OCO-2 Launch - Why Study Carbon Dioxide?

This recent article from NASA's Earth Observatory covers the study of Earth's atmosphere using remote sensing, and provides imagery of pollution visible from space.

This recent article covers new NASA satellite images illustrating the reduction of air pollution in the United States between 2005 and 2011.

This blog post covers the hows of launching a NASA mission into space, as well as some interesting facts about OCO-2 and carbon dioxide.

Demo (Elementary): A balloon with baking soda is stretched over the mouth of a bottle containing vinegar. When the baking soda is tipped into the balloon, the reaction creates carbon dioxide, causing the balloon to inflate.

Article (Elementary / Middle School): Students learn about the units of measurement used when studying concentrations of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere and why we study this gas in the first place.

Imagery (Elementary / Middle School): This series of images shows sources, causes and results of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions.

Activity (Elementary / Middle School): This online interactive allows students to see changes in Earth's climate over time.

Problem Set (Middle School): Students will analyze a map of atmospheric carbon dioxide derived from satellite data.

Problem Set (Middle School): Students will analyze an image of carbon dioxide emissions in the continental U.S. in a given year to answer a series of questions.

Problem Set (Middle School): Students will use a map of satellite data of Earth's carbon "metabolism" to answer a series of questions about carbon removal.

Problem Set (Middle School): Students are asked to analyze a graph of carbon dioxide concentration in the last 400,000 years and consider the rise in carbon dioxide over the last 150 years.

Problem Set (Gr. 7-8): Students are asked to examine data and determine whether evidence suggests that carbon dioxide and temperature rise can be linked causally.

Problem Set (Gr. 6-9): Students are asked to analyze carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere since 1985.

Reading (High School): In this textbook chapter, students review concepts of matter and energy as a precursor to understand how carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere.

Reading (High School): This textbook chapter describes the properties of greenhouse gases that are being added to the atmosphere: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and ozone.

Reading (High School): In this textbook chapter, students learn more about scientists studying carbon dioxide and the techniques they use to gather data. Links are included to video interviews.

Reading (High School): In this textbook chapter, students learn about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and how historical data present evidence that human sources have contributed to an increase in CO2 levels in Earth's atmosphere.

Activity (High School): Through a digital interactive, students identify human sources of carbon dioxide and their contribution to carbon enrichment of the atmosphere.

Activity (High School): Students plot atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration levels in Mauna Loa and Antarctica, and infer an explanation for the patterns they see in the data.

Activity (High School): Students are invited to make structural models of gas molecules and test their molecules for resonant frequency.

Activity (High School): Teams of students are challenged with engineering a greenhouse heat trap for use with exotic plants.

Lab (High School): Student teams hypothesize which source has a greater CO2 concentration, and test samples from each source while plotting data.

Problem Set (High School): Students will compare the carbon dioxide produced as a result of the Eyjafjalla Volcano eruption and burning of oil from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Activity (Gr. 10-12): Students will examine the relationship between carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and chlorophyll-a measurements in a watershed, using Excel plots created using NASA data.