Visit the Virtual Caves website: http://www.goodearthgraphics.com/virtcave/index.html. Briefly describe and provide an example of Solutional caves, Sea caves, Erosional caves, and Lava tube caves.
Solutional Caves: Solutional caves are formed by chemical reaction between the groundwater and the rock bedrock consisting of limestone. Ground water contains dissolved carbon dioxide which is a weak solution of carbonic acid and is capable of dissolving the rock slowly. This makes the passage of water wider and takes the shape of the cave. The most common example of solutional caves is flowstone. Flowstone is mostly composed of calcite and becomes rounder as it tends to become thicker with the active flow of water. Depending upon the impurities present in calcite, flowstone can take different colors.
Sea caves: Sea caves are formed due to the action of the sea waves. When the waves exert great force and penetrate into the rock, erosion is caused on the rock and results in the formation of caves. Depending upon the time of the year and the type of the tides, sea caves can be wet or dry. Sea caves have rare formations and mostly take the shape of arches and sometimes flowstone. They are mostly found on the Pacific coast of USA, Hawaii and New Zealand. Sea caves occur in limestone, sandstone or basalt.
Erosional caves: Erosional caves are formed due to the wearing away of rocks by wind or water carrying harsh particles. This type of caves is generally tall and looks like canyons. One of the examples of Erosional caves formed by wind is rock containing sandstone as sandstone is soft and tends to erode fast compared to other types of rock. Another well-known example of Erosional caves is claystone caves or soil pipe caves formed by the erosion of rocks formed by clay.
Lava tube caves: Lava tube caves are formed in places where magma has flown over the surface of the earth. These caves are a result of long-lasting flow of low-viscosity lava which hardens the walls of the rock as it cools. Lava tube caves are mostly found in western USA. One of the famous examples of lava tubes is ledges. Ledges are rectangular in shape and join the walls and floor of the lava tube. They are more common in entrances as they tend to cool fast. They generally look like benches and are also given the name shelves.
Visit the Center for Cave and Karst Studies. Discuss dye tracing.
Dye tracing is a practice followed in karst areas to trace the routes of ground water flow and estimate groundwater velocities. Florescent dyes are used for this purpose, the reason being they are easily soluble in water and inexpensive. Dye tracing is used to provide remediation strategies in karst areas. It is also useful to detect leakage from sewages and helps to identify water pollution.
Visit the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSICD) site, scroll over Programs & Projects, and briefly discuss the contents of two of the sites:
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC)
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC plays an important role in archiving and distributing Antarctic glaciological and cryospheric data that is collected by the United States Antarctic Program. It has a wide collection of photographs of Antarctica. Meta data and documentation which is used to study about the earth and its climate can be accessed from the website. Division of Polar Programs, Antarctic Research funds AGDC.
Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA)
ELOKA helps to collect, maintain, exchange and use the local observation of the Arctic with the help of local residents and researches. It makes the data available to various interest groups such as students, teachers and scientists who would like to study the Arctic and its recent changes. ELOKA works with different types of data, namely interview transcripts, video and audio recordings, photographs, maps, GPS tracks and also statistical data such as temperature and snow thickness. ELOKA had to face many challenges such as misplacement of documents or loss of important data when elders have passed away and repetition of researches being carried out due to lack of awareness. It is trying to build an appropriate means to overcome the challenges.
Briefly describe the major earth science programs of the following governmental agencies:
USGS: United States Geological Survey www.usgs.gov
The Natural Hazards Mission Area is one of the programs conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGC). It concentrates on various programs such as landslide, earthquake and volcano hazards. The Natural Hazards Mission Area provides warnings and alerts for tsunamis and storms. It also coordinates emergency management activities after the disasters.
(BOEMRE) U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
Renewable Energy Program is one of the important programs organized by BOEMRE. This program looks into the production of energy from renewable energy sources such as wind, ocean waves and current waves. As a part of the program, wind turbines are installed on the shore of the ocean and the air that moves over the ocean is converted into electricity. Ocean waves and ocean currents are said to have great energy and this energy when converted to electricity would give tremendous results. This process is under the testing stage right now.
CHL United States Army Corps of Engineers Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory
One of the major programs carried on by CHL is Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Program. This program concentrates on developing techniques that reduce the damage caused by storms. Engineering procedures are incorporated to develop computer models that have the capability to analyze storm and flood damage. In order to ensure coastal storm protection, this technique makes good use of flood control and navigation channels. It also helps to address the issues on climatic changes.
Works Cited
Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2014, from Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory: http://chl.erdc.usace.army.mil/fcsdr
Djuna, B., & Bunnell, D. (1995, June 19). Good Earth Graphics. Retrieved April 16, 2014, from The Virtual Cave: http://www.goodearthgraphics.com/virtcave/index.html
Reynolds, S. J. (2013). Exploring Geology, 3 illustrated. McGraw-Hill Education.
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from National Snow and Ice Data Center: http://nsidc.org/agdc/
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. (n.d.). Retrieved from U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement: http://www.boem.gov/
