Montgomery/Environmental Geology

Further Exploration

Chapter 1
Select a single country or small set of related countries; examine recent and projected population growth rates in detail, including the factors contributing to the growth rates and trends in those rates. Compare with similar information for the U.S. or Canada.

Chapter 2
What kinds of rocks underlie your region of the country? (Your local geological survey could assist in providing the information.) What does this tell about the region's history? Are there currently any significant geologic hazards in the area? Any identified resources?

Chapter 3
New methods of measuring relative plate motions in progress art present have increased our understanding of plate tectonics. Visit the following site on the World Wide Web, examine the available information on global- and regional-scale plant motions, and compare with figure 3.9. Are the data consistent? Comment. http://cddis.gfse.nasa.gov/926/slrtecto.html

Chapter 4
1. Investigate the history of any modern earthquake activity in your own area or in any other region of interest. What geologic reasons are given for this activity? How probable is significant future activity, and how severe might it be? (The U.S. Geological Survey or state geological surveys might be good sources of such information.)

2. Check out current/recent seismicity (a) for the U.S. and Canada, or (b) for the world, over a period of several weeks. (See Net Notes for data source locations.) Tabulate by magnitude and compare with table 4.2. Are the recent data consistent? Comment.

Chapter 5
As this is written, Kilauea continues an active phase that has lasted more than a decade. Check out the current activity report of the Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory (see Net Notes). Or, check the latest information of the Cascades Volcano Observatory for current status of Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier, or another Cascade volcano. Or, go exploring other sites for information on other active volcanoes worldwide. Identify the tectonic setting of the volcano(es) and relate to any current activity.

Chapter 6
1. Check on the latest research results on the Grand Canyon flooding described in box 6.3, and report/comment on how those results relate to the stated flood objectives.

2. Select a major flood event, and search the Internet for (a) data on that flooding, and (b) relevant precipitation data for the same region. Relate the two, commenting on probable factors contributing to the flooding.

Chapter 7
After a major coastal storm (hurricane, typhoon) search the Internet for information on the size and the physical and economic consequences. A place to start would be the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Look also for any special sites on the Internet that may have been created specifically for exchange of information about the event.

Chapter 8
Find aerial or other photographs of your area of the country (a local library might be able to provide them). Or, search the Internet for sources-you might start with the USGS photo library page. Examine them for evidence of past mass wasting.

Chapter 9
The World Meteorological Organization declared 1995 "the warmest year yet" (since 1861). Investigate the year's weather events: What was unusual? What was the status of El Nino? What happened to greenhouse-gas concentrations? Was heating universal; if not, what regions were unusually cool? Was there any general pattern in global precipitation, or were different regions affected in different ways? A place to start is http://www.wmo.ch/web/wep/wephtml/statemnt/statmall.html. You might then want to select one region and check recent/current weather and climate conditions; see Net Notes for source sites.

Chapter 10
Select an area, or country outside the United States, and investigate current precipitation and water use. See Net Notes for potential Internet sites as which to start.

Chapter 11
How does your state fare with respect to soil erosion? What factors can you identify that contribute to the extent-or the lack-of soil erosion? (The National Resources Inventory of April 1995 may be a place to start, the Natural Resources Conservation Service or your local geological survey, an additional resource).

Chapter 12
1. Canada is the world's largest exporter of minerals and mineral products; it is the world's largest producer of uranium (28%), zinc (15%), and potash (34%), and among the world's top five producers of gold and of lead. Choose any mineral of which Canada is a major producer, and investigate its abundance and geologic occurrence. Do similar deposits occur in the U.S.? If so, how do they compare with the Canadian deposits? (See Net Notes for a start on Canadian data).

2. Select one metallic mineral resource and investigate its occurrence, distribution, consumption, and reserves. Evaluate the impact of its customary mining and extraction methods. (How and where is it mined? How much energy is used in processing it? What special pollution problems, if any, are associated with the processing?) Can this metal be recycled, and if so, from what sorts of material?

Chapter 13
Check the current status of the Exxon Valdez cleanup analysis. How many oil spills of similar size have occurred since 1989, where have they been, and what cleanup strategies have been tried? (See Net Notes for some sources.)

Chapter 14
Choose any non-fossil fuel, and investigate its development over recent decades, in the U.S., in another nation, or globally. How significant a factor is it in worldwide energy production currently? How do its economics compare with fossil fuels? What are its future prospects? (The Internet may provide particularly current data.)

Chapter 15
Choose a single super fund NPL site, or several sites within a state or region, and check the history and current status of cleanup activities there. A Website including all the NPL sites by region, which would be a place to start, is at URL: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/oerr/impm/products/nplsites/usmap.htm

Chapter 16
1. As the largest freshwater lakes in the United States, the Great Lakes receive considerable attention and study. Find out the current status of pollution in Lake Erie, and compare it with any of the other Great Lakes.

2. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water produces state fact sheets accessible online

Chapter 17
Check the latest information on stratospheric ozone depletion. (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may be good sources.) Investigate the validity of claims made by those opposing CFC restrictions, that natural chlorine sources (seaspray, volcanic gases) can account for ozone depletion. (See Net Notes for information sources).

Chapter 18
Pick an item of environmental legislation, and investigate its current status. You might choose the reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act Amendment, or CERCLA, or revisions of the 1872 Mining Law; the review of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act; or the ratification status of one of the U.N. climate conventions. See Net Notes for some possible sources of current data with which to start.

Chapter 19
Explore the Internet for an example of geographic representation of geologic, cultural, or other data relevant to land-use decisions, and examine data at different scales, if available. See Net Notes for some places you might start; see the SAST site or Federal Geographic Data Committee site, or sites relating to geographic information systems (GIS)

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