IN THE NEWS:

Earthquakes with related Tsunamis in the Pacific Ring of Fire area. Here's a YouTube Fox News Update:



It's important to note that loss of life is now being reported.

Click here to read more about it in the New York Times.

Water on the Moon

"NASA scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the MOON. Instruments aboard three separate spacecraft revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small."

Click here to read the rest of the NASA press release.

Georgia Flooding Photos

It is not every day a major Interstate highway gets closed by flooding in Georgia. Interstate 20 was closed west of Atlanta for around two days because of Sweetwater Creek flowing over it.

Click here to see many more photos!

Southeastern US Rainfall

Southeastern Rainfall Map for September 14–21, 2009





"Several storms over the southeastern United States left behind acres of standing water and multiple deaths in September 2009. The governor of Georgia declared a state of emergency in the state’s 17 counties hardest hit by the floods, CNN reported. Deaths in Georgia alone totaled 7 by the morning of September 22, 2009, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution."

Have your students contrast the above map to this Average Rainfall Map:



The TRICK is that there are different units on each map! See if any of your students catch that! If not, hint that they need to look closer! Provide them with a conversion factor: 1 mm = 0.039 inches.

Then have them add the inches to the mm SE US Rainfall Map. Example: 300 mm = 11.8 mm. Then how much different is the one map from the other?

AH-HA! The bottom map shows a yearly average! See if any of your students catches that. If not, hint that there is still something wrong! Perhaps look for a monthly average chart online? Divide the total by 12 for average monthly?

BUT look closely at the title! This is only for one week! What is the usual/average/typical rainfall for one week? How can we find that? NOW can you contrast the maps???



WHAT FUN it is to teach your students to THINK!

Greenland's Melting Glaciers

Visit Greenland through this CNN video to learn about how Greenland’s glaciers are rapidly melting and contributing to sea level rise.

Black Point Lava Flow in northern Arizona

"The otherworldly footprint of black basaltic lava creates a striking landscape at Black Point Lava Flow in northern Arizona, seen in this photograph taken from the International Space Station."

I highly recommend the site where this photo resides: NASA's Earth Observatory which has an Image of the Day. Great Earth Science Photos, worthy of being shown daily during your bellwork time, perhaps!

LA County Wild Fires as viewed from Satellite

Wildfires burned north of the city of Los Angeles County on August 29, 2009. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image around 2:20 p.m. local time (21:20 UTC) the same day. Red outlines show hotspots where MODIS detected high surface temperatures associated with fires, and the hotspots roughly correspond with fires described by California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. A department bulletin, issued August 30, 2009, stated that the Station fire was 5 percent contained, affected 35,200 acres, had destroyed 3 residences, and threatened 10,000 more. As of August 30, the Morris fire, affecting 2,168 acres, was 95 percent contained.

Get Ready for Earth Science Week!

With school starting, now is the time to start planning for Earth Science Week which will be observed this year between October 11th and 17th, sponsored by the American Geological Institute.

The theme is “Understanding Climate” and you can learn more at their website.

Tracking Hurricane Jimena

Every Earth Science teacher should have their students track a hurricane a few times in their career. Especially one poised to hit the North American continent. The following links will get you started. Basically you need a source for the location of Jimena as it nears the Baja California peninsula and you need a map for them to plot its course.

Click here for a blank tracking map. You might have them draw in a few more lat/long lines.

Go here for the locations to map. Click on various dates and times. Location is usually near the top. Lots of other interesting facts such as wind speed, etc.



Here's the path so far:

HURRICANE JIMENA PATH

FRI AUG 28 2009
AT 800 PM PDT...0300 UTC...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION
THIRTEEN-E WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 13.8 NORTH...LONGITUDE
101.9 WEST

Saturday August 29, 2009
1: 0300 UTC TROPICAL DEPRESSION CENTER LOCATED NEAR 13.8N 101.9W
2: 0900 UTC TROPICAL STORM CENTER LOCATED NEAR 14.1N 102.3W
3: 1300 UTC TROPICAL STORM CENTER LOCATED NEAR 14.2N 102.8W
4: 1500 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 14.3N 103.2W
5: 2100 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 15.1N 104.2W

Sunday August 30, 2009
6: 0300 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 15.8N 105.1W
7: 0900 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 16.0N 105.7W
8: 1500 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 16.3N 106.3W
9: 2100 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 16.6N 106.8W

Monday August 31, 2009
10: 0300 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 17.0N 107.2W
11: 0900 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 17.5N 107.9W
12: 1500 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 18.0N 108.3W
13: 2100 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 18.5N 109.2W

Tuesday September 1, 2009
14: 0300 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 19.4N 109.6W
15: 0900 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 20.2N 110.1W
16: 1500 UTC HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 21.0N 110.7W