This educational brief is designed to serve as a source of background information on solar radiation studies for teachers and as a reference for student investigations on this subject. Users can learn mathematical concepts and key terms associated with solar radiation as it strikes the Earth. Full description.

As part of this activity, students examine the effects of light and temperature on the phytoplankton population. Using ocean color data from the Coastal Zonal Color Scanner, SeaWiFS, and temperature data from the Multi Channel Sea Surface Temperature dataset, they will learn to identify phytoplankton as a component of Earth's biota, discover the relationships between biotic and abiotic components ... Full description.

Visitors can access near-realtime measurements of ozone in the atmosphere. A full global image can be selected, or today's measurements, or ozone data over any chosen location. Archived measurements are available as far back as November 1978, and a link to an online textbook about stratospheric ozone is provided. Full description.

This collection of computer-generated animations shows glaciers and glacial landforms in the vicinity of Glacier Bay, Alaska. An introductory animation shows how the "fly-bys" are created. Full description.

This animation shows the retreat of the Muir Glacier between 1941 and 1982. A scale bar gives some idea of the distance involved. Full description.

The aerial video and still photography assembled here allows users to see "before" and "after" imagery of the impacts of coastal storms. Oblique images are available for storms from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 to Hurricane Fran in 1996. Each set of images is accompanied by a brief description, and some LIDAR imagery is avaliable. Links to other related sites are also included. Full description.

Desertification, the degradation of formerly productive land into desert, is a complex process. It involves multiple causes, and it proceeds at varying rates in different climates. This web page, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey, features text and photographs that explain what desertification is, how human activities may contribute to it, how satellite imagery is used for monitoring vulnerable ... Full description.

After Antarctica, Greenland's ice cap contains the second largest mass of frozen fresh water in the world. Based on new research using NASA's airborne laser altimeter, scientists have identified pronounced thinning of Greenland's ice cap. This new research indicates enough ice loss to cause a measurable rise in sea levels. This site, produced by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, features text, ... Full description.

Deserts are classified by their location and dominant weather pattern into several types: trade wind, midlatitude, rain shadow, coastal, monsoon, or polar deserts. Former desert areas presently in nonarid environments are paleodeserts, and extraterrestrial deserts exist on other planets. This site, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey, describes each type of desert using text and photographs. Full description.

This webpage, one of NASA's fact sheets, describes the role of the oceans, clouds, and aerosols in moderating climate, which has resulted in less-than-expected temperature increases as carbon dioxide levels have increased. It also describes the efforts of scientists to construct computer models to understand interactions between the atmosphere and ocean, and to perform space-based oceanography using ... Full description.