This interactive is a graphical introduction to geospatial images from NASA Earth science satellites and encourages exploration of the interconnected nature of Earth’s system by students and the public alike. Explore 25 different Earth images and... (View More) learn key features behind each data set, learn more about the satellite mission that collected the data, and find links to related NASA resources, including multimedia and data. See supplemental links for a link to a poster version of the interactive. The backside of the poster includes information on how and why NASA maps the world, a student section with tools and resources for them to explore and create their own maps, and more. (View Less)

This 16-page booklet illustrates multiple NASA sources that allow educators to incorporate real Earth science data and images in their teaching and programs. Sample resources as well as firsthand accounts of how these are being used in the classroom... (View More) or informal education setting are included. (View Less)

This chapter describes how to set a scale and measure distances and areas on satellite images. Using ImageJ, a freely available image analysis program that runs on most operating systems, users set the spatial calibration of an image, then select... (View More) and measure distances and areas on it. The measurement results are reported in real-world units. The technique is most useful and accurate for nadir view (straight down) images. In this chapter, users examine satellite images of the Aral Sea, which has shrunk dramatically since 1960 because the rivers that flow into it have been tapped for irrigation. Users access satellite images of the region, then set a scale and measure the width of the sea each year. On another set of images, they highlight areas that represent water and measure them to see how these areas of the sea changed. This chapter is part of the Earth Exploration Toolbook, which provides teachers and/or students with direct practice for using scientific tools to analyze Earth science data. Students should begin on the Case Study page. (View Less)

In this activity, users download and graph modeled climate data to explore variability in climate change. Most people know that climate changes are predicted over the next hundred years, but they may not be aware that these changes are likely to... (View More) vary from region to region. Using data from the University of New Hampshire's EOS-WEBSTER, a digital library of Earth Science data, users will obtain annual predictions for minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation for each of these 5 states: New York, Georgia, Colorado, Minnesota, and California. Data will span the years 2000 through 2100. Users will import the data into Excel and analyze it to see what, if any, regional variability exists. Finally, they will download data for their own state, compare these results with the results from the other 5 states and use their results to answer questions related to climate change. This chapter is part of the Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET). Each EET chapter provides teachers and/or students with direct practice for using scientific tools to analyze Earth science data. Students should begin on the Case Study page. (View Less)

Users explore data, using My World GIS, that characterize the dynamic Greenland Ice Sheet. By examining photographs, map views, and tabular data, users gain an understanding of how and why scientists are monitoring the ice sheet and what they are... (View More) finding. Users explore map layers that represent ice sheet thickness, weather station locations, and annual melt extents of the ice sheet. They learn about the working conditions that Arctic scientists must endure to collect their data, and how sensors on satellites are used to gather information from an area as large as Greenland. Finally, users learn about scientists' methods for measuring ice flowing downhill from Greenland, and examine that data to learn how fast the ice is moving. This chapter is part of the Earth Exploration Toolbook, which provides teachers and/or students with direct practice for using scientific tools to analyze Earth science data. Students should begin on the Case Study page. (View Less)

In this self-paced, interactive tutorial, learners become familiar with basic concepts related to remote sensing of the Earth by satellites. Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, as well as different types of onboard... (View More) sensors, are examined for their applicability to various real-world data collection and research applications. This resource is part of the tutorial series, Satellite Observations in Science Education, and is the first of three modules in the tutorial, Principles in Remote Sensing. (Note: requires Java plug-in). (View Less)

This self-paced, interactive tutorial explores the use of remote sensing to monitor the weather and climate of the Great Lakes. Learners apply NASA satellite data as they examine the on-the-ground impact of seasonal changes in weather, including the... (View More) movement of storm tracks, lake-effect and lake-enhanced weather events, and become more familiar with the weather and climate of the Great Lakes region. This resource is part of the tutorial series, Satellite Observations in Science Education, and is the second of three modules in the tutorial, Great Lakes Weather and Climate. (Note: requires Java plug-in). (View Less)

This self-paced, interactive tutorial incorporates data sets from a variety of sources to investigate coastal oceanographic processes and their connections to climate and biology. Learners will predict coastal upwelling events based on prevailing... (View More) physical conditions, and become familiar with how upwelling and bloom events in the ocean can be detected using satellite imagery, and make connections between local ocean conditions and global consequences. This resource is part of the tutorial series, Satellite Observations in Science Education, and is the second of three modules in the tutorial, Coastal Upwelling. (Note: requires Java plug-in) (View Less)