Geology

The harsh environment of Antarctica offers numerous opportunities for science. This program depicts the challenges biologists, meteorologists, and geologists face as they study the continent's wildlife, climate, and formation. The video features analysis of fossils and ancient magma, shows how past weather patterns are examined in ice layers, and illustrates fish and bird population studies. Describing housing, clothing, waste removal, and other human adaptations, this Science Screen Report provides a detailed portrait of living and working in the vast frozen laboratory at the bottom of the world. A viewable/printable instructor's guide is available online. Produced in association with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the Junior Engineering Technical Society. (24 minutes)

As oil supplies dwindle, as catastrophic weather events multiply, as the ozone layer grows thinner, Earth needs geologists, geophysicists, environmentalists, and other researchers as never before! Introduce your students to Earth science-and inspire them to help save the world-with this eight-part series. Magnificent location footage and satellite images, explanations by experts in the field, and animated diagrams that simplify complicated processes make GeoBasics a valuable addition to any study of the Earth, its systems, and humankind's impact. Viewable/printable instructor's guides are available online. Correlates to National Science Education Standards, National Educational Technology Standards, and Standards for the English Language Arts. A Cambridge Educational Production. 8-part series, 19-26 minutes each.

At ground level, shallow seas, broad beaches, dunes, and waterlogged hollows seem to comprise a chaotic environment. In fact, there is order and form, produced by the interaction of wind, vegetation, and moving sand. Because sand dunes develop rapidly, the development of a landform can be observed. Measuring wind velocity demonstrates how saltation, sand movement, and erosion happen. The program demonstrates the morphology of dune development and how the complex interaction between it and the vegetation-soil system can be observed and measured. The program also demonstrates how precarious the balance is between the various factors, and how slight changes-including the use of the area by man-can destroy large parts of the system. (20 minutes)

The Earth's surface is a fragile mask, and this Science Screen Report reveals the turmoil beneath it. A cutaway view of the planet depicts its layers-including its crust, hot mantle, and superheated core-and leads to an outline of plate tectonic theory. The Himalayas, the Matterhorn, and the Hawaiian Islands are analyzed as examples of tectonic and volcanic activity, while the core's relationship to Earth's magnetic field is also studied. The program includes animation that clearly demonstrates the concept of subduction. A viewable/printable instructor's guide is available online. Produced in association with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the Junior Engineering Technical Society. (13 minutes)

The Book of Genesis states that the earth, its heavens, water, and land were formed in six days. But how old is the earth? Up until the 19th century, experts had ascertained the time of the creation at 4004 B.C., less than 6000 years earlier. However, by dating rocks, noting the lack of fossils and bacteria in some areas of the globe, and studying meteorites, geologists have determined that the earth's first landforms emerged 4 billion years ago. This program travels back in time to uncover the place where life began: volcanoes on the floor of the primordial ocean. Original BBC broadcast title: The Time Travelers. (50 minutes)

Beginning with the first land formations that emerged from a primordial ocean 4 billion years ago, this eight-part series explores how all geologic phenomena, from volcanoes to earthquakes, are intertwined. Journeying from the sea bottom to the highest peak in the Andes, the series presents the latest theories on plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, land formations, and continental drift. An indispensable resource for teaching earth science and geology. A BBC Production. 8-part series, 50 minutes each.

In the 17th century, an Irish bishop judged the year of Earth's creation to be 4004 BC. Although laughable by modern scientific standards, James Ussher's calculation was among the first rigorous attempts to comprehend the vastness of geological history. This program opens a window into time frames that dwarf human life spans-evoking the insignificance of civilization in comparison to the age of the planet itself. Host Michio Kaku illustrates life's evolution by driving the distance between America's coasts-with the final millimeter representing the human epoch. He also looks at the importance of DNA as a tool for studying human evolution. Original BBC broadcast title: Earth Time. (50 minutes)

As the Earth's fossil fuel reserves decline, what forms of energy will come next? After discussing the formation, uses, and consequences of burning coal, oil, and natural gas, this video explores the development of alternative resources that may someday completely replace them: nuclear power, solar energy, biomass, geothermal energy, hydroelectric power, and wind power. Benefits, costs, and environmental impacts are considered. A viewable/printable instructor's guide is available online. Correlates to National Science Education Standards, National Educational Technology Standards, and Standards for the English Language Arts. A Cambridge Educational Production. (21 minutes)

Planet Earth is an amazing machine, and we-and our future-are riding on it. This video introduces students to the Earth system's primary interacting subsystems (the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere); the nitrogen, carbon, and water cycles; and three surface processes: weathering, mass-wasting, and erosion. The greenhouse effect, the impact of acid rain on the environment, and diminishing freshwater resources around the world are considered as well. A viewable/printable instructor's guide is available online. Correlates to National Science Education Standards, National Educational Technology Standards, and Standards for the English Language Arts. A Cambridge Educational Production. (19 minutes)

Filmed in forests, glacial valleys, riversides, and coastal shores, this series demonstrates and explains the discoveries of modern geology and gives students a new perspective on the world around them. 10-part series, 20 minutes each.

Sediment sequences deposited under glacial conditions during the Pleistocene period cover some 10% of the earth's land surface. This program concentrates on the interpretation of a sediment sequence exposed in a river cliff cut by the River Severn in England. Techniques of sampling and analysis are illustrated, with emphasis on the measurement of particle size and of particle dip and orientation. This analysis suggests that the deposits were laid down during a period of glacial retreat. The land forms produced by a more recently-retreating glacier in Switzerland are studied, the vegetation analyzed, and three simple measures are used to distinguish between morainal material, outwash deposits, and lake sediments. (20 minutes)

If Earth's entire history could be compressed into a single year, modern humans would've appeared just 23 minutes ago! Use this video to introduce your students to the concept of geological time (also called deep time); relative age dating of rock via the principles of stratigraphic superposition, original horizontality, and cross-cutting; absolute age dating by radioactive decay; the chemical elements, heavy and light, that make up the planet; and Earth's three main layers: crust, mantle, and core. A viewable/printable instructor's guide is available online. Correlates to National Science Education Standards, National Educational Technology Standards, and Standards for the English Language Arts. A Cambridge Educational Production. (22 minutes)

Studies of our planet's crust, or lithosphere, suggest that it's not a single solid layer at all. This video illustrates the process of scientific inquiry by studying the evolution of our understanding of plate tectonics, the dynamics of those ever-shifting slabs of earth we call solid ground. Beginning with Alfred Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift, the program discusses major and minor plates, types of plate boundaries, and the concepts of spreading and subduction. Earthquakes and volcanoes are also addressed. A viewable/printable instructor's guide is available online. Correlates to National Science Education Standards, National Educational Technology Standards, and Standards for the English Language Arts. A Cambridge Educational Production. (25 minutes)

Viewed from space, one of the remarkable features of our planet is that it has continents and oceans. The changing pattern of the continents and oceans is a very important characteristic of the earth, and the discovery of how this movement occurs is one of the most exciting scientific stories of modern times. The key to this understanding lay not in the continents at all, but in the oceans. The oceans turned out to have a record of their history as precise as tree rings or a magnetic bar code, and with it came the history of relative motion between the continents. These motions are not fast by our standards, but by geological standards they are very rapid. As a description of what is happening in the oceans, plate tectonics is so simple, powerful, and accurate that it has come to dominate our view of the earth's behavior. (57 minutes)

Knowledge of the physics and chemistry of the planet's bones" is essential to a complete understanding of Earth science. Ranging from the Mohs scale and specific gravity to silicates, carbonates, and halides, this video delves deeply into the composition, properties, and classification of rocks and minerals. An element of forensic-type analysis is also brought into play, since any stony formation represents a portion of the planet's history and local conditions. A viewable/printable instructor's guide is available online. Correlates to National Science Education Standards, National Educational Technology Standards, and Standards for the English Language Arts. A Cambridge Educational Production. (23 minutes)"