Students explore albedo, sea ice, and the relationship between changing albedo and changing sea ice using data visualizations.
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Students watch a video explaining albedo and its impact on Earth. The video shows visualizations of albedo across Earth and how it can change. Students will interpret the images in the video and answer questions about albedo.
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.
Students will use the NASA Earth Observations analysis tool to explore changing albedo in the Arctic compared with other areas of Earth.
Students explore positive feedback effects of changing albedo from melting Arctic sea ice.
This activity will help students better understand and practice estimating percent cloud cover.