Listening to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami quake

This resource is an abstract. This study tracks the movement of the rupture that caused the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami by comparing recordings of sound waves from five sensors located around the Indian Ocean. The data were used to triangulate the location of sound wave source. Results indicated that the rupture first moved northwest at 2.4 kilometers per second along the Sunda trench then slowed to 1.5 kilometers per second around 600 kilometers from the earthquake's epicenter. The author indicates that the slower speed of the rupture was unusual for an earthquake caused by a rupture close to the surface.

How volcanic eruptions cause tsunamis

This study investigates the effect of pyroclastic flows on tsunami generation. The authors analyzed several possible mechanisms that occur when the particle rich flows encounter water and conclude that the volume and density of the basal flow has a close correlation with the wave's amplitude and wavelength, which can be used to model the water movement in lakes, bays and oceans.

Using GPS for earthquake imaging

This resource provides an abstract. The authors used a dense array of Global Positioning System (GPS) stations to model how the Earth slipped during the 2003 8.0-magnitude Tokachi-Oki earthquake near Japan. Results indicate that displacements of more than one meter occurred in approximately 20 seconds on Hokkaido. It was found that while satellite data are less precise than traditional seismic data, GPS has the advantage in measuring displacement since seismometers cannot distinguish between the ground's acceleration and rotation.

Climate Monitoring and Diagnostic Laboratory: Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Monitoring and Diagnostic Laboratory Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases group makes ongoing discrete measurements from land and sea surface sites and aircraft, and continuous measurements from baseline observatories and tall towers. These measurements document the spatial and temporal distributions of carbon-cycle gases and provide essential constraints to our understanding of the global carbon cycle. This website is an interactive atmospheric data visualization tool. This tool enables users to view data, obtain details about sampling locations, manipulate and compare data sets and create custom graphs. Data includes information on a variety of gases, and can be viewed as seasonal patterns, time series, or latitudinal distribution.

NOAA Interactive GIS Climate Maps

This website contains an interactive GIS map with global temperatures, precipitation, ecosystems, population and other layers. The tool can zoom in and out, provide limited geographic information, and display a variety of climatic information.

NOAA Photo Library: America's Coastlines

America has 95,000 miles of coastline. In this collection of images from NOAA, the user can view images of America's coasts and adjacent coastal regions. Images include early Nineteenth Century sketches and drawings and modern photographs of waves, rocky shores, sandy beaches, marshes, mangroves, seaside villages, and port cities.

Climate TimeLine Information Tool

The Climate TimeLine (CTL) Information Tool summarizes climate history for time spans from 1 year to 100,000 years ago and beyond. The relation between human development, weather, and climate is explored. The CTL explains how past climate is measured, provides basic information on paleoclimatology, and explains the use of paleo proxies. There is a tutorial on drought and how to use the CTL to investigate that topic. There is also a climate glossary and links to climate and paleoclimate data.

Exploring Earth

Using imagery and visualizations, this site offers investigations of almost every Earth science topic imaginable. It is structured to follow the unit and chapter headings of an Earth science textbook, offering interactive explorations to complement the topics. The scope is extensive, covering dynamic Earth processes, atmospheric science and ocean science.

How a Coal Power Station Works

This two-minute video tours a coal power station in Ontario to show how coal is used as an energy source. It includes animations to demonstrate machinery used at the plant.

World Oil Consumption - 3D Charts in Google Earth

This site, part of the Google Earth blog, provides 3-D graphs of the world's oil consumption by country, both raw use and per capita. The data comes from the CIA World Factbook.