Students will watch and examine a NASA animation of Earth’s rising surface temperatures over an almost 150 year period.

By investigating the data presented in a model that displays extreme summer air temperatures, students explain energy transfer in the Earth system and consider the impact of excessive heat on local communities.

Explore and connect to the GLOBE Mosquito protocol bundle. 

Explore and connect to the GLOBE Weather protocol bundle. 

Examine (daytime) surface temperature and solar radiation received at locations found near similar latitudes using NASA Data.

What is the atmosphere and why is it important?

Elizabeth Forsbacka is an instrument manager. She leads a diverse team to design, build and test Earth or space science instruments. She says "My job is to build a good team that can do it all. Our work from design through delivery of the spacecraft usually takes about four years." See what it's like to work on this sort of project.

Students move through a series of short activities to explore and evaluate global solar radiation data from NASA satellites.  In this process, students make qualitative and quantitative observations about seasonal variations in net energy input to the Earth System.

Charles Gatebe is a climate scientist who studies reflected sunlight to improve our understanding of the composition of the atmosphere and surface properties, including land and ocean, and impact on Earth's radiation budget and climate. Learn about how he conducts experiments and uses data from around the world.