Atmosphere Optics

Atmosphere Optics

http://www.atoptics.co.uk/

This site includes many images of light and shadow in the atmosphere with explanations of the phenomena depicted. Topics include mirages, Earth's shadow, the green flash, rainbows, ice halos, and many others. Links to other sites as well.

Atmospheric Circulation

Atmospheric Processes-Convection

http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_1_2_7t.htm

Contains diagrams and lab activities to demonstrate convective movement of fluids.

Atmospheric Circulation

http://ess.geology.ufl.edu/ess/Notes/AtmosphericCirculation/atmosphere.html

Static diagrams of atmospheric circulation (Hadley Cells)

Global & Regional Winds from QuikScat Satellite

http://haifung.jpl.nasa.gov/

Static images and animations of global and regional winds updated daily. There is also an archive of previous images and animations as well as an archive of hurricanes.

Coriolis Effect Introduction

http://trampleasure.net/science/coriolis/

This is one of the few accurate introductions to the Coriolis effect. Especially good for teachers who want to understand the effect so as to help students learn about it.

Hurricanes

http://www.hurricaneinfo.org

This site allows you to rersearch hurricanes over the past 100 years and get their storm tracks and damage information.

Climate Change

Climate Change Resources from New Scientist

http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/climate/

A collection of online resources from the highly respected British journal New Scientist.

EOS-Webster at University of New Hampshire

http://eos-webster.sr.unh.edu/home.jsp

An excellent portal for Earth science data, especially regarding climate change. Also a good source for reports on climate change.

Greenhouse Gas Online

http://www.ghgonline.org/

Created by a U.K. scientist, this site provides a good selection of links and basic information on greenhouse gases and their effect on climate.

Pew Center on Global Climate Change

http://www.pewclimate.org/

One-stop shopping for up-to-date information on climate change issues, policies, legislation, and other initiatives. The site also includes basic climate change science and the latest findings from research. A great resource.

Earth's Energy Balance

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/earth_energy.html

Provides a basic understanding of Earth's energy balance in the context of NASA data that indicates Earth is absorbing more energy from the sun than it radiates to space.

US Cities climate

http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/USclimate/states.fast.html

Temperature and precipitaion data for US cities

USGS Repeat Photography Project-Glacier National Park

http://nrmsc.usgs.gov/repeatphoto/

This site features photos comparing glaciers in the park over recent historical time, showing the dramatic retreat of glaciers as the climate warms.

General

Earth Songs

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast19jan_1.htm

Describes the science behind the very low frequency "sounds of Earth."

The Sounds of Earth

http://www.spaceweather.com/glossary/inspire.html

Probably most useful as a "hook," this web site lets you listen to very low frequency electromagnetic disturbances in the Earth's atmosphere caused by lightning.

Cycles of the Earth and Atmosphere

http://www.ucar.edu/learn/

This web site for teachers is designed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO. It covers the composition of the atmosphere, climate, the greenhouse effect, climate change, and ozone.

Hurricanes

Hurricane Background

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Hurricanes/

This reference article on Earth Observatory is a rich background article on the formation and causes of hurricanes, nicely illustrated.

Historical Hurricane Tracks

http://hurricane.csc.noaa.gov/hurricanes/index.htm

This site, maintained by NOAA, lets you track hurricanes from 1851 to the present.

Katrina, Rita, & Wilma Resources from USGS

http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/hurricanes/kat_rit_wil/

This web site has a collection of dozens of resources concerning these 2005 hurricanes, including satellite images and impact studies.

Ozone

The Ozone Depletion Phenomenon

http://www.beyonddiscovery.org/content/view.article.asp?a=73

Excellent collection of ozone hole resources from the National Academy of Sciences.

Ozone Hole Animation

http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/ozwv/ozsondes/spo/ozone_anim2001.html

This site contains an annimation of the southern hemisphere ozone hole from 2001.

ozone hole monitoring

http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/MET/Neumayer/ozone.html

This site contains real-time data of the concentration of atmospheric ozone. It has some nice images and communicates the data in a clear way

Weather

Data Streme

http://www.ametsoc.org/dstreme/index.html

A comprehensive real-time weather and atmospheric data site. There are lots of surface maps, satellite views, and atmospheric data.

Unisys Weather

http://weather.unisys.com/

Contains twelve hour archived views of satellite weather imagery, temperature, moisture, pressure, and wind conditions, allowing students to see the sequential development of interesting weather phenomena. A long term archive also available.

Severe and Hazardous Weather

http://severewx.atmos.uiuc.edu/index.html

Links to current, forecast, and archived weather for use at home and in the classroom. More than sixty online examples demonstrating severe weather phenomena and the mechanisms for their formation.

AMS The DataStreme Project

http://dstreme.comet.ucar.edu/index.html

Provides you with current weather maps showing isobars, temperatures, wind direction, cloud cover, etc.

Secrets of the Polar Aurora

http://www.phy6.org/Education/aurora.htm

Retired geophysicist David Stern writes an authoritative account of the causes of the aurora borealis along with some beautiful photos and links to other aurora sites.