Ocean chemistry, particularly the carbon cycle, is featured in text and illustrations, with quantitative graphics and a lab demonstration. Graphics include the global carbon cycle from 1980-1989, annual carbon dioxide flux, ocean chlorophyll concentration east of Buenos Aires, and a cartoon showing upwelling of nutrients. Full description.

Water is one of Earth's most unique and valuable resources. Thus, the distribution of water on Earth is a very important factor in the evaluation of global climate and its impact on life. In this lesson, students will use historical satellite data to examine precipitable water -- a measure of the water available in the atmosphere from evaporation (in the form of water vapor). They will then compare ... Full description.

Students will make predictions by linking current scientific satellite data to concerns about global climate change. Using maps of sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean surface winds, students will learn how differential heating of Earth results in circulation patterns in the atmosphere and oceans that globally distribute the heat. Students will learn the relationship between the rotation of Earth ... Full description.

One of the strongest observed ENSO events of the century began to unfold in 1997. Fortunately, an extensive network of satellite and ocean buoy instruments was prepared to monitor and record the historical event. In this lesson, students will collect data from the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server to understand how scientists detect the onset of El Nino conditions and the reversal to La Nina conditions ... Full description.

In this lesson, students will play the role of a senior science advisor for the Louisiana Environmental Agency. Due to the recent damaging and deadly hurricanes during 2005 (i.e., Hurricane Katrina) through 2008, they, along with their team of climatologists, meteorologists, and environmental impact experts, have been tasked to study the danger of future tropical storms. Specifically, they will investigate ... Full description.

In recent years more and more attention has been paid to the Earth's climate and how it is evolving. When studying hurricanes it is important to understand that, for a hurricane to grow, warm water is an absolute necessity. So if the Earth continues to warm, what does that mean for hurricanes and their intensity? In this lesson, the student will look at past hurricane data by researching the intensity ... Full description.

There are many factors that affect an area's near surface temperature. One factor is the tilt of Earth's axis relative to the sun as it moves in its orbit around the Sun. These changes are due to the orientation of the tilted rotation axis with respect to the Sun. In this lesson, students will compare near surface temperature at the time of the solstices, the astronomical beginning for either summer ... Full description.

There are many factors that affect an area?s climate. By understanding these factors, someone could predict the average temperature, temperature range, and precipitation patterns of an area. They could also predict the type of vegetation likely to grow in an area based on these atmospheric conditions. In this activity, students will work in groups of three. Each group will be assigned one of six sets ... Full description.

In this lesson students will build on knowledge gained in the Hurricane Research lesson and the Hurricane Frequency and Intensity Lesson. Specifically, they will discuss the interaction (pathway) between a specific 'sphere' and the 'event' (hurricane). Working in groups, students will be assigned a specific sphere to look at more closely in relation to hurricanes. When all groups are finished, each ... Full description.

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.