Students review Earth System phenomena that are affected by soil moisture.  They analyze and evaluate maps of seasonal global surface air temperature and soil moisture data from NASA satellites. Building from their observations, students will select a location in the U.S.

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

Background information on soil moisture.

Explore and connect to the GLOBE Water Cycle protocol bundle. 

Explore and connect to the GLOBE ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) protocol bundle. 

Explore and connect to the GLOBE Mosquito protocol bundle. 

Follow this link to access GLOBE protocols and hands-on learning activities that complement the Hurricane Dynamics phenomenon.

This NASA visualization shows sea surface salinity observations (September 2011-September 2014). Students review the video and answer questions.

Students review an animation of monthly average wind speed at 10 meters above the ocean surface for our global ocean to analyze the relationship between winds and ocean surface currents.

In this activity, students explore three indicators of drought are: soil moisture, lack of precipitation, and decreased streamflows. Students investigate each of these parameters develop a sense for the effects of drought on land.