This investigation introduces students to the significant environmental changes occurring around the world. The investigation uses NASA satellite images of Brazil to illustrate deforestation as one type of environmental change.

This unit, created through the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI), helps students learn about each component of the energy budget formula and how the contribution of each component changes based on the location and the time of the year. 

Students interpret a graph of surface temperatures taken from city districts.

These six graphs show Ocean Chlorophyll Concentrations from 1998 - 2018 in a variety of locations: East Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, California Coast, Southeastern US/Gulf of Mexico, Northeastern US and the Scotian Shelf, and the Hawaiian Islands. Consider using the Graph Cube to help students with deeper-dives into data analysis. Credit: NASA, NOAA

Review this mapped plot of the historic Ocean Chlorophyll Concentrations of key locations around the world for the period of 1998-2018. Also, consider using the Map Cube to help students with deeper dives into data analysis. Credit: NASA, NOAA

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 observe seasonal images of Monthly Normalized Difference Vegetation, looking for any changes in vegetation that are occurring throughout the year.

Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is affected, among other things, by processes involving forests including fires, deforestation and plant respiration. Evaluate a Landsat image to determine the rate of carbon dioxide sequestration in a particular area.

The fires in Greece during the summer of 2007 devastated large tracks of forest and ground cover in this Mediterranean region. Students analyze these data to determine the scale, area, and percentage of the forest impacted by of these fires.

In this mini-lesson, students analyze soil moisture quantities associated with Hurricane Harvey around Houston, Texas on August 25, 2017.