Students analyze two North Pole orthographic data visualizations produced from soil moisture data. After describing trends in the seasonal thaw of land surfaces, students demonstrate their understanding of Earth’s energy budget by explaining relationships and make predictions about the dataset.
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In this lesson, Observing Earth’s Seasonal Changes, students observe patterns of average snow and ice amounts as they change from one month to another, as well as connect the concepts of the tilt and orbit of the Earth (causing the changing of seasons) with monthly snow/ice data from January 2008
Students will use the NASA Earth Observations analysis tool to explore changing albedo in the Arctic compared with other areas of Earth.
This mini lesson engages students in writing a commentary for a NASA video regarding changes in global temperatures from 1880 to 2017.
Students consider the impact of changing conditions on the remote island of Little Diomede, Alaska after they investigate the relationship between seasonal trends in sea ice extent with shortwave and longwave radiation flux described in Earth’s energy budget.
Check out the Arctic and Earth SIGNs video to explore how climate models are used in climate change research.