Students explore the rate of earthquake occurrence for areas of Earth they choose to explore. Data is accessed through the simple interface of the IRIS Earthquake Browser. After compiling their data for various sized earthquakes, students calculate reoccurrence intervals for each magnitude and plot the data on a semi-log graph for interpretation. Discussions of the collected data touches on strengths and limitations of their data set, possible societal implications (e.g. building codes etc), as well as concepts related to earthquake prediction and forecasting.

This website provides background information, data, historical records, hands-on activities, and graphics/media about earthquakes.

Students will investigate how different soils have different capacities for retaining rainwater. They will also explain how and why a river can flood in a particular area.

This multimedia resource, part of the NC Science Now series, describes a new computer model of storm surge, developed by the UNC Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Science, that leads to a new way for NOAA to issue hurricane warnings starting this year. The model also allows forecasters to better predict the area most likely to experience flooding due to storm surge following hurricane winds. Components of this resource include a video, related text articles, and an interview with David Glenn, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Morehead City, NC. Links to these components are provided on the page under the heading "UNC-TV Media."

In this lab activity, students will use data from real corals collected in Sumatra to track the sea-level and earthquake record of the region over the past century. The Sumatra region is prone to earthquakes because it lies at the boundary of two of Earth's shifting tectonic plates—the Indian Ocean crust is creeping steadily northeast and subducting beneath Sumatra. The steady horizontal movements, and pulses of faster horizontal motion that occur during earthquakes, are recorded by GPS stations on the islands. But GPS has only been around since the 1980s, so it can't tell us about land motions associated with large earthquakes that happened in Sumatra long ago. GPS also lacks precise information on vertical motions, and cannot be installed under water, so GPS measurements of coastal land movements are incomplete. In order to figure out how often large earthquakes happen in the Sumatra region, scientists have turned to coral micro-atolls. They also use coral records to reconstruct progressive sea level changes.

In this module students will be provided with data regarding the depth of subduction zone earthquakes (from the approximate top of the slab) and surface volcano locations for Central America, they will then plot this data on a map and develop a hypothesis regarding their relationship. As part of this exercise students will create a cross-section of some of the earthquakes, and determine the dip of the slab. The students will then be asked to look at a map of subduction zone earthquake depths for another location and predict where they would expect the volcanoes to be located. They will compare their results with the location of the actual volcanoes in the region. The students will then create a cross-section of the new subduction zone (Tonga) and determine the slab dip for that location. Finally, students will develop a hypothesis regarding slab dip and the distance volcanoes are from the trench (marked on both the Central America and Tonga maps) and test that hypothesis on the Cascadia subduction zone.

This short video discusses how to be prepared in the event of a hurricane.

Students will use maps and online data resources to locate the specific geographic areas included in aerial photographs. They will also use aerial photographic imagery to assess some impacts of Hurricane Katrina.

This resource is a fact sheet released by the U.S. Geological Survey discussing landslide hazards. A student can use this resource to learn about debris flows, the conditions that lead to landslides, and how to prepare for and react to a landslide.

This article provides a basic explanation of how earthquakes can trigger a tsunami. There is a link to animations that show the impact of tsunami waves.

Students will learn how to download .sac files from the DMC and load those files into Matlab for examination. The activity focuses on enabling students to locate the event based on P arrivals and then calculate the magnitude of the event.

In this unit, students will analyze the positive and negative effects of natural disasters and the need for preparedness and advance warning systems in countries across the world. Students will select a country to focus on and will develop recommendations for the UNISDR regarding which advance warning system/model to use as well as structural engineering improvements necessary in the country to ensure preparedness and avoid loss of life and capital.

This series of lessons focuses on unique geologic ocean features, their formation, function, locations, characteristics, and origins. Students will describe the motion of tectonic plates and differentiate between three typical boundary types between tectonic plates and infer the type of boundary that exists between two plates, based on the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanoes in the vicinity. In Lesson Plan 9, "The Galapagos Spreading Center," students will model sea floor spreading, using the Galapagos Spreading Center as an example. In Lesson Plan 10, "AdVENTurous Findings on the Deep-Sea Floor," students will create a model hydrothermal vent. In Lesson Plan 11, "Volcanoes, Plates, Seamounts, and Island Chains," students will describe the processes that form seamount and island chains and relate tectonic plate movement and type of volcanic activity associated with these movements. In Lesson Plan 12, "Islands, Reefs and Hotspots," students will map and describe the stages of Hawaiian Island formations.

In this lab exercise, students relate large-scale features on Earth's surface to lithospheric plates, the underlying asthenosphere, earthquakes, and volcanoes. After creating a cross section showing elevation using GeoMapApp, students add additional features by hand.

Rising seas and coastal erosion are eating away at the barrier island on which the Alaska Native Village of Kivalina rests. Residents and others are making concerted efforts to move the community to safety.

After conducting an assessment that showed their building’s vulnerability to wind damage, the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami looked for a way to improve safety for patients and staff.

The "Shake it Up with Seismographs!" activity explores the engineering behind seismographs and how technology has improved accurate recording of earthquakes. Students work in teams to build a simple seismograph out of everyday items, test it during a simulated classroom earthquake, evaluate their results, and present findings to the class

Students will make a model to demonstrate how a sinkhole forms and its impact on the land.

Students will investigate how the slope of land controls development in a community and how changing the slope of the land might create potential hazards for citizens.