El Nino and La Nina are important temperature fluctuations in surface waters of the tropical Pacific Ocean. In this lesson, students will create maps and line graphs of data to compare the effects of El Nino and La Nina at two different longitudinal locations, but at the same latitude, using sea surface temperature and precipitation from real satellite data. Full description.

The Sun heats the Earth, but the Earth also emits some of the heat back into space. The net amount of energy determines not only seasonal weather, but also climate trends. According to NOAA, monthly snow and ice amounts have declined over the past decade. By matching maps of snow and ice amounts with maps of net radiation flux for the same time frame, this lesson will give students the opportunity ... Full description.

Using the Internet as a resource to locate and graph scientific data, students will explore the seasonal changes in precipitation for the Costa Rican Region. They will generate and analyze satellite data for precipitation to identify the two seasons of Costa Rica and relate their importance to the travel industry. Full description.

In this lesson, students download cloud coverage and surface data from the NASA CERES S-COOL website student observation database, then use the Excel spreadsheet program to develop plots of the data. Students explore the relationship between cloud coverage and humidity for low-, mid-, and high-level clouds. The lesson provides detailed procedure, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions ... Full description.

Corals feed on algae that thrive in the sunlit water surrounding a reef. However, when water temperatures get too warm, the algae food source dies and corals turn a whitish color. Through scientific observation, it has been determined that coral bleaching may occur when sea surface temperature (SST) exceeds 30C or 86F for a week or longer. During late 2005, a major coral bleaching event occurred when ... Full description.

This activity prepares you to launch an investigation of the relationship between precipitation and streamflow for a local watershed. It can enrich a study of the water cycle. Following the step-by-step instructions in a case study you will locate, download, format, and finally graph one year of Web-based data for these two variables. The graph highlights the details of this often complex precipitation-streamflow ... Full description.

In this lesson, students will use NASA satellite measurements of atmospheric pressure to learn that pressure decreases with height in the atmosphere. Full description.

Using paper patterns, students are able to construct a model that depicts Karst topography, including typical features such as caves, limestone bedrock, sink holes, and springs. The accompanying Teachers Guide provides extensive background information about the dissolutional processes that form caves. Information is also provided about unique animals found in caves and the importance of understanding ... Full description.

This site was developed to assist students and educators with learning about the Great Lakes. The links provide materials on basic earth science concepts, a set of lesson plans on the lakes, and other Great Lakes topics. Concepts covered include Langmuir circulation, longshore current and beach drift, sediments, stream flow, seasonal stratification and water quality. Full description.

Estuaries are partially enclosed bodies of water along coastlines where fresh water and salt water meet and mix. They act as a transition zone between oceans and continents. This site examines various aspects of estuaries, focusing on the geological features that make an estuary, as well as the water circulation patterns by which they are classified. It also has a section that allows the user to access ... Full description.