Where can I find teaching resources about seismology?
This document attempts to organize some of the many resources
available in seismology along the lines of K-12 curricula. Some of
these resources are on-line; others are in the form of handouts,
computer programs, and maps. Some of these resources have been
put together by the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory while
many others are due to the efforts of people in other organizations.
The layout and organization of this document are under development.
If you know of other resources or have suggestions for improving
this document, please let us know! And of course, send us mail if
you find a link which does not work or if you have links to suggest.
Finally, of the UC Berkeley resources available here, most of
them were not developed specifically for K-12 applications. If you
have suggestions for improvements, we would appreciate any ideas.
This collection of resources was developed in part
to support the
Integrating
Science, Teaching, and Technology (ISTAT) Project
at UC Berkeley.
14 November, 1999 - Lind S. Gee
Contents
These are a lot of wonderful resources out there. Here are a
few of the biggies ....
These are a number of general resources on earthquakes and
earthquake-related subjects. The FAQ is regularly updated -
both with our own contributions as well as ones we have found
at other web sites. When appropriate, specific sections from
our FAQ are included below. The Internet Resources page is
quite comprehensive as well.
Information on the internal structure of the Earth
- Other Internet resources
- Views of the Solar System
- An educational tour of the solar system. Includes many varied
resources. Excellent page on the
Earth.
- Earth and Moon viewer - Allows the user to generate
images of the Earth and Moon. Very fun.
- The Earth's Interior - This site was developed for an introductory course at the University of Nevada, Reno and contains lots of basic information on the
formation and large-scale structure of the Earth.
Seismic waves are one example of the many types of waves in
science. They are a particularly vivid illustration, as the
strong shaking produced by earthquakes can cause significant
loss of life and damage to buildings. These
resources span the range of building instruments to record seismic
waves to illustrating the different types of waves.
- ISTAT Web pages
- How do seismologists measure earthquakes? - This document describes aspects of earthquake monitoring. Most useful as background material for the
teachers.
- What does an earthquake look like? - This document uses the Berkeley
Network to illustrate recordings of earthquakes - both near and distant.
These recordings of the earthquakes are nice examples, particularly
for the teleseism. Some of the figures have the arrival times of
different phases labeled. The data could be used in an activity
on earthquake location.
- Make Your Own Seismogram - This is designed as a fun interactive. The use
can select a BDSN station and specify a time period. A "analog" seismogram
will be returned. Can be used to look at current data as well as
older data. Can be frustrating due to use of UTC time (rather than
local time).
- Wave propagation movies - These movies are the result of
current research on the 3-D structure of the San Francisco Bay. Scientists
at UC Berkeley and LLNL are studying these structures in order to predict
what type of ground shaking might occur during a major earthquake. The
movies are accompanied by explanatory text.
- Other Internet resources
- Seismic Waves - This site was developed for an introductory course at the University of Nevada, Reno and contains lots of basic information on seismic waves.
- How do seismologists locate an earthquake? - A nice illustration of the
principles of earthquake location from the USGS Menlo Park.
The theory of plate tectonics revolutionized earth sciences during
the 1960s. In large, it explains a number of disparate observations,
including the distribution of seismicity.
- ISTAT Web pages
- Plot that Quake! -
This exercise asks students to plot earthquake locations
on a map. Students may either use earthquake lists provided by
the teacher or use the Internet in order to generate their
own lists from searching earthquake catalogs. This exercise
may be worked on during a limited time period or can be incorporated
into a year-long study.
The primary goal of this exercise to motivate students to question why
earthquakes occur where they do. In addition, the exercise will
develop geography and mapping skills.
- How many earthquakes? - under development. This activity will
build on the the plotting exercise and encourage students to think
about the number of earthquakes per year. We will provide annual
lists of seismicity. This exercise can also be used in math lessons
to study the statistics.
- Earthquake Depth -
This Web page is not an exercise but does have a number of figures
which illustrate the complexities of earthquake depth. Cross sections
through the upper 800 km of the Earth illustrate the subduction zones
of South America, Tonga, Japan, and Alaska.
-
Earthquake Maps and Lists - This document consists of earthquake
lists and maps with various projections. The figures can be used in
the classroom to illustrate the distribution of seismicity as
well as compared to current seismicity maps from the NEIC.
-
Search the Global Earthquake Catalog - The "Earthquake Maps
and Lists" were generated from searches of this catalog. You can
enter your own search criteria - latitude, longitude, time period,
and magnitude cutoffs - and produce your own lists for study in the
class room. You can also
Search the Northern California Earthquake Catalog for information
specifically on northern California.
- Other Internet resources
- Other resources
- Seismic Waves & Seismic Eruptions - computer programs for PCs.
These shareware programs were
developed by Alan Jones at RunTime Software, 3717 Wildwood
Drive, Endwell, NY, 13760. They can be downloaded from the IRIS DMC by
anonymous ftp
under the names seisvol.exe and seiswave.exe.
Seismic Eruptions is a seismicity display program with a number of
interesting databases; Seismic Waves is a great wave propagation program.
Both programs are being used in the new Smithsonian exhibit on plate
tectonics.
This section contains information on faults, earthquake
location and size, and the damage caused by events.
- ISTAT Web pages
- Plot that Quake! -
This exercise asks students to plot earthquake locations
on a map. Students may either use earthquake lists provided by
the teacher or use the Internet in order to generate their
own lists from searching earthquake catalogs. This exercise
may be worked on during a limited time period or can be incorporated
into a year-long study.
The primary goal of this exercise to motivate students to question why
earthquakes occur where they do. In addition, the exercise will
develop geography and mapping skills.
- Other Internet resources
- How do seismologists measure magnitude? - Our FAQ on magnitude, which
includes a number of links to other resources on this subject.
- What is intensity? - Our FAQ on intensity, which is a compilation
of other references on this subject.
- Fault Motion Fault model animations
- A model of Three Faults - This is an activity developed by the USGS. It is designed to illustrate the different types of fault motion.
- Earthquake Effects -
This is another USGS activity, which includes animations and paper models on the effects of earthquakes.
- Virtual Earthquake
- This on-line activity was developed by the Electronic Desktop Project of CalState LA. It has been
reviewed by ENC and was a "Digital Dozen" in Sept 1996.
- Understanding Earthquakes - This web site from
UC Santa Barbara has an earthquake quiz, a JAVA animation of a rotating globe and elastic rebound, and some
historical accounts of earthquakes.
- Earthquakes - This web site is sponsored by the Tech Museum of Innovation and is a electronic exhibit on earthquakes. Nice graphics, but rather limited in
depth.
This section focuses on earthquakes and earthquake
hazards in northern California. Ideas for possible
student projects might include reports on specific
earthquakes or earthquake faults.
- Current California Earthquake Information
- Historical Earthquakes
This section contains a number of Internet links on this subject, but no relevant teacher's
resources.
The USGS has translated a number of its general information
pamphlets to the Web. These are nice sources of introductory
material and contain great graphics.
In addition to these publications, the USGS has put a number of
activities and paper models on-line. These are listed on the
USGS Learning Web site
Here are some links to ideas/resources for science fair projects.
This is a list of earthquake puzzles and quizzes
The following web pages provide free access to some of the leading research
databases in the field. Data includes world and local earthquake
seismicity maps, as well as digital records of major world
earthquakes. Furthermore, these sites often include listings of
numerous other resources, including books, pamphlets, and other
teaching materials, and are often cross referenced to
aid in searching other related web sites. Some sites also
provide free access to online versions of their printed publications.
-
Seismology Resources for Teachers
This site, run by the Seismological Society of America, provides
a broad list of resources (including books, maps, slides, videos, and
other internet sites) aimed towards assisting teachers of grades K-12 in
presenting seismology material. Very highly recommended.
- IRIS Education and Outreach Resources
IRIS is developing a strong
education and outreach
program in seismology. Here is a sampling of some of the resources
they have developed.
-
Princeton Earth Physics Project: High School Seismology for Students and Teachers.
This Princeton University site, provides users with access to
their seismic network databases as well as providing ideas and projects
to aid in the presentaion and teaching of seismology related topics
in the classroom. This site is cross-referenced well and gives links
to numerous other internet sites related to seismology and earth science.
-
Southern Arizona Seismic Observatory Earthquake Information
This site, run by the University of Arizona, provides several guides
to earthquake information, including a guide to teachers' resources.
-
USGS - Education and Outreach
This page opens the door to a number of USGS activities in
education and outreach. Highly recommended. The USGS Menlo Park
has put together a resource on Seismology at the Science Fair.
- Science Education
Gateway This resource was covers a broad range of topics in the
earth and space sciences and is part of a larger program in
science education developed by the Space Sciences Laboratory at UC Berkeley.
-
Southern California Earthquake Center - Educational Outreach
As an NSF-sponsored center, SCEC has an active education and outreach
program. This page discusses some of their programs, many of which
are still under development.
- K-12 Science Resources
A collection of science resources, mostly in astronomy.
Return to the Frequently Asked Questions
Return to the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory
The Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, 202 McCone Hall, UC Berkeley, Berkeley CA 94720
Questions and comments to www@seismo.berkeley.edu
Copyright 1999, The Regents of the University of California.