Learn about how Janine Pollack, an Environmental Engineer, got her start at NASA and the kinds of work she does as an engineer.

Read about Abigale Wyatt's great adventure as she travels on the R/V Sally Ride for a month-long cruise to study how plankton in the ocean affect the carbon cycle and, ultimately, the climate.

Meet Dr. Jessica Meir, a NASA Research Scientist & Astronaut, by reading an interview with Forbes Magazine describing how she got her start as a marine biologist.

Listen to this podcast interview where Allison Lee describes her experience working in the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as shares her passion for phytoplankton research.

Meet Clarissa Anderson, a biological oceanographer who is currently serving as the director of Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She is working with NASA to pursuing solutions regarding harmful algal blooms on California's Coast.

Environmental engineers use the basis of engineering, soil science, biology, and chemistry to develop solutions to problems in the environment. Some of their efforts involve recycling, waste disposal, public health, water and air pollution control. Many are engaged in solving practical, yet global issues such as unsafe drinking water, climate change, and environmental sustainability.

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.