Geologic Time

The Mesozoic Era is called the "age of dinosaurs". The Carboniferous Period is famous for its coal swamps. The Precambrian was after the "explosion of Life". Humans first appeared, and the last ice age occured in the Pleistocene Epoch. Human life ended the Mesozoic Era. The time periods are in order from longest to shortest, period, epoch then era.
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/post/ep_v8.swf
Tour Through Time
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/quaternary/ple.html
Geologic Time

Florida's Sinkholes

Sinkholes are caused by groundwater erroding limestone in the bedrock. Florida has so many of them because of it's karst topography. Sinkholes worsen in cold weather because it speeds up the errosion. Sinkholes can be hazardous because they can eliminate entire lakes.

http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/sinkholes.html
Sinkholes

Nashville Floods

The flooding in Nashville was caused by a torrential rain. The Cumberland River became 50 ft deep, which is 12 feet higher than before the flood. Before the flood, Nashville was protected by a levee. It didn't protect from flooding because it accidentally broke.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/us/04flood.html?src=mv
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/nashville-flooding-29-dead-flash-flooding-south/story?id=10555626

Windspires

GP North should raise money to install a Windspire because having one would mean that North could have wind research be another part for our curriculum. Also, it would create energy for the school, therefore, saving money in the long run. If I wanted to install a Windspire at my house, my neighbors would accept it. I believe they would let me because they understand how necessary it is to help with the bills. If anything, I believe that they would be concerned about the size of the Windspire, and if it would obstruct the beauty of our neighborhood. My monthly average last year was 267 kW/month.

http://www.wcs.k12.mi.us/rei/index.htm
www.gizmag.com/windspire-low-cost-wind-power-alternative/10861/

Kennecott or Not?

AMD(Acid Mine Drainage) is acid that seeps through rock, creating a brew of toxic heavy metals. It is caused by Sulfuric acid which is created when water and air chemically combine with exposed sulfides in the rock. A brownfield clean-up is when Humboldt Mill crushes and grinds rock mined at the company's Eagle Mine. Then nickel and copper concentrates will be separated from the rock and sent to processing facilities. By opening this mine, it will be the
only primary nickel mining operation in the United States. Kennecott will take all water collected from the temporary development rock storage area and put it through a water treatment plant, to purify it for drinking water.

http://www.northwoodswild.og/projects/sulfide-and-uranium-mining
http://www.eagle-project.com/library/media/Heartland_Institute.pdf
http://www.eagle-project.com/our-company21st-Century-Mining/

The Iceland Volcano Eyjafjallajokull

The volcano erupted in Iceland because ice mixing with magma can cause explosive eruptions. Air travel in Europe is being grounded because of the Iceland volcano because planes cannot fly through the "grinding silica ash". Other than the delay of air travel, the volcano has possibly agitated it's neighboring volcano, the Katla volcano. We are now not sure of the volcano's future. This volcano is not affecting the United States because the pyroclastic flow is going from East to West.

Researchers puzzle over how long Iceland volcano will erupt
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0416/Researchers-puzzle-over-how-long-Iceland-volcano-will-erupt
Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland Erupts, Disrupts Travel
http://www.pdc.org/PDCNewsWebArticles/2010/Iceland/eruption.htm

Minerals in Daily Life

Everyday I brush my teeth. In my toothpaste there is Fluorite. I watch television regularly. Quartz is used in my television. Sometimes I use baby powder. That is made from Talc. I always look in mirrors. Silver is used to make certain mirrors.

http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/go336/talkingt/
Common Minerals and Their Uses in Everyday Life. Julie Talkington. December 3, 2001

Michigan Minerals

Halite's chemical formula is NaCl, sodium chloride. It is used for "salting the streets" to melt away snow. It is usually clear and it has a conchoidal fracture.

Gypsum's chemical formula is CaSO4·2H2O. It is used for fertilizer and it is used to make plaster. It is colorless to white, and can take on many shapes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halite

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum

Metamorphic Rocks

Slate was shale before it became metamorphoed. It is used for roof and floor tiles.

Marble was limestone before it became metamorphoed. It is used for building material.

Quartzite was sandstone before it became metamorphosed. It is used in road construction.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/geophys/slate.html

http://blog.builddirect.com/slate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble

http://geology.csupomona.edu/alert/metamorphic/quartzite.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartzite

Igneous Rocks

Pumice is an Igneous Rock that can be used to scrape dry and excess skin off of the bottom of a foot. Granite is another Igneous Rock that can be used for countertops and flooring in modern-day homes. Obsidian is used for modern-day scalpels. Gabbro is mostly used for cemetary headstones. Basalt is used for making cobblestone, and statues. This is a picture of an obsidian scalpel.

Pumice, Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumice

Granite, Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite

Obsidian, Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsidian

Gabbro, Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabbro

Basalt. Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basalt

www.gc.maricopa.edu/.../obsidian_pictures.htm

Canada's Wind Farms

Putting Wind Farms in the Great Lakes is very controversial. If Canada installs them, the shoreline homes would have the property values changed. Also, the turbines would be on the migratory pathway for birds around the area. On the other hand, the wind turbines would help Canada in their new law about "going green", which could also help close the coal mines in under five years. I believe Canada should proceed with this. The beauty of the lake does not concern me. I don't believe that the wind turbines shouldn't be put up just because it would disturb the view of the sunset. It would help Canada to become more "green" and I believe that going green is more important than the property value of shoreline houses. If I opposed this idea, I could write a detailed, opinionated article, and publish it in the Grosse Pointe North High School Newspaper, and increase people's awareness of the matter.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100226/NEWS06/2260374/1322/Storm-brews-over-Ontario-winds
March 2009 Detroit Free Press Tina Lam

The Ring of Fire

On this map, the volcanoes both have convergent and divergent boundaries. The volcanoes can be ocean-ocean convergent, and divergent boundaries. They can also have continent-continent convergent and divergent boundaries. Volcanoes cannot have ocean-continent divergent boundries though. Volcanoes can only be created on ocean-continent convergent boundaries.

http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/evolving_earth/evolving_earth.html
University of Michigan
http://map.ngdc.noaa.gov/website/seg/hazards/viewer.htm
NOAA Satellite and Information Service

Plate Tectonics

The breakup of Pangea was 225 million years ago. The continental breakup that almost happened in Michigan occurred 1.1 billion years ago. The kind of rock that now fills the Keweenawan Rift is basalt. During the Early Carboniferous period, 356 million years ago, Michigan was on the Equator. The Mediterranean Mountains will be north of Africa in the Future World. In 250 million years, North America will be joined with South America and Africa.

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072402466/student_view0/chapter19/animations_and_movies.html
2003 Physical Geography
http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/rift_zone.html
Mid-Continental Rift Zone
http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm
Paleomap Project, Christopher R. Scotese 2002

Earthquakes

Today, Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010, there were so far 8 earthquakes. In the United States, the latest earthquake was on February 1st in Baja, California. According to past earthquakes in the United States, they occur mostly in the state of California. In South America, earthquakes usually occur on the western coast. As you travel from East to West across South America, the earthquakes become deeper.

http://www.iris.edu/seismon/
http://www.iris.washington.edu/servlet/eventserver/map.do
2009 IRIS - Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology.
Sponsered by the National Science Foundation

Severe Weather

I find tornados very interesting. There was once a tornado on June 8th, 1953, in Flint, Michigan. This tornado was called the Beecher tornado. There were 115 deaths, and 844 serious injuries. The tornado that was one half mile destroyed 300 homes, and a high school. It is the 9th most deadly tornado in United States history!

http://www.flint.lib.mi.us/gallery/beechertornado/index.shtml

Grace Tucker, Flint Public Library

10-8-09

Cloud Blog

Mammatus clouds are clouds that carry air filled with ice crystals and rain to the top of the cloud. The cloud then spreads horizontally. The air filled with precipitation is heavier than the surrounding air, so the cloud sinks. Another type of cloud is a Lenticular cloud. Lenticular clouds are clouds that form right angles at high altitudes. When moist air collects around places with high altitude, the side with less wind creates waves of air, making the cloud. Roll clouds form when a downdraft rushes cold air, lifting warm air at a high velocity. Another type of cloud is a Noctilucent cloud. Noctilucent clouds form from water vapor and dust. They form mainly from the contents given off during volcanic activity.

My favorite type of cloud would be the Roll clouds. I think they are quite simple to understand.

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/cldtyp/oth/mm.rxml

http://www.crystalinks.com/lenticular.html

http://www.weatherscapes.com/album.php?cat=clouds&subcat=roll_cloud

Harald Edens

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctilucent_cloud

Snow Blog

Thundersnow is a thunderstorm that storms snow instead of rain. This happens because the Earth's troposphere has dryer, colder air. The dry air forms a storm, but the cold air freezes the rain into snow. Rime is frozen fog, forming ice on an object. This happens when fog freezes onto the side of an object that is hit by wind. Firn is snow that lasts throughout the summer season. When it snows, the snow gets compacted and air leaves. This compacts snow so greatly that it forms a block of ice. Watermelon snow is snow that has a red or pink color. This happens because snow has a pigment in it called carotenoid pigment. This pigment dies the algae in snow to protect it from U.V. radiation and the cold.

http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/334/

Jeff Haby

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_rime

January 4, 2010

http://www.answers.com/topic/firn

Susan Mayhew 2004

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-watermelon-snow.htm

S.E. Smith 2003-2010