Analyze these satellite images comparing Ocean Chlorophyll Concentrations with Sea Surface Temperatures beginning with the North Atlantic region, then expanding global patterns of these phenomena.  Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Students can interact with NASA data to build a custom visualizations of of local, regional, or global plant growth patterns over time.  Use the Earth System Data Explorer to generate plots of satellite data as you develop models of this phenomenon.

See the following datasets in the Earth System Data Explorer:

• Monthly Leaf Area Index
• Monthly Normalized Difference Vegetation Index

The world's ocean is heated at the surface by the sun, and this heating is uneven for many reasons. Earth's rotation, revolution around the sun, and tilt all play a role, as do the wind-driven ocean surface currents.This animation shows the long-term average sea surface temperature, with red and yellow depicting warmer waters and blue depicting colder waters.  

Students observe images, individually, looking for changes in surface air temperatures (using data displayed, unit of measure, range of values, etc.) and patterns noticeable within the maps.

Students review a video showing a global view of the top-of-atmosphere shortwave radiation from January 26 and 27, 2012 and answer the questions that follow.

Answers will vary depending on the selected Question Sheet. However, teachers who are interested in receiving an overview of the graph, please contact MND from your school email address at mynasadata@lists.nasa.gov.

Students review the NASA video showing biosphere data over the North Atlantic Ocean as a time series animation displaying a decade of phytoplankton blooms and answer questions that follow.

Observe the seasonal global images of the chlorophyll data from 2017 and put in chronological order.

Teachers who are interested in receiving the answer key, please contact MND from your school email address at mynasadata@lists.nasa.gov.