Humpbacks travel between Hawaii and Alaska every year, guided by their internal compass. The krill-rich waters of Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago are the whales’ summer feeding grounds, an environment very different from the calving grounds they have left behind in Hawaii. Here, more than the water temperature changes, the behavior of the whales changes, as well. While fiercely competitive in the breeding season in Hawaii, fighting for mates and protecting young, the opposite is true in Alaska. Whales cooperate, working in teams to gather food in the most efficient way possible. When the summer ends and the food is gone, mother and baby will head back to Hawaii again.

The young humpback calf has only a year to learn the subtleties of whale society before she is left by her mother to continue her education on her own, learning from observation and experience. It’s an incredible journey between two strikingly different environments that reveals the true complexity of the fellowship of the whales.

NATURE’s Fellowship of the Whales premieres Sunday, November 15 at 8pm (check local listings).

Photo © 2008 (Peggy Stap / Hawaii Whale Research Foundation) under NMFS Research Permit No. 587-1767-01

This program premiered on January 9, 2005.

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Created with flickrSLiDR.

The Hawaiian chain of islands, made up of six main islands plus two smaller ones, stretches for more than 1,500 miles through the heart of the Pacific Ocean. It is a place of idyllic beauty. But it is also a land of volcanic fury, raging mountaintop blizzards, dangerous rockslides, monster waves, and even tsunamis.

Kilauea, on the Big Island of Hawaii, provides the most dramatic display of volcanic power. The volcano’s newest cone, Pu`u `O`o regularly spews molten rock and its steady flow of lava in the past two decades has added more than 500 acres to the island.

High above the sea at nearly 14,000 feet is Mauna Kea, which rises above 40 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere, making for ideal stargazing. The summit of Mauna Kea is usually barren and dry, but in the winter the crest experiences blizzards with winds that whip up to 70 miles an hour.

When a blizzard rages on Mauna Kea, chances are good that down at sea level, it’s pouring. Torrential storms are common and can be very destructive. On Oahu, one community found itself in peril after tons of rock rolled down from the hills above. A veil of steel mesh was used to contain the hillside. It will keep the rocks in check for now, but erosion is an inevitable part of the natural order.

On the north shore of Maui waves that originate as far away as Siberia sometimes rise to as much as 70 feet as they break here, earning both the waves and the beach the nickname “Jaws.” Monster waves like these are seen rarely, but lifeguards are vigilant in their efforts to spot them because they can swallow a person in an instant. Still, surfers come from all over the world for a single ride on these shores that may last less than half a minute.

Far deadlier than the waves at Jaws are tsunamis. These fast-moving walls of water are triggered by earthquakes or landslides and have killed more people in Hawaii than any other natural disasters.

NATURE’s Violent Hawaii reveals a tropical paradise shaped by the most brutal forces of the natural world.

To order a copy of Violent Hawaii, please visit the NATURE Shop.

Content for Violent Hawaii was originally posted January 9, 2005.

Excerpts from the NATURE episode “Kilauea: Mountain of Fire”

Downloadable QuickTime versions of the video segments:
(Note: To download a video, right click on the video title and click “Save Link As…’ or “Save Target As…”. On a Mac, press the CTRL key and simultaneously click the mouse, then save the link.)

Video Clips

1) Volcanic Views

Describes many aspects of volcanic activity.

2) Lava Landscapes

How volcanic activity affects the surrounding land.

3) Stormy Seas

What happens when lava flows meet the ocean.

(Click here for a printer friendly version of this lesson.)

LESSON TITLE: Vibrant Volcanoes

GRADE LEVEL: 2 – 4

TOPIC/SUBJECT MATTER: Earth Science

TIME ALLOTMENT: 1-2 class periods

OVERVIEW:

This lesson will introduce elementary students to the fiery and explosive nature of volcanoes, using segments from the NATURE film, “Kilauea: Mountain of Fire.” Students will get to know different features of volcanoes and volcanic activity: what volcanoes are like, where they are found, how and why they erupt, and what happens after an eruption. Students will begin by learning key terms about the earth’s structure and plate tectonics, and followed by a hands-on demonstration of plate tectonics. Students will then view video clips to provide an overview of volcanic activity and the effects on the surrounding landscape. As a culminating activity, students will explore the locations of volcanoes around the world.

MEDIA RESOURCES:

NATURE: Kilauea: Mountain of Fire, selected segments

Video Clips

1) Volcanic Views

2) Lava Landscapes

3) Steamy Seas

Access the streaming and downloadable video segments for this lesson at the Video Segments Page.

Web sites

National Geographic Decade Volcanoes

This map highlights sixteen volcanoes that have been designated as Decade Volcanoes, due to both their potential activity and proximity to populated areas.  There are photos of each volcano on the map, as well as information and statistics about its activity.

WorldAtlas Ring of Fire

This map shows the series of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that are known as the “Ring of Fire.”  More than half of the world’s active volcanoes are in this region, which coincides with the edges of tectonic plates.

Volcano Cross-Section

This image shows the basic components of a volcano.

Standards:

National Science Education Standards, Grades K – 4

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962

Content Standard B:

PROPERTIES OF OBJECTS AND MATERIALS

• Materials can exist in different states-solid, liquid, and gas. Some common materials, such as water, can be changed from one state to another by heating or cooling.

LIGHT, HEAT, ELECTRICITY, AND MAGNETISM

• Heat can be produced in many ways, such as burning, rubbing, or mixing one substance with another. Heat can move from one object to another by conduction.

Content Standard D

PROPERTIES OF EARTH MATERIALS

• Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the atmosphere. The varied materials have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different ways, for example, as building materials, as sources of fuel, or for growing the plants we use as food. Earth materials provide many of the resources that humans use.

CHANGES IN THE EARTH AND SKY

• The surface of the earth changes. Some changes are due to slow processes, such as erosion and weathering, and some changes are due to rapid processes, such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.

Content Standard F

CHANGES IN ENVIRONMENTS

• Environments are the space, conditions, and factors that affect an individual’s and a population’s ability to survive and their quality of life.
• Changes in environments can be natural or influenced by humans. Some changes are good, some are bad, and some are neither good nor bad. Pollution is a change in the environment that can influence the health, survival, or activities of organisms, including humans.
• Some environmental changes occur slowly, and others occur rapidly. Students should understand the different consequences of changing environments in small increments over long periods as compared with changing environments in large increments over short periods.

MATERIALS

For each student:

• Volcanic Vocabulary Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)
• Lava Landscapes Student Organizer (PDF) (RTF)

For each group of 3-4 students:

• Medium-cooked egg (boiled for 5 – 8 minutes, depending on the size of the egg)
• Paper towels

For the class:

• Volcanic Vocabulary Terms and Definitions Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)
• Lava Landscapes Student Organizer Answer Key (PDF) (RTF)
• World Map
• Computer with internet access
• Chart paper, chalkboard, or whiteboard
• Raw egg (optional)
• Push pins or small sticky notes

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:

• Recognize key characteristics of volcanoes and volcanic eruptions
• Define vocabulary terms relating to volcanoes and volcanic activity
• Understand how volcanic eruptions change the Earth’s surface
• Identify locations of volcanoes around the world

PREP FOR THE TEACHERS

Prior to teaching this lesson, you will need to:

Preview all of the video segments and Web sites used in the lesson.

Download the video clips used in the lesson to your classroom computer, or prepare to watch them using your classroom’s Internet connection.

Make copies of the student organizers for each student in the class.

Bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer in your classroom. Using a social bookmarking tool such as del.icio.us or diigo (or an online bookmarking utility such as portaportal) will allow you to organize all the links in a central location.

Prepare chart paper or chalkboard/whiteboard by writing the vocabulary terms from the Introductory Activity: Crust, Mantle, Magma, Lava, Plates.  Leave enough room to write the definitions as you cover them in the lesson.

Prepare medium-cooked eggs for the Introductory Activity.  These eggs should be boiled for approximately 5 – 8 minutes, depending on the size of the eggs, and should be thoroughly cooled before distributing to students.

Proceed to ACTIVITIES.

]]> http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/lessons/vibrant-volcanoes/lesson-overview/5159/feed/ 1 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/kilauea-mountain-of-fire/video-full-episode/4825/ http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/kilauea-mountain-of-fire/video-full-episode/4825/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:30:15 +0000 tanner vea http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/?p=4825 Kilauea, on Hawaii’s Big Island, is the world’s most active volcano.  Its latest eruption began in 1983 and it hasn’t stopped since.  Since that time it has created 544 acres of new land and has consumed 200 homes. But as we watch nature’s own fireworks display and witness the devastation wrought by flowing lava, we’ve also been able to observe a process that’s central to life on these islands.  The most spectacular moment of creation is when lava pours into the ocean creating new land, and it is here that filmmaker Paul Atkins finds himself getting a shot few have ever filmed — the cataclysmic meeting of 2,000-degree lava and 75-degree ocean water — a sight to behold.

This episode premiered March 29, 2008.

Have questions for Kevin? Submit them here.