| Aquarius Mission Education: Salinity Patterns & the Water Cycle (K-12) |
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http://aquarius.nasa.gov/salinity_patterns_overview.html
Scheduled to launch in 2010, NASA's Aquarius mission will measure global sea surface salinity with unprecedented resolution. Even small variations in sea surface salinity -- the amount of salt present near the ocean's surface -- can have dramatic effects on sea ice, the water cycle and ocean circulation.
Throughout the life of the Aquarius mission, the project will create classroom activities and data-driven tools that allow non-scientists to see the implications of ocean change on the environment. The first installment is "Salinity Patterns & the Water Cycle," offering physical science resources for elementary through high school. |
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| My NASA Data (K-12) |
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http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov
Students of all ages can investigate microsets of NASA Earth science satellite data, including atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, ocean and land surface. Data are available along with lesson plans, teacher-friendly documentation, computer tools and an Earth science glossary. Science project starter ideas are also available.
All climate change classroom lessons are located at http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/ClimChg_lessons.html. Examples include:
- Coral Bleaching in the Caribbean
- Ocean Currents and Sea Surface Temperature
- Investigating Factors that Influence Climate
- Studying Snow and Ice Changes
- Tropical Atlantic Aerosols
- Hurricanes As Heat Engines
- El Niño
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| Earth Exploration Toolbook: Predicting the Spring Phytoplankton Bloom in the Gulf of Maine (Grades 7-12) |
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http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/chapters.html
Each EET chapter provides teachers and students with direct practice using scientific tools to analyze Earth science data. Earth Exploration Toolbook chapters related to NASA climate science include:
- Annotating Change in Satellite Images
- Using GLOBE Data to Study the Earth System
- Exploring Regional Differences in Climate Change
- Analyzing the Antarctic Ozone Hole
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| OceanMotion.org (Grades 9-12) |
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http://oceanmotion.org
The site focuses on understanding patterns of ocean surface currents and how they relate to issues of human exploration, commerce, science, weather/climate, and pollution. Ocean Motion includes articles and video interviews about NASA ocean current research, an interactive data visualizer, and teacher and student guides. |
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| Rising Tides (Grades 9-12) |
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http://phytoplankton.gsfc.nasa.gov/risingtides/
High school teachers and students can learn about the biological aspects of coastal oceanography and research technology. The journal includes a collection of research articles, classroom and laboratory activities, scientist interviews, further reading, and links to oceanography topics. An advanced section is designed to challenge even the most gifted of high school science students. |
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| Ocean World (High school-college) |
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http://oceanworld.tamu.edu
This ocean-science web site is targeted for students and teachers from high school-college. It contains information about many important ocean processes, together with information for teachers. The information about processes is linked to teaching material on other sites and to sources of real-time data that can be used in the classroom. The site also has complete college-level and graduate courses in oceanography and physical oceanography. K-12 material is tied to national and Texas standards for teaching science and mathematics. |
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| Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators (Middle School+) |
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http://www.globalchange.gov/resources/educators/toolkit
This toolkit is an interagency project to provide information for students and educators about the impact of climate change on wildlife and wildlands across the United States. |
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| Student Cloud Observations Online - S'COOL (upper elementary-high school) |
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http://science-edu.larc.nasa.gov/SCOOL/index.php
S'COOL is a real-time, collaborative science experiment that elementary through secondary students conduct with NASA scientists. Participants make ground truth observations of clouds for comparison with satellite data. These observations help NASA scientists validate the measurements from NASA's CERES satellite instrument (Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System). The S'COOL website includes several educational resources, including tutorials, cloud ID charts and ideas for projects. |
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Investigating Earth's Climate System: NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)
(Grades 6-8) |
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Includes 5 stand-alone modules in which students use data from NASA TRMM mission to investigate:
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Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate (grades 11-12) |
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http://icp.giss.nasa.gov/education/modules/eccm/
Presented with a science problem related to Earth's climate, students seek answers and consensus by experimenting with physical and computer models, collecting and analyzing their own measurements, and conducting inter-comparisons with real world data from satellites and ground-based observations. NASA missions and related Earth and space science topics provide the real world problem context for student investigations. The module is organized around four topics:
- Temperature Variations and Habitability
- Modeling Hot and Cold Planets
- Using Mathematical Models to Investigate Planetary Habitability
- How Do Atmospheres Affect Planetary Temperatures?
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