In this activity, students make a claim about the cause of ocean currents and then develop a model to explain the role of temperature and density in deep ocean currents. This lesson is modified from "Visit to an Ocean Planet" Caltech and NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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Students review a video showing how the ocean is warmed by solar energy. This is the first video of a four-part series on the water cycle, which follows the journey of water from the ocean to the atmosphere, to the land, and back again to the ocean.
Students evaluate graphs and images of sea ice and relate them to changes in albedo. Students make a claim about the interaction of albedo and sea ice extent.
Background information on ocean circulation.
Test your knowledge of soil moisture and its effect on global populations. Soil moisture is the amount of water contained
Phytoplankton distribution background information.
Students explore positive feedback effects of changing albedo from melting Arctic sea ice.
Background information on the El Nino Southern Oscillation or ENSO.