No study of Maine weather would be complete without analysis of the year of 1816 - the year with no summer in an area from western Pennsylvania and New York, up through Quebec and across to Maine and the Canadian maritimes. In this five-unit lesson, students will investigate the causes and effects of the Fabled Maine Winter by exploring a variety of data sources. They will locate, graph, and analyze ... Full description.

Over the past several decades, the levels of ozone in the atmosphere have received a lot of media and government attention. Major focus has centered on the hole or area of depletion of the ozone layer over the Arctic and Antarctic poles in winter months, which has been found to be due to human emissions of chlorofluorocarbons. This lesson uses SAGE III satellite data and ozonesonde data captured over ... Full description.

In this lesson, students will examine a historical Category 5 hurricane, Hurricane Rita, that crossed the Gulf of Mexico during September 18-24, 2005. First, they will use the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server to obtain sea surface temperature (SST) data maps of the Gulf of Mexico. Then, they will construct a time series of SST data (line plot) for a location within the path of the hurricane where a ... Full description.

The depletion of the ozone layer is recognized as one of the Earth's most important environmental issues. The Antarctic ozone hole is recognized as one of the most striking indicators of ozone depletion. The location of the ozone hole is generally confined to the latitudes over Antarctica, although there are occasions when the ozone hole can move over lower latitudes locations such as South America. ... 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.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the US. Eleven rivers empty into the bay creating the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. From urban areas and cultivated fields in which wetlands were not preserved, runoff can run into the rivers unfiltered. This runoff can include nutrients that can cause uncontrolled growth of an abundance of algae which can eventually increase the turbidity of the river, not ... Full description.

Several research studies have suggested that contrails (condensation trails from aircraft) can alter the radiative budget of the Earth by increasing the cloud cover at high altitudes. The tragic events of September 11, 2001, caused virtually all air traffic to be grounded over the US for nearly three days. The absence of contrails over the United States during this time gave scientists a unique opportunity ... Full description.

Students will use NASA satellite data to study temperature and snow-ice coverage in the South Beaufort Sea, Alaska. The data can be used to correlate with USGS ground tracking of polar bears, and to relate this to global change, sea ice changes, and polar bear migration. The data can be used to draw conclusions surrounding any migration patterns in the region. 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.

In this lesson, students will investigate the relationship between atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and chlorophyll-a measurements in a local watershed. They will compare two data sets to find correlations and explain the importance of carbon dioxide and photosynthetic plants in the carbon cycle. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to relate global climate change to local effects. Full description.