The following are references in Environmental
Chemistry:
1. General References
o
The on-line National Library for the Environment is a very useful
site with the following resources: issue reports, environmental law,
demography, and ecology.
o
The EPA maintains
Envirofacts, a one-stop access to data
drawn from six major EPA databases, as well as cross references to other
sources of information. Two other EPA portals to information are the Environmental Information Management System
and a search engine of abstracts to EPA reports.
o
The Extoxnet Infobase (Extension
Toxicology Network) which is a cooperative effort of scientists at the
University of California-Davis,
o
The Agricultural
Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains TEKTRAN
(Technology Transfer Automated Retrieval System). TEKTRAN provides access to
abstracts of USDA work that is very relevant to environmental science.
o
CambridgeSoft
maintains ChemFinder, a remarkably
efficient Internet search engine, which searches for information on specific
compounds by name, formula, CAS registry number, and molecular weight. Most of
the hits are related to toxic properties.
o
The National
Academy of Sciences once maintained a Web site with most of the reports
generated by the now defunct Office of Technology Assessment. Access to the
archives of the OTA is now provided by Princeton University.
o
The Department of
Energy maintains EnergyFiles,
an extensive collection of links to databases relating to energy. The project
is run by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI).
o
WorldAtom is the official Web site
of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Wien. The site offers an
extensive array of reports, data, and other resources.
o
A joint effort of
the United Nations' Environmental Program (UNEP)
and the World Health Organization's Environmental Epidemiology Network
(WHO-GEENET) is a page that is a clearing house of Web sites related to the
safe use of chemicals, environmental epidemiology, and the persistence of
chemicals in the environment.
o
Information on
Population. The Centre for Population
Biology maintains The Global
Population Dynamics Database [P. Inchausti and J. Halley, Science, 293,
655 (2001)]. Quoting from the abstract of the article: "The GPDD is an
important new source of information for ecologists, resource managers, and
environmental scientists interested in the dynamics of new populations."
The Population Division of the United Nations
maintains a Populations Database that includes access to its reports. The user
specifies the data to be accessed and displayed. A comparable UN site is the United Nations Population Information Network.
The Population Reference Bureau maintains a Data
Finder with data from more than 220 countries. This site has an focus on
issues related to family planning.
o
The World
Wildlife Fund Web site contains information on more than 800 ecoregions. The site
includes an informative map. The report Africa Environmental Report can be accessed
from a UN site.
o
FishBase is a database with
information on more than 26,000 species of fish. The database has an
environmental emphasis. The U.S. Geologic
Survey maintains the NAWQA database on water quality that contains data on
the effects of pollution on aquatic organisms.
o
Earthtrends is a Web environmental
almanac that is managed by the World Resources Institute in
o
Contemporary
geography is a cross-disciplinary field that significantly overlaps
environmental science. Gavin Richards has developed GeoExplorer, a Web site oriented to
students at the secondary level. It is packed with resources on physical
geography. The Geo-Images
Project at the University of California-Berkeley is a large collection of
images related to geology and physical geography.
o
The Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map maintained
at the
o
The U. S.
Geological Survey provides through its WWW sites access to very useful data on
water quality.
§
acid rain (available at the Branch of
Quality Systems)
§
effects of pollution on aquatic organisms
(also cited above)
§
USGS Circulars (i.e. reports)
o
AQUASTAT is a
comparable Web site dedicated to water quality and assets that is maintained by
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
o
The Ecological
Society of America maintains EcoEdNet, a
collection of essays. experiments, and exercises for the class room that covers
all aspects of ecology. You have to register at no charge to use the resources.
o
NOAA maintains an excellent Web site for the
weather. This site is used as a source of up-to-date information by government
agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service.
2. Toxic Properties (including MSDS data sheets)
o
The Office of
Response and Restoration of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) maintains an instructive ChemAids page.
ChemAids provides access to a database of information on the chemical
consequences of a disaster such as a derailment. It also has an informative
problem set.
o
TOXNET maintained by the National
Laboratory of Medicine is the gateway to a comprehensive system of databases on
toxicology, hazardous chemicals, and related areas. This should be your first
stop in finding information on the toxic properties of a substance. The full
records are very comprehensive and include information on physical and chemical
properties as well as safe use and disposal. The HSDB database is a good place
to start if you require quantitative data.
A good place to
start in a search of the massive government databases is NIH's SIS. Links are provided to the Specialized
Information System. In starting to use the system, search by chemical name and
CAS Registry Number.
o
ECOTOX is an extensive database prepared
by the Environmental Protection Agency and contains quantitative data on the
impact of toxic substances on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Searching for
data is expedited if you have the CAS number for the toxic substance. DSSTox, a new site from the EPA, is
an attempt to provide access to a wide range of databases with a standard
format. TOXNET is a resource of the
National Library of Medicine. It provides a searchable access to a range of
databases. If you know the CAS number, provide it.
A related EPAS
resource is the IRIS Tracer
that allows one to follow EPA assessments of hazardous substances.
Tox Town is an interactive Website
devoted to toxic substances and is maintained by the National Library of
Medicine. It is oriented to the general public and a Macromedia Flash player
must be installed in order to view its entertaining graphics.
MAPPING OF
CONCENTRATIONS OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES
Emissions of substances are tracked by two government agencies. EPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)
provides information on toxic substances. The European Union's European Polutant Emission Register (EPER)
covers both toxic materials and greenhouse gases. TOXMAP, a site of the
National Library of Medicine, provides a cartographical presentation of
emissions of more than 650 hazardous chemicals into the environment. The Web
site uses data from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory. Geodata is another
o
The Chemical
Reactivity Worksheet, a source of information on the reactivity of
substances, can be downloaded from NOAA. The Web site has other information on
chemical combinations that can lead to serious accidents.
o
The Instant Chemical Hazards and
Safety database is another source of data on toxic chemicals. The database
is small now but is growing. The information on the compounds in the database
is extensive. The inclusion of LD50's and other quantitative measures of
toxicity is noteworthy.
o
Another good
place to turn for quantitative data, e.g. LD50's, on toxic substances is the SIRI (Safety Information Resources,
Inc.) database.
o
A very
comprehensive database on pesticides is
provided by a Jinno Laboratory The database includes spectra, structures,
chemical and physical properties, and toxicological data.
o
Chemical Backgrounds
is a Web site that provides informative essays on more than 100 chemicals that
have an effect on the health. Each essay addresses the properties and
pharmacology of the substance.
o
MSDS Solutions is a comprehensive Web database
of MSDS data sheets. You have to registrer to use the database but there is not
fee for the registration.
o
The Carcinogenic Potency Database
is maintained by pioneer Bruce Ames at the
o
The Strategic
Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental
Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) of the U.S. Department of Defense
(DOD) provide a number of comprehensive databases. The ASETSDefense (Advanced Surface Science
Technologies for Sustainable Defense) database provides information on coatings
and surface-treatment technologies.
For example, problems associated with chromium[VI] and green
alternatives are covered in considerable detail. The SERDP/ESTCP Online Library provides
access to reports that deal with materials used by the DOD. The scope of the library is
comprehensive. For example, the
reports address ecological effects, remediation, detection, and persistence.
3. Degradation of Molecules
in the Environment
o
The
Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database at the
o
o
The Environmental
Science Center of Syracuse Research Corporation has generously made available
the Environmental Fate Data Bases (EFDB).
These databases include DATALOG, a biobliographic file; BIOLOG, sources of
microbial toxicity and biodegradation; CHEMFATE, rate data for degradation of
compounds in the environment plus physical properties; and BIODEG, experimental
data from biodegradation studies. The Web site alsdo includes TSCATS, a
database on toxic properties; KOW, a database of octanol-water partition
coefficients; and a database on compounds involved in global warming and
stratospheric ozone.
o
PBT Profiler is an online tool
for predicting the persistence, bioaccumulation potential, and toxicity of PBT
chemicals such as dioxins.
o
The Center for
Environmental Kinetics Analysis at
4. GIS: Data Acquired from
Remote Sensing
With the support and encouragement of Vice President Al Gore, data acquired by
satellites are now available on the WWW. This section provides links to GIS databases
that are relevant to environmental science.
o
Mapping
§
The National Atlas of the United States of America
is a comprehensive effort of the U.S. Geological Survey to provide Web
access to a diverse array of geographical information. The USGS is in the early
stages of developing its online National Map program
which when completed will surpass in quality and content its series of
topographic maps. The USGS
National Map Viewer is a useful tool towards that end.
§
US data in GIS ArcView format which
include topographical maps can be accessed through the Seamless site.
The topos are at the 1:100,000. The data also includes satellite photographs,
ground cover, and host of other GIS information.
§
Those seeking
topos in a 7.5' GIS format for
§
Data for
§
Data for
§
GIS topographical
data for most states can be obtained from the Libre
site.
§
Terraserver is a collaborative project of
Microsoft Corp. and the USGS. Its library of topo maps and aerial photographs
covers the entire country.
§
The Map Machine
of the National Geographic Society provides for much of the world satellite
pictures and highway maps that can be enhanced with geophysical and
demographical information such as the location earthquake faults.
§
This Cornell University site allows you to
make a digital map with the details that you select. Some of the site's own
maps are interactive.
§
The
§
A site maintained
by the library at the University
of Arkansas is a Web guite to GIS resources covering a broad range of
disciplines.
§
Check out Google Earth. You will be able to download
freeware from the site that allows one access to detailed aearial pictures
covering the entire globe. Amazon is in the
process of releasing a service that provides street maps for the entire country
that will be accompanied by photographs.
§
The Crystal Lake website
provides topo maps that cover, section by section, the entire
§
The US NOAA
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) maintains a number of sites
that provide information on the weather.
§
home page for NOAA
§
National Weather Service, weather patterns
and forecasts
§
Department of Commerce
weather page
§
OSEI (Operational Significant
Event Imagery Team)
§
GOES (Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite Project)
§
For extreme
weather conditions, consult a special Web site from the National
Climatic Data Center.
§
Wildfires have become
a major problem. the GEOMAC USGS site
tracks the status of major fires such the the Williams Fires in the
§
NASA maintains this IMS (Information
Management System) as access to a master catalogue to DAAC's (Distributed
Active Archive Centers) of EOS (Earth Observing System) data. There is a fee if
you wish to order a particular dataset.
The following
agencies participate in the EOS program:
§
EROS Data Center, land features
(Landsat images) and processes
§
Goddard Space Flight Center, upper
atmosphere, atmospheric dynamics, and global biosphere
§
Related is the PM_ESIP (Passive Microwave Earth Science
Information Project) that assembles global maps of surface temperature,
wind speed, and precipitation from microwave data.
§
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Ocean
Circulation and Air-Sea Interaction
§
Alaska SAR Facility, sea ice and polar
processes
§
NWIS, data on hydrology from the USGS
§
Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center,
human interactions in global change
§
Global Hydrology Resource Center, global
hydrology
§
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
biogeochemical dynamics
§
National Snow and Ice Data Center,
polar processes, cryosphere, and climate
§
Langley Research Center, radiation
budget, clouds, aerosols, and tropospheric chemistry
§
Directory of Earth Science Data Sets
§
The National Oceanographic Data Center is a
clearing house for data relating to the ocean.
§
The Naval
Research Laboratory maintains a Web site for its NLOM (Layered Ocean
Model) project which provides 30-day forecasts of ocean behavior.
§
The Space Science and Engineering Center
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison maintains a large collection satellite
images that provides a wealth of information on meteorology and geology.
§
The National Earthquake Information
Center of the US Geological Survey provides up-to-date information about
earthquakes throughout the globe. A mirror
site is also available. Consult
another USGS site for maps
of faults. Another USGS site provides current geologic survey maps"
§
Data on
earthquakes in
§
WorldWatcher was developed by
researchers of the Supportive Scientific Visualization Environments for
Education (SSciVEE) project at
§
The Flood Observatory at
§
The Web site of
the National Snow and Ice Data Center in
Boulder, Colorado provides more than 400 data sets tied to ice and snow but
other aspects of hydrology as well.
§
William Bowen
provides a collection of 500 computer-generated aerial images of terrestrial
landscapes in his geogdata
site. The Jules Map Server hosted by
UNAVCO generates maps of the planets in the solar system.
§
Biodiversity is
the focus of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). The GEO
BON portal for the group provides a rich source of data on
biodiversity. Much of the data is
in GIS format.
4. Environmental Problems
o
Several sites have
developed visualization and mapping tools for displaying data associated with
pollution. Start with a cache of graphics from the United
Nations' Environmental Programme. The OMI site in the
o
The EPA maintains an excellent
Web site dedicated to the stratospheric ozone problem. A NASA site provides
additional data and focuses on the ozone hole. Data can also be found at a
companion NASA site, Ozone Hole Watch.
o
The Stratospheric Ozone and Human Health
site is maintained by CIESIN (Center for
International Information Network) at
o
The Oxygenated Fuels Association presents its
case for the use of oxygenated fuels such as MTBE in controlling air pollution.
Some useful chemical information can be found in the Technical Library. The Web
site emphasizes public policy issues.
o
NASA's Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) is a
comprehensive set of links to satellite and ground-based datasets relating to
the atmosphere, the biosphere, and the hydrosphere. This is the best site for
information on changes in the global environment.
o
The Environmental Estrogens Web
page maintained by the Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and
o
Arsenic presents
a serious environmental problem. Richard Wilson at Harvard manages The Arsenic Website
Project, a source of information on arsenic.
o
Environmine
provides an informative page on Acid Mine
Drainage.
o
Light pollution might not have dire
consequences for health but it can be devastating for the practice of optical
astronomy. This Web site has information on the problem that includes maps.
o
The report of the
Heinz Foundation on The State of
the Nations Ecosystems is now available online.
o
The Web page of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
is a gold mine of information on changes in the climate. The report of the UN Millennium Project summarizes the
findings of several task forces. Reports of the panel are available. The IPCC Data distribution Centre has its
own site. A companion Web site also dedicated to data on the climate is
maintained by the International Research Institute
for Climate Prediction at
o
Patterns of
below-normal precipitation present a related environmental problem. The Dought Monitor maintained
by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln provides a unified set of links to
government and private data related to precipitation.
o
The US EPA has a
site dedicated to Green Chemistry.
The site includes access to the software tool GCES, Green Chemistry Expert
System.
o
Serious accidents
are an unfortunate fact of life in science and technology. The Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center
and the governmental Chemical Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board have Web sites with reports on accidents and their
causes. The discussion of some chemicals is sobering.
o
Emissions of
substances are tracked by two government agencies. EPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)
provides information on toxic substances. The European Union's European Polutant Emission Register (EPER)
covers both toxic materials and greenhouse gases.
o
Environmental
Media Services hosts Realclimate, a
site devoted to global warming. The site was developed to counter
industrial-supported sites such as CO2science.
The opportunity to participate in modeling calculations and a discussion of the
theory underlying models for global warming are provided by the Climate Prediction site.
5. Methods of Energy
Production
o
NREL, the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden,
o
Los Alamos
National Laboratory provides Fuel Cells, Green Power
a 33-page document in pdf format describing the technology. HyWeb is a site in German and English that
emphasizes the use of hydrogen in fuel cells. Fuel
Cells 2000, a third site, is provided in English and Spanish by the Online
Fuel Cells Information Center. The Hydride-Metal Related Data
Base is maintained by Sandia. DOE's EERE
also has its Web site dedicated to hydrogen and fuel cells.
o
The Radiation and Health Physics Page,
maintained by students at the
o
The Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues is an
online bibliography to information related to nuclear energy. Scientific Digital Visions provides
a dictionary of 1000 terms used in nuclear science including measures of
radiation damage.
o
The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN)
site of the US Department of Energy has links for information related to the
mission of the project.
o
The Danish Wind
Industry Association sponsors the Windpower
Web site that is dedicated to all apsects of windpower.
last changed, 6 October 2009