A geotechnical engineer is a type of civil engineer who focuses on the mechanics of the land, rocks, and soils in the building process. This type of engineering includes, but is not limited to, analyzing, designing, and constructing foundations, retaining structures, slopes, embankments, roadways, tunnels, levees, wharves, landfills, and other systems that are comprised of rock or soil.

Students model Earth's tectonic plate movement and explore the relationship between these movements and different types of volcanoes.

Software engineers play an important role at NASA as this field supports the success of our missions on Earth and beyond.  This field will continue to grow as it helps NASA address the many challenges that our agency faces.

Students will review the NASA Space Place video, "Tectonic Forces", and answer questions about tectonic plates.

Students will describe the changes in a newly-formed volcanic island over the first three years of its life.  

Students examine satellite images of a recently formed island to identify areas of erosion and deposition.

Compare pictures of different volcanoes. Then visit NASA's Space Place to learn about volcanoes and answer questions about volcanic eruptions.

Watch NASA videos about aerosols and volcanic ash.

Learn about volcanic ash and watch a visualization of the Calbuco volcano to see how ash travels around the world. 

Compare images from two volcanic eruptions in the Kuril Islands which occurred ten years apart and complete a graphic organizer for impacts on different Earth spheres.