Course Topics
Course Resources for Earth Sciences 203 - Environmental Geoscience
Some selected web links and library resources to supplement the course. More information can be found on the
Geology Library Home page under
Subject Links and in the
Library online catalog.
Links
US Geological Survey Natural Hazards Gateway
This is a gateway to USGS information on Earthquakes, Floods, Hurricanes, Landslides, Tsunamis, Volcanoes, and Wildfires.
FEMA Disaster Information
Information on different types of disasters and hazards.
Library Resources
Online Catalog
Search the Online Catalog under the subject natural disasters or keywords natural hazards
Natural hazards: earth's processes as hazards, disasters, and catastrophes
Edward A. Keller, Robert H. Blodgett Publish Info Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson/Prentice Hall, c2006
Amazing earth [video recording]
Amazing earth [video recording] / produced for Discovery Channel by Fulcrum Productions West Publish Info Bethesda, MD : Discovery Channel Video ; Santa Monica, Calif. : Distributed by Artisan Home Entertainment, c1998
From the heights of Mount Everest, through the molten fields of Hawaii, to the very core of our planet, Amazing Earth reveals the geologic forces that have changed the face of our world and will ultimately change its face again.
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Floods / Flood Control / Coastal Hazards
Links
Flooding soaks seven states
Flooding soaks seven states (March 2008) (Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas) - from the USGS. Includes video footage, news releases, and links to real time water monitoring for each state.
New Orleans District, U.S. Corps of Engineers
The web site includes maps, data, real time data, projects, environmental compliance data, photos, visitor information, and more.
New Orleans Environmental Compliance Data Book
New Orleans Environmental Compliance Data Book web site
Library Resources
Inland flood hazards: human, riparian and aquatic communities
Inland flood hazards: human, riparian and aquatic communities / edited by Ellen E. Wohl Cambridge, U.K.; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000
Floods: physical processes and human impacts
Floods: physical processes and human impacts / Keith Smith and Roy Ward Chichester; New York: Wiley, 1998
Also available online as an e-book here.
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Landslides and Erosion
Links
What are landslides?
What are landslides? From the U.S. Search and Rescue Task Force
USGS Landslides Hazards Program
Library Resources
Landslides : processes, prediction, and land use
Landslides: processes, prediction, and land use / Roy C. Sidle, Hirotaka Ochiai Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union, c2006
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Water Resources
Links
Water cycle (USGS)
USGS Ground Water information pages
Library Resources
When the rivers run dry: what happens when our water runs out?
When the rivers run dry: what happens when our water runs out? / Fred Pearce London: Eden Project, 2006
The environmental science of drinking water
The environmental science of drinking water / Patrick J. Sullivan, Franklin J. Agardy, James J.J. Clark Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, c2005
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Aral Sea
Links
State of the Environment of the Aral Sea
Regional report of the Central Asian States
BBC News - The Aral Sea tragedy
Paul Welsh travels to the Aral Sea in Central Asia, and finds that what was the fourth biggest inland sea is now mostly desert.
Library Resources
Future conditional
Future conditional [video recording] / NIEHS, NSF; a Screenscope production in association with South Carolina ETV Washington, DC: Screenscope, c2005 The DVD includes a section on the Aral Sea.
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Environmental Health
Links
Envirofacts Warehouse
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Envirofacts Warehouse to provide the public with direct access to the wealth of information contained in its databases. The Envirofacts Warehouse allows you to retrieve environmental information from EPA databases on Air, Chemicals, Facility Information, Grants/Funding, Hazardous Waste, Risk Management Plans, Superfund, Toxic Releases, and Water Permits, Drinking Water, Drinking Water Contaminant Occurrence, and Drinking Water Microbial and Disinfection Byproduct Information (Information Collection Rule [ICR]). You may retrieve information from several databases at once, or from one database at a time. Online queries allow you to retrieve data from these sources and create reports, or you may generate maps of environmental information by selecting from several mapping applications available through EPA's Maps On Demand.
Toxmap
This is a geographic information system (GIS) that uses U.S. maps to pinpoint the location of toxic and hazardous materials listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and Superfund Program. It allows users to create local maps showing the location of facilities that release toxic substances (into the air, ground, or water) and identifies both the substances released and the facilities releasing them. From the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Library Resources
Earth materials and health: research priorities for earth science and public health
Earth materials and health: research priorities for earth science and public health/ Committee on Research Priorities for Earth Science and Public Health, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, Division on Earth and Life Studies, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Institute of Medicine; National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies Washington, DC: National Academies Press, c2007
The State of the planet
The State of the planet [video recording] / a Screenscope production in association with South Carolina ETV Washington, DC: Screenscope, c2005
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Waste management
Links
Ohio EPA Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management
Library Resources
Our urban environment
Our urban environment [video recording]: water quality/ producer and director, John W. Sutherlin Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2002
Available as streaming video via OhioLINK
[v. 1] Issues in water quality
[v. 2] Industrial point source water pollution
[v. 3] Non-point source water pollution: an overview of runoff
[v. 4] Non-point source water pollution: a focus on storm water
[v. 5] Wastewater generation and collection
[v. 6] Wastewater treatment and discharge
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Global Change
Links
See Climate Change links on the Geology Library subject links page
Ozone Resource Page
"Ozone is crucial for life on Earth. Depending on where ozone resides, it can protect or harm life. NASA studies ozone to better understand its relation to air quality and climate." Learn about the "depleted region in Earth's protective ozone layer over the Antarctic," how plants are "used to study air quality from the ground by seeing how ozone ... damages the leaves," and more. From the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (description from lii.org)
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Earthquakes
Links
USGS Earthquake Hazards page
USGS Earthquake Center
has information about the most recent earthquakes
Earthquake glossary of terms with downloadable animations
from the USGS
Ohio Seismic Network
The Ohio Seismic Network, OHIOSEIS, consists of 23 volunteer, cooperative seismograph stations at colleges, universities, and other institutions, that are coordinated by the Ohio Geological Survey. Include information about Ohio earthquakes recent and past.
Library Resources
Search the online catalog under the subject earthquakes.
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Volcanoes
Links
Library page
See the links on the Geology Library Volcanoes subject page
Library Resources
Search the online catalog under the subject volcanoes.
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Planning
Links
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC)
MORPC's Mission: To enhance the quality of life and competitive advantages of the central Ohio region by working through local governments and other constituents. The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) is the place where visions and ideas about our growing region are created, designed, discussed, and embraced. We are a voluntary association of local governments serving central Ohio. A catalyst for regional change, evidence of our work is seen everyday through planning, programming and public policy in the areas of economic development, energy, environment, housing, transportation and land use.
Library Resources
Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards: towards disaster resilient societies
Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards: towards disaster resilient societies/ edited by Jorn Birkmann New York: United Nations University, 2006
Integration of natural hazards, risk and climate change into spatial planning practices
Integration of natural hazards, risk and climate change into spatial planning practices/ by Philipp Schmidt-Thome [Espoo, Finland: Geological Survey of Finland, 2006]
Planning for disaster: how natural and man-made disasters shape the built environment
Planning for disaster: how natural and man-made disasters shape the built environment/ by William G. Ramroth, Jr New York: Kaplan Pub., c2007
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Natural and Mineral Resources
Links
Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mineral Resources Management
Web site includes information on coal, industrial minerals and oil and gas in Ohio.
USGS Mineral Resources Program
The USGS Mineral Resources Program (MRP) provides scientific information for objective resource assessments and unbiased research results on mineral potential, production, consumption, and environmental effects. The MRP is the sole Federal source for this information.
USGS Minerals Information
Statistics and information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and flow of minerals and materials essential to the U.S. economy, the national security, and protection of the environment.
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Energy Resources
Links
EIA - Energy Information Administration
Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government
Hubbert Peak of Oil Production
This page deals with the Hubbert peak, the projected maximum production of oil and its consequences on humanity.
Oil On My Shoes
Oil On My Shoes will help you understand the science of Petroleum Geology
PBS Extreme Oil
website to accompany the PBS program
Wolf at the Door, The Beginner's guide to Peak Oil
Starts with the basics, including a good glossary of jargon. Goes into a section with more detail and alternative energy and then looks to the future. Further information includes a good list of books and other web sites. There is a link for the current oil prices.
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Sustainability
Links
Lester Brown’s Earth Policy Institute
Earth Policy Institute, dedicated to building a sustainable future as well as providing a plan of how to get from here to there.
Library Resources
Plan B 3.0: mobilizing to save civilization
Plan B 3.0: mobilizing to save civilization\ Lester R. Brown New York, N.Y.; London: W. W. Norton & Co.; [Washington, D.C.]: Earth Policy Institute, c2008
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Compiled by Mary W. Scott, Geology Librarian, Orton Memorial Library of Geology
Designed by Matthew R. H. Dugan, Student Library Assistant
Last updated: April 01, 2008