Research Guide: Earth Sciences

Earth Science Databases: Milne Library databases which include information on the earth sciences.
National Environmental Data Index (NEDI): "Provides direct access to environmental data and information descriptions." Searches across data from a number of federal agencies, including Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, and EPA.
National Virtual Data System: Climate data, both current and retrospective, including unedited local climatological data (by state and by station), edited climatological data, surface weather observations, and annual climatological summary. From NOAA National Data Centers. Ask at Reference Desk for username and password.

U.S. Geological Survey: The home page of the United States Geological Survey, "the nation's largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific understanding about natural resource conditions, issues, and problems." Includes an index to all USGS sites and provides a Search option.

Ask a Geologist: USGS earth scientists will often answer your e-mail questions.
Earth Observatory: From NASA. Provides new satellite imagery and scientific information. Focus is on climatic and environmental changes.
Dartmouth Flood Observatory: Supported by funds from NASA. Repository of worldwide flood data.
Earthquake Information Center: From the USGS. Worldwide coverage. Includes New York Seismicity.
Global Climate Change: Educational site has sections on the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and global effects of climate change. Includes real-time data.
Volcano World: Award winning site. Authoritative information about volcanoes worldwide.
Weather: Annotated links to weather/meteorology sites selected by Milne librarians.
Western Waters Digital Library: "Contains government reports, classic water literature, legal transcripts, water project records, personal papers, photographic collections, and video materials about the Columbia, Colorado, Platte, and Rio Grande river basins. Please see the Guide to the Collections for more information. "

Geologic information about New York: From the USGS. Includes coastal geology, earthquakes, minerals.
U.S. Geological Survey in New York State: Provides information on water resources, acid rain, New York earthquakes.

1:24,000 USGS Digital Raster Quadrangles: May be searched by quadrangle name or index map. For information on how to read a topographic map, see Topographic Map Symbols. Due to the large size of the images, printing a selected portion of a map is impossible without special software such as Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Publisher. For U.S. and additional New York coverage, see TopoZone (described below).
1:24,000 USGS Print Quadrangles: 1:24,000 USGS quadrangles (as well as other New York State maps) are available in the Milne Library Map Room. Please ask at the Reference Desk for assistance. Topographic maps from the local area can be purchased inexpensively from local sporting goods stores.
Color Landform Atlas of the United States: Map selections for the continental United States. Provides shaded relief maps and satellite images.
TopoZone: Provides color USGS topographic maps for the entire United States. Includes 1:25,000, 1:50,000, 1:100:000 and 1:200,000 scales. For information on how to read a topographic map, see Topographic Map Symbols.

Blue Web 'n Applications: Earth Sciences: Rated sites. Provides K-12 lesson plans in the earth sciences.
Earth and Sky: Based on the radio show.
Exploring the Environment: A NASA Classroom of the Future.
Geologylink: From Houghton Mifflin. Includes geology in the news, basic concepts in geology, virtual field trips, and a glossary.
USGS Learning Web: Aimed at K-12. Includes biology, geology, hydrology, geography.
Why Files: Funded by NSF. Science behind the news.

Research Guide: Earth Sciences

Earth Science Databases

General

Specific Topics

New York

Maps

Educational Sites