In this lesson, students will examine authentic NASA satellite data to explore how hurricanes extract heat energy from the ocean surface. They will practice finding data via the Internet and make line plots and data maps. Students will understand how hurricanes gain energy from the ocean surface. They will form a hypothesis, compare data parameters and draw conclusions. Full description.

Our atmosphere is warmed by shortwave radiation received from the Sun. Some of the energy is reflected back to space depending on cloud cover and the surface characteristics of Earth. Some of the energy is absorbed by the surface, then re-emitted back to space as longwave radiation. As this occurs, clouds and atmospheric gases can reflect, absorb and re-emit this energy -- the so-called greenhouse ... Full description.

One of the most studied and important ocean currents of the world lies along the eastern coast of the United States and is called the Gulf Stream. It derives its name from its source region of warm water in the Gulf of Mexico. For the past two decades, scientists have been collecting sea surface temperature (SST) data from satellites, buoys and ships in the Gulf Stream and Atlantic Basin. In this ... Full description.

This Earth Exploration Toolbook chapter guides users through the process of locating and graphing data that has been collected by students who participate in the GLOBE Program. Users access the online GLOBE graphing tool and produce a graph comparing four Earth system variables over two complete years. Data include Maximum Air Temperature, Soil Moisture (at depths of both 10 cm and 90 cm), and Rainfall ... Full description.

This collection of imagery and visualizations is derived from the geosynchronous and polar orbiting environmental weather satellites administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service. Other sources include the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and The National Space ... Full description.

This project gives students the opportunity to appreciate how difficult it is to predict the weather when making forecasts. By accessing an assortment of images and data, the students will be asked to forecast on a regular basis and determine the accuracy of the forecasts by comparing them with the actual observed data. Students will also complete specially constructed activities that introduce forecasting ... Full description.

Contained on this page are satellite images pointed over different severe storm and special weather event areas. Each event has imagery that has been captured in the visible, infrared and water vapor frequencies. Locations vary depending upon current weather events. Full description.

Research in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas all point to the same conclusion: climate change is causing the world's glaciers to melt at an increasingly rapid pace. It is a phenomenon that may prove catastrophic for the millions of people in the world who depend on ice melt for their fresh water supply. This transcript of a broadcast story from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty summarizes the ... Full description.

The Antarctic ice sheet changes in size over the course of a year. When it is summer in the southern hemisphere, the ice sheet decreases in size. As the ice sheet melts, it releases fresh water into the ocean. In the southern winter (our summer), the ice refreezes, drawing fresh water out of the surrounding ocean, leaving the salt behind. These seasonal changes in the ice sheet are examined in this ... Full description.

This booklet provides a brief introduction to the concept of plate tectonics and complements the visual and written information in This Dynamic Planet, a map published in 1994 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Smithsonian Institution. The booklet highlights some of the people and discoveries that advanced the development of the theory and traces its progress since its proposal. Although ... Full description.