This mini lesson engages students in watching a NASA video related to accumulated dust that makes the trans-Atlantic journey from the Sahara Desert to the Amazon rainforest using NASA's CALIPSO satellite. Students will examine a model and answer questions related to dust transport and the introduction of phosphorus to the soils of the Amazon.
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Watch NASA videos about aerosols and volcanic ash.
Students analyze the data and details of a complicated graph by identifying components and data patterns.
The Great Smoky Mountains have a unique climate and weather pattern. Students will review a Landsat image and read about the history of the area and why Native Americans called the area “Shaconage.” Then they will answer the questions about what caused the unusual “blue smoke.”
Students observe how air quality changes over time, for a selected location, using data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Students will synthesize information from maps that show population, concentrations of PM2.5, and PM2.5-attributable mortality across the globe in order to draw conclusions about the relationship between particulate pollution and human health.
Students review different maps of wind trajectories to determine to origins of mud-laden rain in the Pacific Northwest.
Learn about volcanic ash and watch a visualization of the Calbuco volcano to see how ash travels around the world.
Students review a video that models the global impact of smoke from fires to develop an understanding of how models can be used to interpret and forecast phenomena in the Earth System.
Compare images from two volcanic eruptions in the Kuril Islands which occurred ten years apart and complete a graphic organizer for impacts on different Earth spheres.