Earth expeditions at your study table!

WEB WATCH

The Encyclopedia of Earth (EOE) at http://www.eoearth.org/ is a fully searchable collection of articles on the Earth. With exclusive content from research scholars, professionals, educators and experts, EOE also draws content from various free and open content sources which include government agencies whose work rests in the public domain, and non-profit and educational organisations.The scope of the Encyclopedia includes:

* The hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, magnetosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere, and their interactions, especially with regard to how these systems support life.

*Living organisms on Earth that constitute its biological diversity; biological diversity and the physical systems of the Earth including the economic, political, behavioral, technical, cultural, legal, and ethical driving forces behind environmental change.

*Traditional disciplines that investigate the environment.

*Interdisciplinary fields of environmental science —natural and social — that integrate concepts, methods and analytical tools from multiple fields in the investigation of the environment. Examples include Environmental physical sciences such as atmospheric sciences, Earth systems science, remote sensing, bio-geochemistry, oceanography and other non-biological terrestrial sciences.

*Environmental life sciences such as environmental biology, ecology, forestry, fisheries, marine biology, agriculture, aquaculture and related fields.

*Environmental engineering and other sciences related to the impact of natural and anthropogenic activities on the environment, including assessment, prevention, control, regulation, remediation and restoration.

*Environmental social sciences such as ecological and environmental economics, environmental sociology and history, and other fields that study human social and cultural activities which affect and are affected by environmental conditions.

What’s in it for you?

Apart from its aim to become a central repository of authoritative information, EOE has launched a couple of  initiatives for teachers and students such as EOE  in the Classroom, which helps educators use the Encyclopedia of Earth in class rooms for course preparation and teaching; Student Science Communication Project which publishes articles written by students with guidance from faculty and the EoE expert community; Readers and Online Courses such as the Ecology Reader for Teachers which helps high school teachers teach ecology and the Environmental Contaminants and Toxicology Reader which covers contaminants and toxicology. Some useful links have also been recommended, which provide access to a collection of articles and resources around a topic or region.

There are also e-books published on the Encyclopedia of Earth, and Environmental Classics that are often used in environmental science and studies programmes. The Encylopedia of Earth is well on its way to become a central repository of authoritative information that can meet the needs of diverse user communities such as students, educators, scholars, professionals as well as the general public.