This activity invites students to model and observe the effect of melting ice sheets (from land) on sea level and the difference between the effect of melting sea-ice to that of melting land ice on sea level.

Students observe the surface temperatures of a variety of surface types found in a suburban environment.

Students analyze Landsat images of Atlanta, Georgia to explore the relationship between surface temperature and vegetation.

Students will analyze a line graph that shows how the surface temperature and air temperature values change over the course of 24 hours.

This lesson contains a card sort activity that challenges students to predict relative albedo values of common surfaces. 

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.