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.

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.

In this lesson, students will assume the role of a Department of Forestry Ranger one of whose major concerns is forest fires. Using NASA Surface Scene Type data (biomes) and Monthly Equivalent Water Thickness Land Mass Change Data from 2006, the students will determine areas at high risk for forest fire development. Full description.

Many claims have been made about the evidence for or against global warming, yet whether the interpretation of the data points leans towards fact or fiction, a more descriptive term to use is global climate change. The most hard-hit area where global climate change is apparent is within the Arctic Circle. In this lesson, students will explore data from the Arctic, develop relationships between parameters ... Full description.

This lesson plan provides instructions for several activities for students to perform to study the relationship of temperature, pressure, relative humidity, and dew point in cloud formation. The lesson involves graphing of weather balloon data using a spreadsheet program. Full description.

This user-contributed tutorial provides detailed instructions on how to make Excel graphs of data that is imported from the Internet. The tutorial contains sample screen images to assist in performing each step. It involves importing a second set of data and adding it as another series on the original graph. The tutorial includes questions based on the atmospheric lapse rates plotted for two locations. ... Full description.

This page describes El Nino and the Southern Oscillation and how they may contribute to severe weather and the destruction of sensitive ecosystems such as coral reefs. It features text, pictures, scientific illustrations, and links to satellite information and weather-related science activities. Full description.

This PDF document discusses a field activity for K-12 students. The purpose of the activity is to observe type and cover of clouds including contrails. Students will observe ten types of clouds and how many of three types of contrails are visible, how much of the sky is covered with clouds, and how much is covered by contrails. The PDF is an instructor guide with detailed advice for administering ... Full description.

This database and accompanying report demonstrate the potential of combining observed river discharge information with a climate-driven Water Balance Model in order to develop composite runoff fields that are consistent with observed discharges. This combination preserves the accuracy of discharge measurements as well as the spatial and temporal distribution of simulated runoff, providing a 'best ... Full description.