Exploring salinity patterns is a great way to better understand the relationships between the water cycle, ocean circulation, and climate. In this mini lesson, students analyze sea surface salinity mapped plots created from the Earth System Data Explorer, paired with questions (and answers) from the Aquarius Mission. Credit: Aquarius Education

For over 20 years, satellite instruments have measured the sea surface height of our ever-changing oceans.  This video of images shows the complicated patterns of rising and falling ocean levels across the globe from 1993 to 2015.

Students examine satellite images of a recently formed island to identify areas of erosion and deposition.

Learn about volcanic ash and watch a visualization of the Calbuco volcano to see how ash travels around the world. 

The data visualization tool for My NASA Data, the Earth System Data Explorer, provides access to dozens of datasets. It can be used to produce maps, time series plots, and data tables which can be downloaded. 

Students analyze a graph that illustrates the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951-1980 average temperatures.

In this activity, we will introduce children to the colors of the sky. Children love to look at clouds. Here we will focus in on the sky in which clouds float. Children will learn why the sky has such a wide range of colors.

Help learners envision themselves as explorers, scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians as they venture into the summer months.  Download the PDF of the two sided document on cardstock and have students imagine and illustrate themselves! 

Students will analyze the mapped plot of the historic Ocean Chlorophyll Concentrations at key locations around the world for the period of 1998-2018.

Students identify patterns and describe the relationship between chlorophyll concentration and incoming shortwave radiation.