This portal provides information on how we use water on an everyday basis. Users can choose from some general water-use topics on the left side of the graphic, or from the categories of water use on the right side. A text menu of the topics is provided below the graphic. Topics include groundwater, surface water, domestic versus commercial consumption, irrigation and livestock, and industrial uses. ... Full description.

The PALEOMAP Project illustrates the plate tectonic development of the ocean basins and continents, as well as the changing distribution of land and sea during the past 1100 million years. The reconstruction of paleoclimates is also discussed. Maps are viewed as animations where the time component can be user-manipulated. Included are a variety of background materials which supplement the animations. ... Full description.

Researchers such as paleoclimatologists or dendrochronologists use tree ring analyses as one tool to reconstruct climate information about the past. They will often reference data from other sources such as historical weather records, and ice core or ocean core samples to support their findings. In this lesson students will utilize monthly average precipitation data to strengthen conclusions about ... Full description.

In this lesson, students will use NASA satellite measurements of atmospheric pressure to learn that pressure decreases with height in the atmosphere. Full description.

Solar radiation (light) strikes Earth's surface throughout the daylight hours. Radiation (heat or infrared) also leaves the Earth during daylight and at night. Averaged over time and space, these downward and upward energy fluxes are equal. If they were not, our planet would gradually heat up or gradually cool down. But the surface of our planet is not simply a mirror for radiation. Some of the incoming ... Full description.

Climate is the long-term weather conditions for a region, generally determined by 30 or more years of records. Climate zones can be defined using parameters such as temperature and rainfall. In this lesson, students will make climatic diagrams called climographs which will relate weather and climate for a particular location. Monthly average values of weather data such as temperature and precipitation ... Full description.

In developing models for climate change and weather prediction, the measurements of surface and near-surface temperature are an important factor in the modeling process. As the Sun heats the Earth's surface, the atmosphere is warmed from below by the processes of conduction and convection from the surface. However, near-surface air temperature (approximately 10 meters above the surface) is often different ... Full description.

The onset of winter in higher latitude regions of North America brings snow to the area around the Great Lakes. The amount of snow is dependent on many variables. One of the most significant factors determining snowfall amount in the Great Lakes drainage basin is the surface temperature of the lakes. In this lesson, students will extrapolate information from selected MY NASA DATA and NOAA websites ... Full description.

Clouds are a collection of water droplets and small ice crystals that are suspended in an atmosphere. Clouds form when moisture rises, cools, and changes to water or ice. It is important to take into consideration exactly how clouds affect the world around us. Clouds are an important determining factor in climate in any region around the globe. In this lesson, students will plot and analyze data for ... Full description.

The type of climate present in a particular location depends on several variables, including surface temperature and annual precipitation. One indicator of a locale' s climate is the vegetation present, a relationship used by the Koeppen system of climate classification. Using a microset of satellite data to investigate vegetation of a particular climate zone, students will identify factors that influence ... Full description.