Welcome to the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association

Join PAESTA!

We are the Pennsylvania affiliate of the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA), whose mission is to facilitate and advance excellence in Earth and Space Science education.

Become a member and share your ideas, vision and energy – join PAESTA today! Membership is free and open to any educator or supporter of Earth and Space science education from Pennsylvania or outside the state.

News from PAESTA

February 2018 PAESTAR

This month we recognize Cyndy Lindahl, an Earth science teacher at Armstrong Jr-Sr High School in Kittanning, PA.  Cyndy is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a Michigan native who started teaching in Pennsylvania in 2003.  She has taught at Springdale High School, Otto-Eldred High School and currently teaches Science 7 at Armstrong Junior Senior High School.

Pulsar Search Collaboratory

Pulsar Search Collaboratory

Dear Teachers,

Would you like the opportunity to involve your students in an authentic research project? Would you like to earn WVU credit and a summer stipend for your participation? Would you like to use the largest telescope in the United States to search for exotic stars called pulsars? Have no fear, the Pulsar Search Collaboratory is here! 

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Science in the News

Teachable Moment from IRIS - Magnitude 7.0 New Caledonia on 11/19/2017

IRIS

11/19/17  --  IRIS does an excellent job collecting and preparing resources we can use in our classrooms on recent, significant earthquakes. Check out their PowerPoint, visualizations and animations on this powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake that occurred 82km ENE of Maré Island, the second-largest of the Loyalty Islands in the archipelago of New Caledonia. The initial report of the magnitude and shallow 10km depth prompted a tsunami warning. 

Teachable Moment from IRIS - Magnitude 8.1 in Mexico on 09/08/2017

IRIS

09/08/17  --  IRIS does an excellent job collecting and preparing resources we can use in our classrooms on recent, significant earthquakes. Check out their PowerPoint, visualizations and animations on this powerful magnitude 8.1 earthquake that occurred offshore Mexico.  It was felt as far away as Mexico City and Guatemala City.  This occurred as heavy rains from Hurricane Katia were approaching from the east.  There are early reports of 32 deaths from this earthquake, with homes, schools and hospitals damaged.

Teachable Moment from IRIS - Magnitude 7.7 in Russia on 07/17/2017

IRIS

07/17/17  --  IRIS does an excellent job collecting and preparing resources we can use in our classrooms on recent, significant earthquakes. Check out their PowerPoint, visualizations and animations on this powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake that occurred near the westernmost extension of the Aleutian Island chain. The epicenter was located 688.6 km (427.9 miles) E of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, at a depth of 11.7 km below Earth’s surface.

IRIS page: http://www.iris.edu/hq/retm/4670

EARTH Magazine: Early Spring Thaw Triggers Arctic Greenhouse Gas Release

EARTH Magazine

From EARTH Magazine (AGI), March 20, 2017  --  The Arctic looks pretty inactive during the winter, but more may be happening than meets the eye.  According to a recent study, some carbon dioxide and methane are released during the early spring thaw, suggesting that critical processes are taking place during the Arctic winter. 

Westernmost, low-lying region of Louisiana coast on track to drown under sea level rise

Dead trees mark an area in Houma, Louisiana, transitioning from a forested swamp to a grassy marsh

From NSF, March 14, 2017  --  Little chance this shoreline can withstand accelerating rate of sea level rise, scientists say

Without major efforts to rebuild Louisiana's wetlands, which serve as bulwarks against waves and rising seas, the state's coast has little chance of withstanding the accelerating rate of sea level rise, a new study concludes.

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