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Rock Abrasion

Rocks break down into smaller pieces through weathering. Rocks and sediment grinding against each other wear away surfaces. This type of weathering is called abrasion, and it happens as wind and water rush over rocks. The rocks become smoother as rough and jagged edges break off. In this activity, you will model how abrasion works.

Rock Pop

How can a cave form from solid rock? Most caves are found in limestone, a rock made of materials of calcium carbonate.  This rock is unusual because the solid minerals it is made of easily dissolve in weak acids.  The most common weak acid in the environment is actually water!

Safe as a Mine

Safety is always the top priority in modern mining. It is important to every person working in the industry — most importantly to ensure everyone’s health, but also to prevent lost productivity and costly equipment damage. Safety in the mining industry is crucial to our society since minerals obtained from mining are required for everything we use such as buildings and roads, computers, and phones, and everything we do, from farming to medicine to green energy generation.

Seismic Calendar

This activity allows you to investigate how often earthquakes of various magnitudes happen within a geographic region of your choice. You will use the online resources of the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) to do the investigation. These resources are available at http://www.iris.edu

ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning

Have you ever felt an earthquake? What was it like? Where were you? What did you do? More than 143 million people are exposed to potentially damaging shaking in the United States.

Simulating a Hurricane to Assess Hazard Risk

Geoscientists use simulations based on computational models to help them predict the risks and impacts of natural hazards to people and infrastructure. Hurricanes are a major natural hazard and can have devastating effects. Simulations can help us better understand how hurricanes form and move. In this activity, you will change factors such as temperature and the position of high- and low-pressure systems to investigate their effects on hurricane trajectory and intensity.

MATERIALS

    Soil Color and Redox Chemistry

    Are soils like M&Ms™? Yes! Find out more in this awesome activity provided by the Soil Science Society of America.

    Soil Moisture

    Where is the water in soil? Solids, liquids, and gasses, the three phases of matter, are always present in soil. Small mineral and organic particles comprise the solid fraction, and there are spaces (pores) between the solid particles. Some pores are large, and others are very small. Air and water, the gas and liquid phases, exist in the pores. The size of the soil particles and pores affects how much water a soil can hold, and how that water moves through the soil.

    Soil's Role in Carbon Sequestration

    1. The map, “Earth’s Biomes,” shows the locations of 18 types of biomes and their distribution around the world.

    Soil, Plants, and the Energy Cycle

    Soils are critical for many aspects of our daily life. They provide food such as grains, vegetables, and animal feed. They provide fiber for clothing, as in cotton, flax-linen, and hemp. And they provide shelter materials like wood and brick. But did you realize that soils also are an important part of the energy cycle?

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