It is important to distinguish cyclones from hurricanes. While both are powerful storm systems, there are notable differences. Drag the following terms onto the storm type they describe.

Let’s take a look at satellite imagery from a massive mid-latitude cyclone that crossed the United States in March 1993. This event is commonly called the “Storm of the Century.” It spawned 15 tornadoes in Florida, killed 270 people, and caused $5.5 billion in damage. Watch the following video and see if you can identify the different parts of the cyclone. Click here to open the video in a new window. On the imagery below, match the different symbols to their appropriate locations.

  Atmospheric properties, such as temperature, pressure, and relative humidity, are reported in different units. Match the unit with the atmospheric property it measures.

  The Earth’s atmosphere has changed significantly through time. Place the images of the Earth’s atmosphere in order from the earliest to our current atmosphere, based on their compositions.  

The Earth’s oceans are part of a dynamic system. The temperature and salinity of the water varies across the globe. These differences result in variations in water density, which drives the major oceanic currents in a process called thermohaline circulation. Which type of water is densest?

On the following map, there are six boxes at different tectonic margins. Match the label of active or passive to the appropriate areas.

There are no towns near the Laki craters, but there is a cell tower on a nearby ridge and a hydroelectric plant within the Skaftá River Gorge. While explosive volcanic hazards like ashfall are not impacted by topography at all, lava flows are significantly influenced by topography. Lava, like water, tends to follow the path of least resistance. This usually means flowing downhill. Which of the two pieces of infrastructure is at greater risk from lava flows if Laki were to have another large eruption?  

Laki is the name given to a series of volcanic fissures that erupted catastrophically in 1783. Over the course of five months, the fissures emitted approximately 14 km3 of lava and vast quantities of volcanic gases. Nearly a quarter of all Icelanders perished as a result of the famine this eruption caused.Watch the video on Laki below. Laki Volcanic FissuresLinks to an external site. Using the information provided, characterize the eruption of Laki in 1783 using the choices below.

Just east of Long Beach is an inlet near Point Lookout. This is an important shipping channel. What structure would you want to install along this inlet to prevent sediments from getting deposited in the channel?

  Ozone molecules in the Earth’s stratosphere act to protect the Earth from ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The following image shows relative concentrations of O3 (ozone). Click on the area where you would expect ultraviolet radiation to be the highest.