTER TIP
FILE SHARING, File Mail (suggested by Kevin Lopez) Sometimes, we need to send huge files over the net. Here is one free solution without clogging any body's inbox and is free of ISPs. The limit is 2GB.
http://filemail.com/
IMAGES
EPOD, (suggested by Thomas McGuire) EPOD is a NASA site that publishes a different Earth science image every day. Each photograph is accompanied by a brief text about the featured image. EPOD archives hold over 2000 images all the way back to September of 2000 Many teachers set this site as they default home page. (First open EPOD and select the menu below your browser name. (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc) Drag your curser down to the “preferences” menu item. Then select “Use Current Page.”
http://epod.usra.edu
GOOD QUOTE
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.
- George Washington Carver
suggested by Virginia Malone, educational consultant
HUMOR
1 For all you lexophiles:
1. A bicycle can’t stand alone; it is two tired.
2. A will is a dead giveaway.
3. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
4. A backward poet writes inverse.
5. In a democracy it’s your vote that counts; in feudalism, it’s your Count that votes.
6. A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.
7. If you don’t pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
8. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.
9. Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I’ll show you A-flat miner.
10. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
11. The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
12. A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.
13. You are stuck with your debt if you can’t budge it.
14. Local Area Network in Australia : The LAN down under.
15. He broke into song because he couldn’t find the key.
16. A calendar’s days are numbered.
17. A lot of money is tainted: ‘Taint yours, and ‘taint mine.
18. A boiled egg is hard to beat.
19. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
20. A plateau is a high form of flattery.
21. The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison: a small medium at large.
22. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
23. When you’ve seen one shopping center you’ve seen a mall.
24. If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine .
25. When she saw her first strands of grey hair, she thought she’d dye.
26. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.
27. Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses.
28. Acupuncture: a jab well done.
29. Marathon runners with bad shoes suffer the agony of de feet.
suggested by Maeve Everest
be well,
Mark
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Mark Francek
Professor of Geography
Dow 285
Central Michigan University
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859
E-Mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: (989) 774 7617 Fax: (989) 774-2907
Spring 08 Office Hours: MW 11-1, 5-5:30 or by appt.
Resource Page: http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi
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