This site discusses the loss of ice from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which has been observed for the last thirty years. Topics include why, when, and how much ice was lost by the ice sheet since the last glacial maximum, and whether the ice sheet was ever smaller than it is today. Full description.

Approximately one-third of the Earth's land surface is desert, arid land with meager rainfall that supports only sparse vegetation and a limited population of people and animals. Deserts are also fragile environments. The misuse of these lands is a serious and growing problem in parts of our world. This web page, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey, describes how deserts are defined and classified. ... Full description.

This site, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey, describes the circulation pattern of Earth's atmosphere, which is influenced by differential heating and the Coriolis Effect. This circulation causes the formation of warm, dry areas on the Earth's surface which are where deserts are likely to exist. The site features text, a photograph, and a scientific illustration showing the atmospheric circulation ... Full description.

Most of Earth's deserts can be found in dry areas created by global circulation patterns. The deserts of our world are not restricted by latitude, longitude, or elevation. This site, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey, uses text and pictures to describe how atmospheric circulation patterns influence the locations of deserts on Earth and possibly on other terrestrial planets as well. Full description.

In this lab activity students will use cloud cover data from five cities (real data from NASA's TRMM instrument) to prepare a data table and graph using any available software. After downloading the data from the S'COOL homepage, they will prepare a spreadsheet and graph, and write sentences describing the dependent and independent variables and describing each cloud group. The site features text, ... Full description.

This image is part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Science for Schools website. Other imagery includes photographs of water being measured and sampled, being used in various ways, and illustrations of how human activity influences the water system. Written descriptions of activities being shown are provided. Links to other parts of the Water Science for Schools website are also present. Full description.

Users of this resource may direct questions about global change to staff members at the U.S. Global Change Research Information Office (GCIRO). An archive of previous questions and answers is provided, along with links to other global change sites. Full description.

As part of this activity, students will read and discuss information on the greenhouse effect and list important points about global warming. Tables are provided to show the most important greenhouse gases and how much their concentrations have increased since the pre-industrial era. Full description.

GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science education program. Students can learn to take scientific measurements in the fields of atmospheric science, hydrology, soils, and land cover. They can report their data through the internet, create maps and graphs to analyze the data, and collaborate with scientists ... Full description.

This glossary provides an alphabetical listing of terms related to the study of atmospheric ozone. Full description.