This lesson is taken from NASA's Phytopia: Discovery of the Marine Ecosystem written in partnership with Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science with funding from the National Science Foundation.
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The ocean's surface is not level, and sea levels change in response to changes in chemistry and temperature. Sophisticated satellite measurements are required for scientists to document current sea level rise.
In this activity, students will model the geometry of solar eclipses using quarters to represent the Sun and Moon (not to scale).
Students identify patterns and describe the relationship between chlorophyll concentration and incoming shortwave radiation.
This story map lesson plan allows students to explore global phytoplankton distribution using chlorophyll concentration data in a 5 E-learning cycle. 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.
Students identify patterns in chlorophyll concentration data to formulate their explanations of phytoplankton distribution.
Students will identify and describe the relationship between watersheds and phytoplankton distribution.
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.