This classroom activity explains how clouds and pollution in the atmosphere are important to climate, and the need to study whether pollution may be changing Earth's climate in undesirable ways. It introduces NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) mission. The activity includes building a MISR-lite model to demonstrate how looking at the same thing (i.e., Earth's atmosphere) from different ... Full description.

This classroom activity explains how the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites work to provide precise location information to positions on the ground, as well as to other satellites whose job is to map the surface of Earth. The activity is specifically tied to NASA's Jason-1 and Topex/Poseidon spacecraft in their mission to map ocean topography. In addition to the concepts of distance vs. time ... Full description.

This brochure describes the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. The first NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) satellite, Terra, was launched on December 18, 1999, carrying five remote sensors. The most comprehensive EOS sensor is MODIS which offers a unique combination of features: it detects a wide spectral range of electromagnetic energy; it takes ... Full description.

This is the third in a series of four ChemMatters issues devoted to NASA?s Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura mission and it focuses on the chemistry of the mission. ChemMatters is designed and published for teachers to use as a supplement to their first year high school chemistry course, and as a resource for other high school science teachers. Article titles are: Whose Air Is It Anyway (global circulation ... Full description.

This chapter from the Earth Exploration Toolbook guides users through the process of locating and graphing Web-based environmental data that has been collected by students who participate in the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program. Basic concepts in Earth system science are explored as students investigate a specific case study. The GLOBE Graphing Tool is used ... Full description.

This activity allows students to use radiosonde data from a weather balloon launch to distinguish the characteristics of the lower atmosphere. Full description.

This activity allows students to use real satellite data to determine where the greatest concentrations of aerosols are located in the tropical Atlantic region during the course of a year and their source of origin. Full description.

This lesson plan explores a historical El Nino event using real satellite data and correlates El Nino to local weather. Full description.

This lesson plan examines data in several formats in order to determine the presence or absence of seasonal variability in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations. Full description.

This lesson plan employs inquiry-based methods to investigate how latitude and longitude (and distance from oceans) impact climatic factors such as temperature range, average temperature, and precipitation. Full description.