Water Quality, Dissolved Oxygen, and Phosphorous Activity Source: Source: American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Adapted with permission. Tap water from the kitchen has very different properties from water in a stream or a pond, even if they might appear similar. Water quality refers to the physical and chemical properties of water that make it suitable for a particular use based on biological, physical, and chemical characteristics. A fish might live in sedimentrich water at the bottom of a lake, but you would not want to drink it! [Read More]

Water: A Never-ending Story Activity Source: Live From Earth And Mars Approximate time frame: 2 weeks. Background Water on earth is used over and over. The water cycle, the continuous movement of water from ocean to air and land then back to the ocean in a cyclic pattern, is a central concept in meteorology. In the water cycle, the sun heats the Earth’s surface water, causing that surface water to evaporate (gas). [Read More]

Wetland in a Water Bottle Activity Source: U.S. Geological Survey. Adapted with permission. Wetlands are places where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by water or saturated at least some of the time. They include mangroves, marshes, swamps, forested wetlands, and bogs and are important nurseries for young birds, fish, amphibians, and other aquatic plants and animals. In addition to providing habitat for wildlife, wetlands offer storm protection, improve water quality, support aquatic species, and provide recreational opportunities. [Read More]

What Covers Our Land? Activity Source: NASA, Adapted with permission. Looking at Earth from space is inspiring. All of the colors you see in a satellite image tell you a lot about the world around us. What is on the land around you? Pavement? A grassy lawn? A forest? What covers our land matters because we depend on and pasture to produce food, forests for wood products, plants for clean air, and water to support wildlife. [Read More]

What Do Mineralogists Do? Activity Source: Mineralogical Society of America. Adapted with permission. Minerals are the naturally occurring solid materials that make up rocks and sands and are found in soil. You are probably aware of everyday minerals like halite (sodium chloride — table salt), graphite (“lead” in pencils), quartz (main mineral in beach sand), and others. As of this writing, there are 5,663 known minerals, and new ones are still being discovered. [Read More]

What Does Data Sound Like? Activity Source: The American Geophysical Union Background Look at a picture of a beach. What do you see? If you were there, what might you hear? What do those sounds tell you about the environment? How can sounds be used to convey information? Data sonification is a technique that transforms numerical information into sound, allowing us to listen to data patterns instead of visualizing them. In the context of geologic data, this means converting geological information, such as seismic activity or rock formations, into audible tones. [Read More]

What Lies Beneath the Upper Crust? Activity Source: JOI Learning, 2006. Adapted with permission. Background Bombarded by Web sites, the evening news, newspapers, and popular magazines, citizen scientists often have to interpret scientific information directly from the media. Sometimes this can be a confusing process. How can you, as a citizen scientist, figure out whether science information you get from the media is reliable? More importantly, how can you find out what the information means for your life and the decisions you make? [Read More]

What Will Survive? Activity Source: Adapted with permission by Archaeological Institute of America. Archaeological remains include artifacts (portable) and features (non- portable) made and used by humans. Archaeologists use these objects to understand how ancient people lived. How well archaeological remains survive depends on the materials they were made of, the ways they were used, the manner in which they were discarded, and the environment in which they were deposited. Organic remains generally decay in a short time unless preserved in special conditions. [Read More]

What-a-Cycle Activity Source: Adapted with permission by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Water moves from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and then returns to the surface. This process is nearly always depicted in water cycle diagrams by arrows drawn in a circular direction. However, the actual path water may take in its cycle is far more complicated. In this activity, you will discover multiple cycles by acting as water molecules and traveling through parts of the overall water cycle. [Read More]

What’s Down There? Activity Source: SEED (Shlumberger Excellence in Educational Development) with permission. Throughout the Earth’s history, the cycle of erosion and deposition by water and wind has added layer upon layer of rock, soil, and organic material to the surface. Most sedimentary rock is beneath the surface. To learn about sedimentary rock layers that we cannot see, geoscientists drill and bring up core samples of rock layers. Information from core samples, combined with that from other imaging techniques, allows geoscientists to map the depth and thickness of sedimentary rock layers below the surface. [Read More]