Students examine the two time series images to determine the differences between seasonal ice melt over water versus land.

The purpose of this activity is for students to create a desktop soil profile based on the biome region of the United States where your school is located.

Students review Earth System phenomena that are affected by soil moisture.  They analyze and evaluate maps of seasonal global surface air temperature and soil moisture data from NASA satellites. Building from their observations, students will select a location in the U.S.

This USGS activity leads students to an understanding of what remote sensing means and how researchers use it to study changes to the Earth’s surface, such as deforestation.