Subtopic: Surface Processes

Anatomy of a Tsunami
Using visual models and other graphics, this interactive activity from NOVA Online reveals details of the December 26, 2004 tsunami that collided with coasts around the Indian Ocean.

Antarctic Ice Movement: Part I
This video segment adapted from NOVA explains why ice sheets move. To find out how fast they move, scientists carve a tunnel through a glacier.

Avalanche Town
The impact of natural disasters is made vivid in this video segment adapted from NOVA. A small town in Iceland, prepared for recurrent avalanches, is devastated when one takes a new and damaging path.

Cave Formation: Biogeochemical Cycles
This video segment adapted from NOVA chronicles the discoveries that led to a radical new theory in which living organisms, not just geological processes, play an active role in cave formation.

Caves and Karst
This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service presents the key concepts of cave and karst systems, including how and where they form, different types, and various cave environments.

Coastal Geological Materials
This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service describes the different kinds of sediments that make up coastlines, with a focus on the variety in color, size, and sorting.

Continental Divide: The Breakup of Pangaea
Examine geological evidence found in fossils, rock deposits, and ancient mountains that supports the theory of continental drift in this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium.

Creating an Island Paradise
In this video segment from Nature, learn the geological process by which the next Hawaiian island will be formed.

Earth as a System
This visualization adapted from NASA maps progressive global changes onto a rotating globe. Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere are shown to be dynamic and interconnected.

Earthquakes: San Francisco
The history of earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay area is plotted on a digital map and analyzed in this video segment adapted from NOVA.

Earth’s Albedo and Global Warming
In this interactive activity adapted from NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, learn about Earth's albedo (the ratio of reflected vs. incident solar radiation), how pollution alters albedo, and how ice-albedo feedback may accelerate global warming.

Erosion and Weathering
Erosion and weathering may be caused by a variety of factors including wind and water. This still collage produced for Teachers' Domain features images of rock, soil, and beach erosion.

Fastest Glacier
In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, scientists in western Greenland explain how a glacier there is shrinking and moving faster due to increased melting.

Geology of Death Valley
This video segment from NatureScene examines the landforms of Death Valley and how they came to be.

Glaciers
Featuring images of glacier formations, this interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service explains what glaciers are, where they are found, how they form, and how they move.

The Grand Canyon: Conservation and Development
This video segment adapted from NOVA explores the effects of the Glen Canyon Dam on the beaches, wildlife, and vegetation of the Colorado River.

The Grand Canyon: How It Formed
This video segment adapted from NOVA uses animation to present the theory of how the Grand Canyon was formed and features rare footage of a phenomenon known as debris flow.

The Grand Canyon: The Top Two Rock Layers
This brief video segment adapted from NOVA uses illustrations and the well-preserved footprints of a small reptile to portray the history of the Grand Canyon's top two rock layers.

Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2: A Record of Climate Change
Using images and graphs, this interactive resource illustrates scientists' efforts to study Earth's climatic history for the last 250,000 years by drilling into the Greenland Ice Sheet and examining ice cores. Adapted from the Wright Center for Science Education, Tufts University.

How a Dinosaur Became a Fossil
This interactive resource adapted from the Museum of Paleontology at the University of California, Berkeley shows how a dinosaur can be buried under sediment after it dies, become a fossil, and then become exposed and discovered by paleontologists.

How Did Life Emerge Here?
This video segment adapted from NOVA describes the emergence of life on the islands of Hawaiʻi from a barren volcanic platform under the ocean waves to the rich explosion of life that covers the many climate zones of the islands today.

How The Ohio River Was Formed
This video segment adapted from KET's Where the River Bends demonstrates how climate change and glacier movement during the Ice Ages destroyed the old Teays River and created the Ohio River, Kentucky's northern border.

How to Build A Road
Geology and weather introduced a variety of unexpected problems when construction crews were building the Alaska Highway. In this interactive activity from the American Experience Web site, see how Army engineers improvised solutions to blaze a trail through the wilderness.

Hurricane Katrina: Wetland Destruction
Tour the wetlands south of New Orleans that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina in this video segment from NOVA scienceNOW.

A Land Born in Fire
In this Nature video, follow geologists as they retrieve samples from a fresh batch of Kilauea's molten lava.

Mars Dead or Alive: Mars Up Close
NASA scientist Steve Squyres narrates this visual tour from NOVA Online of the most revealing discoveries made by the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars.

Mount Pinatubo: The Aftermath of a Volcanic Eruption
This video segment adapted from NOVA features footage of the aftermath of the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines, including falling ash and mud flows.

Natural Hazards
Students are introduced to a variety of natural hazards and explore how understanding these threats make us better able to avoid or reduce their potential harmful impact.

The Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen, one of the most abundant elements in the universe, is essential to life. This interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta provides an overview of the nitrogen cycle.

Organic Farming: Conserving Top Soil
Against the backdrop of the devastating 1930's Dust Bowl, this video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA profiles an organic farmer and the techniques he uses to conserve topsoil.

Plate Tectonics
Students are introduced to the theory of plate tectonics and explore how the theory was developed and supported by evidence.

Rock Cycle Animation
This visualization of the rock cycle from McDougal Littell/TERC illustrates common rock-forming processes such as crystallization, erosion, and metamorphism.

Sandy Coasts
This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service profiles sandy coast environments and describes various features of sandy beach environments.

Soils Around the World
Not all soils are the same. This interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain features photographs of the 12 major soil types and maps that highlight their distribution around the world.

Types of Fossils
This interactive resource adapted from the University of California Museum of Paleontology features images of body fossils, trace fossils, and a combination of the two.

Virtual Cave
This interactive resource adapted from The Virtual Cave by Dave Bunnell, presents images of various features found in solution caves and includes detailed information on how these features are formed and where they occur.

Visualizing Topography
Explore the topography of a hill, a valley, and a cliff in this interactive activity featuring visualizations of three-dimensional topography in two dimensions. Adapted from Stephen Reynolds' "Visualizing Topography."

Volcanism
Volcanoes are one of the most dynamic, powerful, and visible forces on Earth. This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service uses images to describe different types and parts of volcanoes, volcanic rocks, magma, and where volcanoes form.