Review these resources to learn how Dorothy "Dotty" Metcalf-Lindenburger explored different career paths to eventually make her way to work with NASA.  Starting off as a geology student in college, then working as a teacher, Dotty gained employment with NASA as an astronaut!

Watch NASA videos about aerosols and volcanic ash.

In addition to the changes brought about by natural forces, it has recently become apparent that a relative newcomer to planet Earth — the human being — has become a powerful agent of environmental change.

This mini-lesson guides students' observations of soil moisture anomalies (how much the moisture content was above or below the norm) for the continental US in May 2018.

Examine the images to see the projected differences in land use between 1900 and 2100. 

Students will engage in a collaborative learning routine as they explore slides that show how the development of public transportation infrastructure changed the land in Woodlawn, Maryland. They will make observations of a satellite image and a photo from the ground as well as read background information on the impact of urbanization. 

Learn about volcanic ash and watch a visualization of the Calbuco volcano to see how ash travels around the world. 

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.

Use the Earth System Data Explorer to analyze data and make a claim about which 2018 eruption was larger, Kilauea, HI or Ambae Island, Vanuatu.

Dr. Eric Brown de Colstoun is a Physical Scientist in the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA/GSFC, where he has been working for over 15 years. His expertise in the field of remote sensing is broad, having used data collected at various spatial scales, with a variety of instrumentation (laboratory, field, airborne, satellite).