Explore using units in calculations with the Leaf Area Index (LAI). LAI is a ratio that describes the number of square meters of leaves per square meter of available land surface. Because of the units in the ratio, it is dimensionless.
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Explore using units for calculations with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). NDVI is a ratio of different light wavelength reflectance which can be used to map the density of green vegetation.
Students explore albedo, sea ice, and the relationship between changing albedo and changing sea ice using data visualizations.
Students observe the surface temperatures of a variety of surface types found in a suburban environment.
Students watch a video explaining albedo and its impact on Earth. The video shows visualizations of albedo across Earth and how it can change. Students will interpret the images in the video and answer questions about albedo.
This mini lesson engages students with answering questions on cause and effect relationships by watching a NASA video related to changing forests in the Pacific Northwest from 1984 to 2011.
This mini lesson helps students visualize how the Hydrosphere and Cryosphere interact to produce changes in land and sea ice.
Students will use the NASA Earth Observations analysis tool to explore changing albedo in the Arctic compared with other areas of Earth.
Students can interact with NASA data to build a custom visualizations of local, regional, or global plant growth patterns over time, using the Earth System Data Explorer to generate plots of satellite data as they develop models of this phenomenon.