Plate Tectonic Animations

This is a collection of thirteen brief plate tectonic animations that were originally produced for the US Geological Survey video Secrets in Stone. They have been converted to animated gifs for web display.

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.

SeaWiFS: NASA Carbon Cycle Initiative

SeaWifs 3 year data of the pulse of the planet, helps show the Carbon Build up in the air. For this presentation the Scientist wanted to show how the earth reacts to the chemicals in the air.

San Antonio Water System Flash Animations

This site features a series of Flash-based animations on several aspects of the San Antonio Water System. Although regional in focus, the topics are broadly applicable. They include: the hydrologic cycle, aquifer structure and function; non-point-source pollution, fresh water distribution, waste water treatment, aquifer storage and recovery and household water conservation. There are also links to a few on-line stories, but those are not included in this review.

USGS Photo Library Archive

This collection consists of thousands of photos dating from 1868 to the present with emphasis on geology, earthquake damage, and national parks and monuments. Pioneer photographers such as W.H. Jackson, J.K. Hillers, T.H. O'Sullivan, A.J. Russell and others are featured in one section. Other topics include the Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption of 1980, and mines, mills and quarries. The system allows searching from a list of subjects, as well as a free form search. All photos are available in 100, 700 and 1400 dots per inch resolution.

Interactive Rock Cycle Animation

This highly simplified Flash animation displays some of the most common rock-forming processes. Embedded animations include crystallization of magma to form igneous rock, rock erosion to create sediment, transportation of sediment, deposition of sediment to create sedimentary rock, and creation of a metamorphic rock in a subduction zone. The neat feature of this animation is that each step in the sequence above is linked to other animations in the Exploring Earth collection, providing a fairly in depth exposure to the processes involved in the rock cycle. Caution students against the oversimplified linear pattern of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rock formation. In reality, there are many interconnections in the cycle with, for example, sedimentary rocks being eroded and becoming transformed to a different sedimentary rock type without being metamorphosed or, as another example, igneous rocks never being reduced to sediment, and instead directly evolving to metamorphic rocks. The animation can be paused and rewound to stress important points.

Igneous Rock Crystallization Animation

This Flash animation contains three separate movies, each exhibiting the formation of an igneous rocks in a different environment: a) rocks forming from a deep magma chamber where the slow cooling of magma results in large interlocking crystals; b) rocks forming from a pyroclastic flow with a combination of large and small crystals; and c) rocks with small crystals created from a fast cooling lava. The rock is further modified by bubbles from dissolved gases resulting in vesicles. Each movie concludes with a view of a hand specimen representative of each environment. The animation can be paused and rewound to stress important points.

Examine infrared images that show variation in surface temperature

Find a somewhat blurry Flash animation exhibiting five years worth of surface average temperatures. Note seasonal land/water temperature contrasts. The animation can be paused and rewound to emphasize important points.

Plate Borders and Mountain Building

This page features animations of four different types of plate boundaries, including one animation of the collision of two pieces of continental crust, forming steep mountain ranges. The animations are all presented in flash, and the plate convergence offers a useful, generic view of orogeny.

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.