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.

In this experiment, students make a claim about the cause of ocean currents and then develop a model to explain the role of salinity and density in deep ocean currents.  This lesson is modified from "Visit to an Ocean Planet" Caltech and NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Students explore positive feedback effects of changing albedo from melting Arctic sea ice.

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

Students develop and test a hypothesis about how albedo affects temperature.

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

Phytoplankton distribution background information.

Earth is a system of systems.

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. 

Background information on ocean circulation.