Interactive Models
Global Phytoplankton Distribution Story Map
Overview
This story map is intended to be used with students who have access to a computing device in a 1:1 or 1:2 setting. Using various visualizations (i.e., images, charts, and graphs), students will explore global phytoplankton distribution using chlorophyll concentration data. Students will investigate the processes that allow phytoplankton populations to thrive, as well as how their role in the carbon cycle impacts the other spheres of the Earth System.
Materials Required
Resources Needed Per Student:
- Student Data Sheet - Link
Resources Needed Per Group:
- Computer/Tablet
- Internet Access
- Link to the "Global Phytoplankton Distribution" Story Map - Link
Teacher Note
At the bottom of the ocean's food chain, phytoplankton account for roughly half of the net photosynthesis on Earth. Their photosynthesis consumes carbon dioxide and plays a key role in transferring carbon from the atmosphere to the ocean. Unlike the plant ecosystems on land, the amount of phytoplankton in the ocean is always followed closely by the abundance of organisms that eat phytoplankton, creating a perpetual dance between predators and prey.
To learn more, visit:
- The MND Phytoplankton Distribution Phenomena page for background information
- The Explain tab found in the Story Map
Teachers who are interested in receiving the answer key, please complete the Teacher Key Request and Verification Form. We verify that requestors are teachers prior to sending access to the answer keys as we’ve had many students try to pass as teachers to gain access.
Supported NGSS Performance Expectations
- 4-ESS2-2: Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.
- 5-ESS2-1: Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.
- MS-ESS2-6: Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.
- HS-ESS2-6: Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.
- HS-LS2-5: Develop a model to illustrate the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of carbon among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.
- Students will analyze and compare multiple variables of the Earth System as they analyze the global distribution of phytoplankton.
- Students will observe annual patterns in chlorophyll concentration and shortwave radiation.
- Students will construct explanations and conclusions using evidence.
- What conditions within the Earth System allow phytoplankton to thrive?
- How do changes in shortwave radiation affect the distribution of phytoplankton?
- What affect do sea surface temperature and ocean currents have on distribution of phytoplankton?
- How does chlorophyll concentration indicate the presence of phytoplankton?
- How do phytoplankton contribute to the carbon cycle?
National Geography Standards:
- How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
- Internet Required
- One-to-a-Group
Complementary Lesson Plans
-
Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
Phytopia: Exploration of Marine Ecosystem
-
Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
Phytopia's "Light & Color"
-
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
What Color is the Ocean? A STEM Spectrophotometer Activity
Document Resources
Grade Band
- 3-5
- 6-8
- 9-12
Time
- > 90 minutes
