Students explore albedo, sea ice, and the relationship between changing albedo and changing sea ice using data visualizations. 

This activity is one of a series in the collection, The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change activities. 

Background on changing albedo values.

Students will analyze and interpret maps of the average net atmospheric radiation to compare the flow of energy from the Sun toward Earth in different months and for cloudy versus clear days. Students will draw conclusions and support them with evidence.

Students consider the impact of changing conditions on the remote island of Little Diomede, Alaska after they investigate the relationship between seasonal trends in sea ice extent with shortwave and longwave radiation flux described in Earth’s energy budget.

The My NASA Data visualization tool, Earth System Data Explorer (ESDE), helps learners visualize complex Earth System data sets over space and time. Visit this page to review the datasets we have available to you and their organization by Earth System sphere, science variable, dataset name, and start/end dates. 

Students develop and test a hypothesis about how albedo affects temperature.

Explore the energy and matter cycles found within the Earth System. 

Students explore positive feedback effects of changing albedo from melting Arctic sea ice.