Arctic Lake Sediments Yield 200,000 Years of Climate Change Data Analysis Supports a Human Impact on Climate
"The possibility that climate change might simply be a natural variation like others that have occurred throughout geologic time is dimming, according to evidence in a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper published in October, 2009."
This year's theme is Climate. Here's a nice Climate Activity if you need something to pay homage to Earth Science week but can't spend too much time on it because of curriculum demands. Dangerous Atmosphere: "How much of a danger does severe weather pose for the area where you live?"
Would work quite well if you have a big screen projection system. Do the research together with each student recording the information in a chart.
Then do a quick discussion, ending with safety tips for each type of danger in your area.
Have each student make a button with a safety tip and wear it this week. Or they could make an Earth Science Week button!
Click here for a good article on just this occurrence, or non-occurrence, from Yahoo News.
Might be an interesting discussion with your students about the unexpected results of an experiment. How we all make assumptions and then wonder what happened when it doesn't work out that way. How this is actually how many important scientific discoveries occur. Not in a planned experiment, but in the ANOMALY that shows us the truth.
And Why? "NASA hopes the impact will kick up enough dust to help the LCROSS probe find the presence of water in the moon's soil." --CNN Report
And Why does that matter? "NASA has said it believes water on the moon could be a valuable resource in the agency's quest to explore the solar system."--CNN Report.
While your students were still sleeping or standing on the corner waiting for their bus, the Great Moon Bombing occurred. Scientists across the country, both amateur and professional, watched the live action.
Here's a NASA animation:
Here's a video that shows before, during, and after impact. No really good photos yet. Hoping to find some later today:
"Another large earthquake in the Vanuatu region. This 7.7 earthquake occurred near the Santa Cruz Islands on Thursday, October 08, 2009 at 9:18 AM local time. It was located on the boundary between the Australia and Pacific plates. A tsunami watch was issued but canceled."
"A 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Torres Islands, Vanuatu area on Thursday, October 08, 2009 at 09:03 AM local time. The earthquake occurred near the boundary between the Australia and Pacific plates." Click here for details.
"Two large earthquakes have hit the Pacific. Harley Benz, Scientist-in-Charge at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, talks about the quakes' damage, their relationship to one another, and what USGS scientists are doing in the aftermath."
Click here for USGS Podcast about the earthquakes.
"There is broad agreement in the scientific community that a continuing concern exists for a major destructive earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone. Many structures in Memphis, Tenn., St. Louis, Mo., and other communities in the central Mississippi River Valley region are vulnerable and at risk from severe ground shaking." Click here for the details.
In case you've been wondering just that as multiple Ring of Fire Earthquakes occur this week:
Click here for a World Map of this week's Earthquakes.
"U.S. seismologists have found evidence that the massive 2004 earthquake that triggered killer tsunamis throughout the Indian Ocean weakened at least a portion of California's famed San Andreas Fault. The results, which appeared in the journal Nature, suggest that the Earth's largest earthquakes can weaken fault zones worldwide and may trigger periods of increased global seismic activity."
Click here for another article on how large quakes trigger more smaller quakes.
AND AS ALWAYS! I hope you are having your students chart worldwide earthquakes and volcanic eruptions during your school year! Take a few moments once a week to chart the week's tectonic activity. This one activity can unify many of your Earth Science course objectives!
I'm the lucky grandmother of two adorable grandsons (and another one on his way) and one beautiful granddaughter, which trumps everything else about me. I'm also a retired high school science teacher. I love quilting and genealogy and perennial gardening, and passing on what I know about good science teaching.
You are welcome to use these ideas in your classroom, within your science department, within your school district, or to distribute to any teacher who may find these lessons useful. I only ask that: 1. You cannot sell these lessons or make a profit on them in any way. 2. You cite the lessons original source, and do not white-out the copyright footer on the pdf files 3.Do not copy and paste lessons onto your website. A link to the original is to be used. 4. Do not claim these lessons as your own work. NOTE: This disclaimer is modeled after a couple of my favorite websites: The Science Spot and Middle School Science. Thanks, teachers!
