In this experiment, students make a claim about the cause of ocean currents and then develop a model to explain the role of salinity and density in deep ocean currents.  This lesson is modified from "Visit to an Ocean Planet" Caltech and NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Background information on ocean circulation.

Students will observe monthly satellite data of the North Atlantic to identify relationships among key science variables that include sea surface salinity (SS), air temperature at the ocean surface (AT), sea surface temperature (ST), evaporation (EV), precipitation (PT), and evaporation minus pre

This resource helps to identify and access GLOBE protocols and hands-on learning activities that complement the Sea and Land Ice Melt phenomenon.

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

Exploring salinity patterns is a great way to better understand the relationships between the water cycle, ocean circulation, and climate. In this mini lesson, students analyze sea surface salinity mapped plots created from the Earth System Data Explorer, paired with questions (and answers) from the Aquarius Mission. Credit: Aquarius Education

GLOBE protocols and learning activities that complement the Changes in Snow and Ice Extent phenomenon through hands-on investigations are detailed.

What is the hydrosphere and why is it important?

Many of our archived lessons date back to as early as 2004 when our learning community first formed and unfortunately contain links to content that is no longer updated or exist.  Please note that some of these have been updated, and we continue to update them.  Please check ou

Explore and connect to GLOBE protocol bundles. Each bundle has related Earth System Data Explorer datasets identified.