Unit 1 Hazards at Transform Plate Boundaries part of Living on the Edge
This unit uses scientific data to quantify the geologic hazard that earthquakes represent along transform plate boundaries. Students will document the characteristics of the Pacific/North American plate boundary in ...

Unit 4 Risk at Divergent Plate Boundaries part of Living on the Edge
Volcanoes typically give warning that they are coming out of dormancy and entering an eruptive phase. Being able to recognize those warning signs and take appropriate actions (e.g. evacuations) are important ...

Unit 4.1 - Energy Budgets part of Critical Zone Science
The purpose of this unit is to explore, compare, contrast, and calculate energy fluxes from different CZO field sites to better appreciate the critical differences in the driving radiative forces affecting each ...

Unit 2.1 - Basic Tools & Analysis part of Critical Zone Science
This unit will introduce methods and data from Critical Zone observatories as well as methods that scientists use in their research. These activities will provide an introduction to methods used in later units and ...

Unit 4.2 - Carbon Budgets part of Critical Zone Science
The purpose of this unit is to explore, compare, contrast, and interpret carbon fluxes from the Ameriflux network to better appreciate the critical factors that account for the different timing and magnitudes of ...

Unit 3: How Streams Change part of Interactions between Water, Earth’s Surface, and Human Activity
Students use Google Earth to observe two river systems and characterize changes in gradient from the headwaters to the mouth, and relate changes in those gradients to different rock types. At one location, they ...

Unit 4: Hazards from Flooding part of Interactions between Water, Earth’s Surface, and Human Activity
In this unit, students examine detailed hydrologic data from one river to identify ways in which precipitation and stream discharge influence flooding which often impacts nearby human societies. They also research ...

The Pangea Puzzle part of Introductory Courses:Activities
Students learn how to use the Paleobiology Database (PBDB) to produce maps of fossils on the present-day Earth's surface, as well as past continental configurations. They will then use these maps to understand ...

Unit 1: Hazards, vulnerability and risk part of Map your Hazards!
Students will identify and apply credible geologic and social science data sets to identify local hazards and vulnerable groups and structures, and assess risk for their community.

Unit 2: Perception of hazards, vulnerability and risk part of Map your Hazards!
Students will collect and analyze relevant social data on individual and community knowledge, risk perception and preparedness within their local social networks.

Unit 4: Using SoilWebTMto Investigate the Soil Beneath You part of A Growing Concern
Students will use SoilWeb™, a smartphone and web application that pulls detailed soil survey data from both the 1:24,0000 Soil Survey Geographic database (SSURGO) and the 1:250,000 scale State Soil Geographic ...

Unit 4: Hurricane Impacts part of Natural Hazards and Risks: Hurricanes
This unit has three options for 40-minute activities that address hurricane impacts. Alternatively, if time allows, all three could be used in sequence. Activity 4.1 includes a presentation on the terrestrial ...

Unit 3: Hurricane Tracks and Energy part of Natural Hazards and Risks: Hurricanes
The purpose of this unit is to learn some of the scientific tools used to determine hurricane location, path, and strength. Students plot the path of a recent hurricane (Irene, 2011), work with an online viewer to ...

Unit 1: Hazard and Risk part of Natural Hazards and Risks: Hurricanes
Identifying the differences between hazards and risks is key to understanding how we react, mitigate, and live with natural disasters. This unit will begin with a discussion on identifying the differences between ...

Unit 5: Hurricane Risks and Coastal Development part of Natural Hazards and Risks: Hurricanes
This unit addresses changes in hurricane risks due to coastal development. Students will calculate the risks from hurricanes and how the hazards have changed (or not) from 1901 to 2010. Students will determine how ...

Unit 2: Hurricane Formation part of Natural Hazards and Risks: Hurricanes
Hurricanes form as the atmosphere and ocean interact to transport a tremendous amount of energy. Students will read about the conditions necessary for hurricane formation, how a hurricane evolves at sea, how it ...

Unit 2.3: Modeling Land-Use Change and Mitigation Strategies part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
In this activity, students model the impact of a proposed land-use change for a local site using the EPA's National Stormwater Calculator (Calculator). Given a description of the proposed land-use change, ...

Unit 1.2: Exploring the Hydrologic Cycle part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
In this activity, students focus on ecosystem services specifically related to the hydrologic cycle. Using rainfall-runoff data for a small watershed in Ohio, students are introduced to the technical vocabulary ...

Unit 1.3: Understanding Perturbations to Hydrologic Systems part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
In this activity, students examine the impact of land use on runoff. Using rainfall-runoff data for two small watersheds in Ohio, one dominated by agricultural land uses and the other dominated by urban land uses, ...

Unit 2.2: Mitigation Using Low Impact Development (LID) Controls part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
In this activity, students model the impact of changes in land cover on stormwater runoff using the EPA's National Stormwater Calculator. Students mitigate increased stormwater runoff resulting from ...