Open Educational Resources by Subject Disciplines

"Since GIS and related geospatial and navigation technology change so rapidly, a flexible and dynamic text is necessary in order to stay current and relevant."

The Open Education Initiative at Virginia Tech is pleased to announce a newly-adapted work by Dr. Laura Neser. Introduction to Earth Science is a 530+ page open textbook designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to Earth Science that can be freely accessed online, read offline, printed, or purchased as a print-on-demand book. 2023

"With “Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation”, first and second-year college students are introduced to this expanding new field, comprehensively exploring the essential concepts from every branch of knowldege – including engineering and the applied arts, natural and social sciences, and the humanities" Chapters cover the Biosphere, Climate and Global Change, Physical Resources: Water, Pollution, and Minerals, etc.

Katharine Solada and K. Sean Daniels

"This online textbook could be followed section by section, presenting first the climate system and its components"

Adapted from openly-licensed works in geoscience, the sequence of the book differs from mainstream commercial texts in that it has been arranged to present elementary or foundational knowledge regarding rocks and minerals prior to discussion of more complex topics in Earth Science. Unlike prominent commercial texts for Earth Science, this book dedicates an individual chapter to each of the three major rock types, the processes of mass wasting, geological time, Earth history, and the origin of the universe and our solar system.

"The coverage is S279 is self-contained, up to date and is written in a way that will be accessible to those with interest and motivation, all the more so for those who have some pre-existing scientific understanding"

Published in Wikibooks 2020

The discipline of structural geology studies the architecture of the solid Earth and other planets

"How was the Great Basin created? What geologic forces are occurring? How did the Great Basin change during the last ice age? How will the Great Basin change due to current global climate change?

Watch our videos below to explore these questions.
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"What is the Earth made up of and how do we know? What causes the seasons? Are there longer-ranging cycles in Earth's climate?"

" CHOOSE a lifestyle that is "conscientious" towards the Environment and not just the environment but perhaps towards other human beings as well."

"There are many ways of dating these events. However, most of these methods come from geology, chemistry, and genetics. I am going to explain these methods in chronological order of use"

"Acclaimed dinosaur hunter Paul Sereno crisscross crosses the world's most remote areas in pursuit of dinosaur fossils and groundbreaking scientific discovery"

"David R. Montgomery is a MacArthur award-winning geologist who writes on the relationship between science and religion"

"Peter Ward argues that most of Earth's mass extinctions were caused by lowly bacteria"

This Showtime documentary series explores the human impact of climate change. It combines storytelling styles of movie makers with the expertise of the brightest stars and respected journalists. It weaves together episodes dealing with savage wildfires in the West, rising sea levels in Bangladesh, and competition for water in the Middle East.

This search tool provides descriptions and availability information for geologic maps of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico

"This site offers geologic field notes, maps, and photographs of the national parks. The site is organized around 14 thematic areas, such as fossils, plate tectonics, and volcanoes."

Earth Explorer provides online search, browse display,
metadata export, and data download for earth science data from the archives of the U.S. Geological Service.

"Geology allows us to discover how earth’s history and activity determine the state of the planet and its life forms."

"Oceanography emphasizes the need to understand geologic, chemical, physical, and biologic processes or features that occur in ocean environments."

"The course will begin by reviewing the evolutionary concepts of selection and speciation. The student will then learn to measure evolutionary change and look at the history of life according to the fossil record and a discussion of the broad range of life forms as they are classified"

" General discussion of basic principles and methods of seismology and geological tectonics, distribution of earthquakes in space and time, effects of earthquakes, and earthquake hazard and risk, with particular emphasis on the situation in California"

"This course introduces students to the basics of geology. Through a combination of lectures, labs, and field observations, we will address topics ranging from formation of the elements, mineral and rock identification, and geological mapping to plate tectonics, erosion and climate engineering."

"A collection of repeat photography of glaciers from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). "

"This site provides animations, images, interactive maps and videos that can be used to teach about the concept of geologic time. Visual resources cover some specific topics of earth history including plate tectonics, continental drift, relative age dating and paleontology."

Earth Science simulations from the Univesity of Colorado Boulder

"The Disaster Dynamics project is a learning environment for the study of the unique challenges surrounding natural disasters"

In this lab experience, students work in teams of two or more to test their knowledge of sustainable development.

"This website from the National Science Foundation offers a multimedia look at research underway on earth's coldest, highest, driest, and windiest continent -- and the least hospitable to human life"