Prentice Hall presents fast, easy links to our favorite Web sites.
The following list contains links to many of the most interesting and informative Web sites related to topics explored in the chapter. Check them out, but make sure you come back to do more investigating when you're done.
Our Web Resource "Exploring Key Terms" can help you search, too.
- Air Pollution—U.S. EPA Office of Air and Radiation
- EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) deals with issues that affect the quality of our air and protection from exposure to harmful radiation. OAR develops national programs, technical policies, and regulations for controlling air pollution and radiation exposure. Areas of concern to OAR include: indoor and outdoor air quality, stationary and mobile sources of air pollution, radon, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, radiation protection, and pollution prevention.
- Arctic Research Consortium
- The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) was formed in 1988 to identify and bring together the distributed human and facilities resources of the Arctic research community—to create a synergy for the Arctic in which each resource, when combined with others, can result in a strength that enables the community to rise to the many challenges facing the Arctic and the United States.
- Atmospheric Ozone Concentrations
- Ozone concentration maps from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
- Atmospheric Pollution (EPA)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) atmospheric pollution home page.
- Atmospheric Research & Information Centre (ARIC)
- The ARIC is a multidisciplinary center of excellence for the study and resolution of atmospheric pollution issues located at Manchester University in England.
- Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC)
- The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) is the primary global change data and information analysis center of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
- Climate Prediction Center (NOAA)
- NOAA's Climate Prediction Center offers 6-to-10 day and seasonal forecasts; seasonal drought, excessive heat, and hurricane season outlooks; and El Niño and La Niña advisories. Also featured are expert analysis from meteorologists and climatologists, temperature and precipitation monitoring data, U.S. and world temperature and precipitation climate maps and graphs, and educational materials.
- Climographs, U.S. Cities
- Climographs for selected U.S. cities from the National Drought Mitigation Center.
- Cool Antarctica
- This site is devoted to all things Antarctic. It includes a photo gallery, links to outside sites, and an amusing fact file.
- Drought (Historical)
- Historical drought and climate data from the National Climate Data Center.
- EarthTrends (World Resources Institute)
- The EarthTrends environmental information portal offers timely and accurate global environmental and sustainable development information.
- El Niño Information from NASA's Observatorium
- Included in this site are maps of Pacific Ocean circulation patterns before and during El Niño, links to other El Niño sites, and an El Niño quiz.
- El Niño (NOAA)
- NOAA's El Niño Theme Page: accessing distributed information related to El Niño.
- El Niño (NOVA Online)
- A guide to what El Niño is, how it affects global weather, its effect on living things, and more.
- Envirofacts (EPA)
- Envirofacts is a single point of access to select U.S. EPA environmental data.
- EPA Topics, Browse
- A site with access to a wide variety of topics related to the environment hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
- Extreme Science
- A great place for all kinds of science information that includes sections on time, weather, space, Earth science, biology, and maps.
- Fahrenheit to Celsius Conversion
- Just type in the number and convert to help you better understand some of the climate descriptions.
- Global Climate Animations (University of Oregon)
- This University of Oregon site contains great animations showing the climatology of the seasonal cycle for selected climate variables for the time period 1959-1997.
- Global Climate Observing System (GCOS)
- The objectives of the Global Climate Observing System, GCOS, are to ensure the acquisition of data for: climate system monitoring, climate change detection and response monitoring especially in terrestrial ecosystems, application of climate information to national economic development, and research toward improved understanding, modeling, and prediction of the climate system.
- Global Hydrology and Climate Center
- A joint venture between government and academia to study the global water cycle and its effects on climate.
- Global Warming and Climate Change Policy WWW Sites
- NASA's extensive master directory of global warming and climate change policy WWW sites.
- Global Warming: Early Warning Signs
- A map showing the consequences of global warming. It is built on work undertaken by the Sierra Club, which published a report on global warming and extreme weather in the United States in August 1998.
- Global Warming (EPA)
- This extensive United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) site contains information on almost every aspect of global warming.
- Greenhouse Effect
- An explanation of the greenhouse effect from UCAR.
- Ice Ages
- The Ice Age story from the Illinois State Museum.
- INSTAAR
- INSTAAR is a research institute of the Graduate School at the University of Colorado. Its primary mission is to facilitate interdisciplinary research leading to a predictive understanding of the biological, chemical, and physical interactions that regulate the Earth system in arctic, alpine, and other regions.
- Montreal Protocol (AFEAS)
- An international agreement, known as the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, controls the production and consumption of substances that can cause ozone depletion.
- National Air Quality Trends Brochure
- An in-depth report on the six principal atmospheric pollutants.
- National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)
- The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is the world's largest active archive of weather data. The NCDC's mission is to manage the nation's resource of global climatological in-situ and remotely sensed data and information to promote global environmental stewardship; to describe, monitor and assess the climate; and to support efforts to predict changes in the Earth's environment.
- National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
- The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is a data and information resource for those studying snow and ice and their importance to the Earth system.
- NOAA's Climate Diagnostics Center
- NOAA's Climate Diagnostics Center with links to numerous weather and climate informational Internet sites.
- Ozone Depletion
- Information about ozone depletion from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
- PAGES Homepage
- PAGES is the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) core project charged with providing a quantitative understanding of the Earth's past climate and environment.
- Paleoclimatology Program (NOAA)
- Access to a wealth of paleoclimatic data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- Plant Hardiness Zones
- U.S. National Arboretum plant hardiness zones.
- Polar Continental Shelf Project (Canada)
- This site provides general information about working in the remote Arctic and includes links to current research activities.
- Rainforest Concern
- An good site with information about the world's rainforests.
- Sea Level Rise, Probability of (EPA Report)
- A report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the probability and magnitude of a rising sea level.
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- The mission of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is to provide leadership and encourage partnerships in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and people to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
An overview of the urban heat island effect.
- Urban Heat Islands
- A discussion of urban heat islands from the University of Wisconsin.
- USDOC/NOAA/NESDIS/National Geophysical Data Center
- The National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) manages environmental data in the fields of marine geology and geophysics, paleoclimatology, solar-terrestrial physics, solid earth geophysics, and glaciology (snow and ice).
- U.S. Global Change Data and Information System (GCDIS)
- The Global Change Data and Information System (GCDIS) is a collection of distributed information systems operated by government agencies involved in global change research. The site contains a listing of Web sites related to global change.
- U.S. Global Change Research Program
- The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), working with research institutions in the U.S. and beyond our borders, provides the foundation for increasing the skill of predictions of seasonal-to-interannual climate fluctuations (which can bring excessively wet and dry periods) and long-term climate change.
- USGS Global Change Research Program
- A primary goal of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is to provide reliable predictions of future climate changes and their effects.
- World Climate: Weather Rainfall and Temperature Data
- The WorldClimate site offers access to over 85,000 records of world climate data (historical weather averages) from a wide range of sources.
