What's New ThinkQuest Links the Course Library Data Connect Comments

The "El Niño/ Earth Science Virtual Classroom" was created to aid the prospective student (junior high through grad school) to learn about the El Niño phenomena as well as Earth science in general. We designed this site so that the user would advance in his/her study as he would do in a traditional classroom environment. The web allows us to include everything a student would need in one place. Beyond that, it is a forum for students and scientists to communicate, interact, and collaborate. After reading this page, you should go straight to the course where you'll find everything you need to begin studying the El Niño phenomenon. From the course page you'll learn about what El Niño is and how scientists are trying to predict its occurrence and learn from it. You'll find links to research information on the web and on this site, plus you will have access to Earth science data related to the El Niño. After you've combed through all this information and followed the on-line curriculum, you can then contact practicing Earth scientists and Earth science teachers with your questions or insights. The El Niño is a very important process in the Earth system. Besides having vital global consequences, it is a very interesting Earth system science topic because it occurs as the product of the interaction between the two of Earth's main subsystems, the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Earth system science is itself an interesting topic because it focuses on possible human-induced changes in our global climate and the effects changes may have on us. Beyond that, the study of the Earth integrates many sciences and to study it, knowledge of all the major sciences is mandatory. Earth science provides the ideal case for applying the scientific method and using the principles of physics, chemistry, and biology to understand phenomena and solve human problems. Anytime you want to get back to this page just click on the planet or moon in the upper left corner of the page you're on. There are two ways to contact the authors. The first is by an on-line comment form. The second is by straight e-mail: ctahan@circles.org & mailto:3356@www.advanced.org