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 data activity, students explore the relationship between surface radiation and mean surface temperature in several geographic regions. By observing how these parameters change with latitude, students will understand the relationship between... (View More) solar radiation and seasonal temperature variation. This activity is part of the MY NASA DATA Scientist Tracking Network unit, designed to provide practice in accessing and using authentic satellite data. (View Less)

In this activity, students will research weather proverbs, analyze the scientific validity of three weather proverbs and present their reasoning in an essay. As an extension, students may survey 15 senior citizens to determine most frequently heard... (View More) weather proverbs and the proverbs they feel were most scientifically valid, then create histograms charting this information. Students may also compare their Student Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) observation record of clouds with their findings regarding the validity of the weather proverb, "The higher the clouds, the better the weather," to determine if the days high clouds were observed were days of fair weather. (View Less)

In this lesson, students download cloud coverage and surface data from the NASA Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Student’s Cloud Observations On-line (S’COOL) student observation database website, then use a spreadsheet program... (View More) to develop plots of the data. Students explore the relationship between cloud coverage and humidity for low-, mid-, and high-level clouds. The lesson includes detailed procedures, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. This lesson is from the MY NASA DATA project, which has created microsets from large scientific data sets, and wrapped them with tools, lesson plans, and supporting documentation so that a teacher, or anyone in the interested public, can use authentic NASA Earth system science data. (View Less)

This module include four problem-based learning scenarios related to volcanoes and emphasize different kinds of volcanic hazards and geologic processes. The four scenarios are: whether to build a new high school in the shadow of a restless volcanic... (View More) giant, Mt. Rainier; Kilauea in Hawaii shows signs of activity. What are the prospects for the nearby population?; Mt. Hood is starting to act like Mt. St. Helens did in 1980, but Mt. Hood is just 40 miles from the metropalitan area. How might an eruption impact this populated area?; and America's largest volcano in Yellowstone National Park is stirring. Are we facing an eruption as devastating as a nuclear attack? This module is from Exploring the Environment. (View Less)

In this problem-based learning activity, students will study the action of a previous hurricane (Hurricane Andrew, 1992) in preparation for analyzing, tracking, and predicting landfall of the next hurricane to hit the United States during the school... (View More) year. This module is part of Exploring the Environment. (View Less)

This problem-based learning module focuses on the increasing atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and its effects on the various spheres of the Earth system. More specifically, students will predict how these effects may impact the growth of... (View More) hard-red winter wheat in Kansas 50 years in the future. This module is part of Exploring the Environment. (View Less)

In this problem-based learning activity, teams of students will be asked to forecast the weather up to 48 hours in advance of an outdoor event that is special to them. It may be a local or distant event. The activity is part of Exploring the... (View More) Environment. (View Less)

In this scenario-based, problem-based learning (PBL) activity, students investigate cloud formation, cloud classification, and the role of clouds in heating and cooling the Earth; how to interpret TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) images... (View More) and data; and the role clouds play in the Earth’s radiant budget and climate. Students assume the role of weather interns in a state climatology office and assist a frustrated student in a homework assignment. Learning is supported by a cloud in a bottle and an ice-albedo demonstration, a three-day cloud monitoring outdoor activity, and student journal assignments. The hands-on activities require two 2-liter soda bottles, an infrared heat lamp, and two thermometers. The resource includes a teacher's guide, questions and answer key, assessment rubric, glossary, and an appendix with information supporting PBL in the classroom. (View Less)