In this mini lesson, students use in-water profiles of historical ocean data to analyze how sea surface salinity varies with depth. 

Review this page to learn about the background of volcanoes and their eruptions.

Phytoplankton distribution background information.

Background information on soil moisture.

This mini lesson engages students by watching a NASA video related to plant growth activity around the world using data from the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite and answering questions on these stability and change relationships.

This video explains what a Scientifically-Interesting Story is.

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.

Our Earth is a dynamic system with diverse subsystems that interact in complex ways. Questions that scientists have about the Earth as a System may include the following. As you learn more about the Earth System, reflect on these questions. 

Students can interact with NASA data to build visualizations of monthly soil moisture data on a custom map or graph, using the Earth System Data Explorer.

The Earth can be considered a system of interrelated parts. Learn about Earth Systems Science and the spheres that make up the Earth System. Find out why NASA studies the Earth system.