Students categorize causes, effects, and responses to volcanic hazards through an Earth system perspective. They use remotely sensed images to examine the visible effects of the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 and identify a buffer zone for safer locations for development.

Students examine satellite images of an island before and after a volcanic eruption to determine the impact of the eruption.

Watch NASA videos about aerosols and volcanic ash.

Examine the images to see the projected differences in land use between 1900 and 2100. 

Students will describe the changes in a newly-formed volcanic island over the first three years of its life.  

In this mini-lesson, students analyze soil moisture quantities associated with Hurricane Harvey around Houston, Texas on August 25, 2017.

This lesson contains a card sort activity that challenges students to predict relative albedo values of common surfaces. 

In this activity, students explore the Urban Heat Island Effect phenomenon by collecting temperatures of different materials with respect to their locations.  

Students interpret a graph of surface temperatures taken from city districts and other types of communities.

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.