The fires in Greece during the summer of 2007 devastated large tracks of forest and ground cover in this Mediterranean region. Students analyze these data to determine the scale, area, and percentage of the forest impacted by of these fires.

This mini lesson focuses on Landsat satellite data and how it is used to detect changes in land use. Students will answer questions based off of a NASA Video that features how Landsat data are interpreted in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and gives examples of the effects insects and logging have with land management.

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

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 phenomenon in the Earth System. 

Students identify and classify kinds of land cover (such as vegetation, urban areas, water, and bare soil) in Landsat satellite images of Phoenix, Arizona taken in 1984 and 2018.

Freshwater is found in lakes, rivers, soil, snow, groundwater and ice, and is one of the most essential of Earth's resources, for drinking water and agriculture. However, the distribution of freshwater around the planet is changing.

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.