Students connect day/night and seasonal cycles with albedo in the Arctic region. 

Students explore albedo, sea ice, and the relationship between changing albedo and changing sea ice using data visualizations. 

Students will make a claim about whether changing albedo contributes to changes in Arctic habitats.

Students collect and analyze temperature data to explore what governs how much energy is reflected. 

This investigation is part of the NASA: Mission Geography Module "What are the causes and consequences of climate change?" that guides students through explorations in climatic variability and evidence for global climate change. 

This graphic organizer may be used to help students analyze the processes and components of Earth System phenomena.

The advance-and-retreat cycle of snow cover drastically changes the whiteness and brightness of Earth. Using two maps created using NASA satellite data for 2017, students review the seasonal differences of snow and ice extent and answer questions on their observations.

Students will analyze and interpret maps of the average net atmospheric radiation to compare the flow of energy from the Sun toward Earth in different months and for cloudy versus clear days. Students will draw conclusions and support them with evidence.

Students will analyze and interpret graphs to compare the flow of (shortwave) energy from the Sun toward China over the course of a year on cloudy versus clear days. Students will draw a conclusion and support it with evidence.

This mini lesson helps students visualize how the Hydrosphere and Cryosphere interact to produce changes in land and sea ice.