Discusses the challenges confronting plate tectonics. Presents evidence that contradicts continental drift, seafloor spreading, and subduction. Reviews problems posed by vertical tectonic movements. (Contains 242 references.) (DDR)

Explains how a karst is formed in the U.S. and introduces an activity in which students explore the fragile environment of a karst and study the interactions between human population and the earth system. (YDS)

Explains how science can be integrated with travel. Provides examples including flight paths, effects of the jet stream, and varying degrees of longitude. (YDS)

The scope and magnitude of our planet's environmental crisis is a sobering reality confronting humanity with the daunting and complex nature of ecological degradation and restoration. The macrocosmic nature of this crisis has not left a species, ecosystem, biome or human society untouched. Moreover, as humanity struggles to gain its bearings at…

This article briefly describes Earth science. The study of Earth science provides the foundation for an understanding of the Earth, its processes, its resources, and its environment. Earth science is the study of the planet in its entirety, how its lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere work together as systems and how they affect…

It can be found as a solid, liquid, or gas. It is cohesive, colorless, tasteless, odorless, and has a pH of 7. These are some of the properties of pure water. Life without water would be unimaginable. Water is one of the most important substances for organisms on Earth. It is so important as a means of sustaining life that its existence is one of…

Discusses the Maury River Alliance (MRA), a cooperative program developed at the Washington and Lee University that involved local colleges, high schools, government agencies, and conservation groups. Addresses the connection between land use and water quality with a creative merging of technical, social, and educational aspects of local watershed…

Sediment oxygen demand (SOD) is the rate that dissolved oxygen leaves the water column in a body of water due to the build-up and decomposition of organic carbons in the sediment. The introduction of organic materials changes the chemistry of streams, and many chemical reactions occurring in bodies of water, with the exception of photosynthesis,…

Appalachia's New River was labeled "the second oldest river in the world" during the 1970s as part of a campaign to save the river from being dammed. Despite the absence of geomorphic evidence, the promotion of the superlative age of the river was so successful that they mythical label became reality in the minds of the region's…

Recently there have been newly launched ocean color satellites which target the coastlines at unprecedented scales. Science education curricula can benefit from the provision of small low-cost spectroradiometers and curriculum supplemental materials that can be incorporated in a "hands on" teaching approach to explain and demonstrate remote…

While most would agree wholeheartedly with the benefits of getting students out more, there are numerous challenges in doing so, ranging from shrinking budgets to a standardized test-driven scholastic environment. However, the Division of Interpretation in Yellowstone National Park has gone to great lengths to provide resources for the classroom…

Although clean, potable groundwater constitutes one of our most valuable resources, few students or science educators hold complete and appropriate understandings regarding the concept. Recent studies that focus on secondary students' and preservice science teachers' understandings of groundwater found little difference between the groups'…

This article describes River Summer, an interdisciplinary, field project on the Hudson River. Using cognitive data, the team aimed to design an experience that fostered an environment implementing strategies that improve learning. The participants, 40 faculty members from 24 institutions who acted as teachers, students, or both, boarded the…

This study examined science textbooks over time to better understand the "science content" expectations that the U.S. educational system deems appropriate for 8th and 9th grade science students. The study attempted to answer the questions: (1) What specific science content has been presented via the textbook from 1952 to 2008? (2) Within…

This study investigated the effect of concept mapping over traditional instruction on students' understanding and retention of heat and temperature concepts. The sample of this study consisted of 5th grade students from two classes of a elementary school (n=75). One intact class was randomly assigned to the comparison group whereas the other one…