Geologic Website of the Month
May 2009 HGS Bulletin
Earth Science World
www.earthscienceworld.org
Michael F. Forlenza, P.G.
HGS Editor
The Earth Science World website calls itself the "Gateway to the Geosciences." The homepage has a clean look with large white areas and no advertisements. The homepage banner has bold graphics, four photographs of geologic features, and links to the five primary subject areas of the website. The content on the homepage is lean with only a few images and clickable links in the body that mostly duplicate the links in the banner. At the bottom of the homepage are some additional links that connect to the parent American Geological Institute website and related webpages.
The American Geological Institute (AGI), based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a nonprofit federation of 45 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 120,000 geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists. Among the member societies are the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the American Institute of Professional Geologists, the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists, and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in the use of resources, mitigation of natural hazards, and the health of the environment. The website states that Earth Science World is a service of AGI and a place to explore interests in the earth sciences.
The five main links from the homepage are Book Center, Image Bank, Earth Science Week, Geoscience Careers, and Games. During the preparation of this article, the webpage for the Book Center was unavailable but visitors were asked to "check back soon." The Image Bank, designed to provide quality geoscience images to the public, educators, and the geoscience community, is fairly impressive. With over 6,000 geology-related photographs and diagrams, it is one of the largest sources of earth science imagery available on the Internet. Sophisticated search functions allow the visitor to browse the archive of images by category, by geologic feature, by location, or by keywords. A new feature also allows searching by geographic coordinates.
The Earth Science Week link opens the www.earthsciweek.org website which has a similar appearance to the Earth Science World website. The Earth Science Week webpage has numerous links to features and resources related to annual activities surrounding Earth Science Week that is held in October to encourage people to explore the natural world and learn about the geosciences. These features and resources include a newsletter, teaching materials, class room activities, contests, information on scholarships and internships, photograph gallery, and a calendar of events.
The Geoscience Career link connects to the AGI geoscience workforce page. This page provides some useful information for students considering studies or careers in the geosciences. On the Data and Reports page are links to original reports pertaining to the career outlook for professionals in the geosciences. These AGI reports include the March 2009 "Effects of the Global Economic Crisis on Geoscience Departments" concerning the viability of academic programs and the "Status of the Geoscience Workforce Report" released in February 2009. This workforce report is a fascinating, extensively researched, and comprehensive evaluation of the geoscience profession. The workforce report is based on copious original data collected by the AGI as well as on data from existing sources such as federal agencies, professional organizations, and industry. The report synthesizes the available data and presents an examination of subjects ranging from the supply and training of new geoscience students, to workforce demographics and employment projections, to trends in geoscience research funding and economic indicators. The report is a worthwhile read to see where our profession is headed. And, for people who like graphs and bar charts, the report is a treasure. Also useful is the list of links on the Related Sites page to geoscience societies and geosciences career-related websites.
A text box on the Earth Science World homepage with a graphic of a nautilus shell connects the visitor to and "Interactive Geologic Time Scale." This is a disappointing feature. After selecting a time period, a rather simple geologic time scale appears with the selected time interval slightly highlighted. In the age of stunning computer graphics, this is hardly an interactive feature.
Do not miss the Games section of the website. Clicking on Games in the banner or on photograph of the pump jack near the bottom of the homepage will open the virtual oil well interactive game. Running the game requires Java software which can be downloaded. The interactive virtual oil well game is the primary reason to visit the website to test your hydrocarbon exploration skills and your luck in the swamps of southern Louisiana. The game provides a back story: your late Aunt Thibodeaux purchased the mineral rights to an eight mile square of land where there is a good chance that oil can be found. She has also left you $2,000,000 and mineral rights to that land. You must use this inheritance to explore for gas or oil on that land.
Just as in non-virtual hydrocarbon exploration, everything costs money. Hiring consultants, shooting seismic, drilling, and well completions will cut into your aunt’s stake so be sure to budget wisely. You can identify potential exploration targets after acqu