2002 Sci/Tech Web Awards: EARTH & ENVIRONMENT

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From the birth of Earth to the present, this site chronicles our planet's past 1,100 million years. Terrific animations show giant tectonic shifts; beautiful full-color paleogeographic maps reveal ancient mountain ranges and shorelines; new 3-D images and animations depict the changing planes of Gaia's face. Other sections review climate history in depth and predict what the world may look like 50 million years from now.

The Earth Observatory

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Take the long view of this island Earth: this well-built NASA Web site provides easy access to gorgeous satellite imagery and scientific data about our home planet. It has a particular concentration on climatic and environmental change, which helps shed light on these complex topics.

Dive and Discover

Stand on the virtual front lines of oceanographic inquiry with Dive and Discover. The site offers up-to-minute reports about the latest deep-sea exploration missions as researchers investigate the deep ocean's otherworldly topography and bizarre inhabitants.

Wild World

This site, developed by National Geographic and World Wildlife Fund, charts more than a thousand of our planet's diverse ecological regions with excellent interactive maps. It's a good way to get a global perspective on Earth's environmental trouble spots. The Sights & Sounds area lets you hear audio clips and see video shorts of the native fauna in various areas as well.

The Encyclopedia of the Atmospheric Environment

Beyond basic subjects such as climate and weather, this site from the U.K. Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs covers a wide range of pressing atmospheric science issues including acid rain, air quality, climate change, global warming and ozone depletion. Each category offers a dozen or more subtopics, with certain pages giving the option of shorter or more technical versions.

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