Subject Guides: Earth & Climate Sciences: Online Resources, Atlases, & Directories

Atlases and Geolographic Name Servers

Geographical Names in Canada
Natural Resources Canada.
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
The United States Geological Survey (USGS)
Maine Ice Age Trial Map and Guide: Down East
University of Maine, Climate Change Institute.
The National Map
The United States Geological Survey (USGS)
North American Stratigraphic Code
From the North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature, published in the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin.
United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Geological Survey (USGS)

Geographic Features, etc.

Earth Impact Database
Database of confirmed impact structures from around the world. Planetary and Space Science Centre, Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada.
Recent Earthquake Activity in the USA
From the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Earthquake Hazards Program. Shows earthquakes over a 2.5
Geology & Ecology of National Parks
From the United States Geological Survey (USGS). 3D and Photographic Tours Featuring Park Geology and Natural History.
Quaternary Fault and Fold Database of the United States
From the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Earthquake Hazards Program.
World Glacier Inventory
National Snow & Ice Data Center. Contains information for over 130,000 glaciers.

Online Directories

Directory of Geoscience Organizations of the World
From the Research Planning Office for Geological Survey of Japan, AIST
Geologic Guidebooks of North America Database
From the American Geosciences Institute. The database is updated monthly and contains more than 10,000 references.
Geologic Time Scale
University of California Museum of Paleontology.
Geoscientists- Occupational Outlook Handbook
From the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Hydrologists - Occupational Outlook Handbook
From the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
State Geological Survey Links
From the Association of American State Geologists. Includes all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Virtual Field Trip Guides: United States and Canada
From the University of Texas at Austin, the Walter Geology Library. Contains links to interesting geological phenomena organized by regions of the United States and Canada.

Online Climate Sciences Resources

U.S. Government Agencies: Climate Change Programs
Hosted by the USGS, this list gives an overview of the climate change programs in different governmental agencies.

Maine's Climate Future, 2015 Update
This report considers past change over geologic time, recent evidence of accelerated rates of change, and the implications of continued climate change in Maine during the 21st century as a result of greenhouse gas emissions and their associated pollutants.

The Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptations in the United States
The National Climate Assessment (NCA) assesses the science of climate change and variability and its impacts across the United States, now and throughout this century. The newest volume focuses on the impacts and risks faced by the United States in the face of global climate change across 16 national topic chapters (water, air quality, transportation, health, coastal impacts, etc.) and 10 regional chapters.

Global Warming of 1.5 °C Report
From the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The page includes the full text of the IPCC report, Global Warming to 1.5°C, summaries, and an FAQ.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (IPCC).
Up to date view of the current state of scientific knowledge relevant to climate change. It consists of three Working Group (WG) reports and a Synthesis Report (SYR) which integrates and synthesizes material in the WG reports for policymakers.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
With 197 Parties, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and 2016 Paris Agreement. The ultimate objective of both treaties is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.

Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future
Also known as the Brundtland Report, this commission was convened by the United Nations in 1983 to address the global nature of sustainability issues.

Report of the Indigenous Peoples’ Global Summit on Climate Change
Includes The Anchorage Declaration, which describes a series of recommendations to address climate change on the national and international level.

World Meteorological Association World Climate Programme (WCP)
The WMO World Climate Programme (WCP) aims primarily to enhance the production of climate services that focus end users, to facilitate ever more useful applications of climate information to derive optimal socio-economic benefits. WCP facilitates international climate change research in order to provide better and more up-to-date climate information to enable decision-makers to reach more informed conclusions as to the causes and impacts of climate change and to develop appropriate response strategies. It underpins the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Newsroom
News on the intergovernmental climate process, along with reports of how governments, people, companies and cities across the world are taking action.

Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
Independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to advance strong policy and action to address the twin challenges of energy and climate change.