Oceanography
This Franklin Institute
Website offers some of the latest information on EL NINO. The home
page contains some information on the history of El Nino. Links from
the home page to the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean Array (TAO) inform the
reader about this NOAA project to monitor the tropical oceans. These
links also contain some simple experiments geared to the middle
school student to understand the atmospheric dynamics that cause this
phenomena.
http://www.fi.edu/weather/nino/nino.html
Studying the
oceans? Looking for a site where you can
locate TIDE DATA? Then visit:
http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/sitesel.html
The American Museum of Natural History
is highlighting an exhibit on OCEAN FLOOR EXPLORATION: Black Smokers
and clues to the origin of life.
http://www.amnh.org
San Diego State University, hosts this
site where students have an opportunity to engage in a Problem
Based Learning experience as they investigate the EL NINO
Phenomena. The site offers the student the opportunity to study and
analyze historical data, and real time data. Expert opinions can be
accessed. Students culminate this investigation by forming their own
opinions after developing a scientific model based upon the data
available. Links to the National Data Buoy Center, Scripps Institute
of Oceanography, and the National Weather Service are provided as
well as to several other useful sites.
http://204.102.137.135/teach/El_Nino/El_Nino.htm
Project Athena: OCEANS. Definitely a "five
star" site! This site loads quickly, and provides access to a wealth
of data and student investigations. From this site, you can link to
an excellent image depicting Ocean Currents (from space). Student
investigations tracking drifter buoys and locating the Gulf Stream
are among the activities available here. Scroll to the bottom of the
page and you will find links and descriptions to other valuable
oceanography related sites.
http://athena.wednet.edu/curric/oceans/
The Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO)
maintains an outstanding site that provides access to all kinds of
information related to the oceans. From this site you can access the
SIO library as well as link to other oceanography resources found on
the 'net.
http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/
The TOGA-TAO website, sponsored by NOAA,
contains information about El Nino, links to relevant current data,
and background information. This site is quite complete, with access
to everything from buoy data to satellite data. A link to a
three-dimensional animation of sea surface temperatures provides a
unique look at the phenomena, however, it is JAVA enhanced, so, if
you have a slower modem or computer, you'll want to avoid that link.
Most other links at this site seem to work well.
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga-tao/el-nino/home.html
OCEANOGRAPHY is the title of the UCSB site.
Created by the UCSB Dept. of Geological Sciences, this site contains
several worthwhile links. Following the "resource downloads" link
will lead you to a complete Oceanography Lab
Manual available for free download. Following the Virtual
Reality Project link will enable your students to "fly through" the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Note: This link requires the download of >1mb
in images. Slower modems may take sometime to acquire these
images.
http://oceanography.geol.ucsb.edu/frame80103.html
The United Stateds Geological Survey has created
a highly useful website that provides a series of links to images and
discussion on the impact of El Nino, primarily as it impacts the
United States.
http://www.usgs.gov/elnino.html
Two links are provided here from NOAA, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In addition to
providing our nation with the National Weather Service, whose main
duty is to provide weather forecasts, NOAA conducts extensive
research on the El Nino phenomena. The first site
(www.elnino.noaa.gov) contains many links to a wealth of El Nino
information. The home page also depicts a real time world map
illustrating sea surface temperature anomalies (see below for an
example). The second site
(www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga-tao/el-nino-report.html) is basically a
"frequently asked questions" page discussing (in brief) issues such
as what El Nino is. The site is primarily text, however there are
links to a variety of visuals to support the text.
http://www.elnino.noaa.gov/
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga-tao/el-nino-report.html