Note that an entire week of data can be downloaded from this site.Prairie Island Project: Earth Sci. Honors Mr. Ertl
The Project
Click Here for Prairie Island Summary Sheets Directions
Sample Prairie Island Powerpoint Presentation
Click here for the 2008-2009 Group Lists
Weather Watch Project
1. To get excellent isobaric weather maps of the United States:
Select the 12 hour forecast maps at the National Weather Service Home Page. Use these as your basic Weather Watch data.
Try the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center for top quality color maps of the US and North America.
Get excellent maps with STATION MODELS from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction
A SUPER MAP
SITE HAS BEEN ADDED to the National Weather Service Site.
Click HERE.
The thumbnail below is probably the single BEST Weather Map (from the NOAA):
Note that an entire week of data can be downloaded from this site.
For immediate use, you can get the current radar for MSP or for your ASSIGNED REGION
To be sure that you can use the sites above, try the example below. It shows the four kinds of maps that you should be able to access. They were taken as Hurricane Lilli came ashore in Louisiana in 2002. Can you access the same maps for Hurricane Katrina of 2005?
Example: click here for maps for HURRICANE LILLI (Oct. 3, 2002)
Obtain surface weather maps from http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/wx/surface.rxml (University of Illinois Weather Visualizer Surface Products)
Use the Online Meteorology Guide at http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/home.rxml Skim sections on Clouds and precipitation, Forces and Winds, Air Masses and Fronts, and Weather Forecasting, if you have not mastered these skills. Also there are diagrams that may be useful for your presentation.
2. Most geologic maps are listed in the USGS Geologic Map Database. Order topographic index maps and geologic maps of your area.
3. Homework Tutorial: The USGS has produced a simple site that helps you understand the USGS Geology in the Parks Do this one FIRST for a solid understanding of these maps.
To understand Dutch Flat, Arizona, click here How to Read Geologic Maps
Lab 35: Click here for Alamo Lake Geologic Map and Cross Sections
4. A. Important resource! In Lab 35, you will find the link to the ONLINE GEOLOGIC MAP of ARIZONA. This will allow you to scan the geologic map of Arizona and understand the major geologic units of the state (REQUIRED).
B. IMPORTANT: You can use Google Earth to view all parts of Dutch Flat and Alamo Lake, Arizona
B. You will also find a DIGITAL GEOLOGIC MAP of WYOMING at this site. Use it for generation of data for your site.
C. Here are the closeup maps of Salt River Range, Deer Creek Quad (2007)
D. Here are closeup maps for Snowy Range and Medicine Bow Range maps (2007)
5. IMPORTANT! CLICK HERE for a BIG Landsat Image of Dutch Flat and the Ranch.
Use this image at right for Lab 35: Geology of Dutch Flat and Alamo Lake Quadrangle
B. Field Trip to Crook County, Wyoming
C. Field Trip to Bighorn Mountains and Wind River Basin, Wyoming
D. Field trip to Western South Dakota (exclusive of Black Hills). Produced by South Dakota Geologic Survey
E. Field trips in the Southwestern United States. Scroll to the Southwest field trips at the bottom of the page.
6. A. Find HISTORY of Prairie Island waste storage controversy in Star-Tribune newspaper articles. Go to UMI National Newspapers 5, and type "Prairie Island Nuclear Plant" and select newspapers back articles. Our school's account name is 000CNNSGQW. Ask Mr. Ertl for the password, but it may be changed (cicada?).
B. Xcel will seek to temporarily store waste on lands of the Goshute Indian Tribe at Skull Valley, Utah. Read the news release and check out the environmental impact study for this site.
C. Find out what is new at the YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT. This site contains an excellent online tour of the repository. See the summary of the GEOLOGIC STUDIES of the mountain.
D. OPPOSITION Groups offer arguments against the establishment of the repository at Yucca Mountain: Click on the sites listed below:
Environmental Protection Agency
7. To do your comparative study of Wyoming Geology, find bedrock geologic maps on the Wyoming State Geologic Survey. Pay close attention to the bedrock geologic maps of your Study Region, and the links to the US Geologic Survey Database of Geologic Maps.
8. Visit the Western Surface Processes "Geology in the West" at the United States Geological Survey. Note this is the parent page for some of the goelogic map tutorials given above. You can get Minnesota geology by moving to the Central States button at this site.
9. MANY colleges offer virtual field trips on geology. Click on this site for field trips in Western North America. Spend a few moments on the other sections of this site (http://www.geologylink.com) and notice it is a textbook publisher's site.
10. To view the PLATE TECTONIC HISTORY of your region, go to the PALEOMAP PROJECT and view the Earth History section of this site.
