Air traffic (and therefore airplane contrails) was halted nationwide for nearly three days following September 11, 2001. Students will investigate whether that stoppage resulted in any changes to cloud cover, temperature and/or radiation. Using the... (View More) MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS), students gather satellite data on each of the three atmospheric parameters around that time frame. Working in teams, they read, compare and discuss two accompanying articles, then use the data from the LAS to create a PowerPoint presentation contending whether it was the lack of contrails or simply natural weather patterns at the time that was responsible for the increase in the range of temperatures. This lesson uses student- and citizen science-friendly microsets of authentic NASA Earth system science data from the MY NASA DATA project. It includes detailed procedures, analysis questions, teacher notes, related links, background information, lesson extensions, and a list of related AP Environmental Science topics. (View Less)

This activity examines the relationship between carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and chlorophyll-a measurements in a watershed. Students analyze and compare two Excel plots-one showing carbon dioxide data values from the Keeling Curve and the... (View More) other showing satellite data of chlorophyll-a concentrations. This lesson uses student- and citizen science-friendly microsets of authentic NASA Earth system science data from the MY NASA DATA project. It includes detailed procedures, analysis questions, teacher notes, related links, background information, lesson extensions, and a list of related AP Environmental Science topics. (View Less)

Using the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS), students gather data on both solar radiation and surface temperature for two same-latitude locations. Students then create online graphs of that data to allow for analysis and comparison. This lesson... (View More) uses student- and citizen science-friendly microsets of authentic NASA Earth system science data from the MY NASA DATA project. It includes detailed procedures, analysis questions, teacher notes, related links, background information, lesson extensions, and a list of related AP Environmental Science topics. (View Less)

In this lesson students use climatograms from different U.S. locations to observe patterns in temperature and precipitation. After describing geographical features near these locations, they will use graphs to compare and find patterns in the... (View More) effects that mountains, oceans, elevation, and latitude have on temperature and precipitation. A research activity will then ask students to gather information on temperature and precipitation patterns around the world using the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server and other sources, with the goal of creating their own climatogram. This lesson uses the 5E instructional model. (View Less)

This worksheet introduces students to the Aura satellite and its Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Students are asked to visit the Aura website and examine OMI data visualizations to learn about emissions of atmospheric gases such as sulfur... (View More) dioxide, nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide. Students gain experience interpreting OMI data visualizations and are asked to consider implications for climate and human health. (View Less)

In these math problems, students will examine the characteristics of water droplets in clouds.

In this problem set, students learn about rainfall rates and how to convert them into the volume of water that falls.