Meet Jim Crawford, lead project scientist in atmospheric chemistry from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. 

By investigating the data presented in a model that displays extreme summer air temperatures, students explain energy transfer in the Earth system and consider the impact of excessive heat on local communities.

In this story map students will learn about the different components of the Earth's Energy Budget, where in the Earth System energy is being absorbed and reflected, and how features of the Earth such as clouds, aerosols, and greenhouse gases, can cause variations in the flow of energy into and out of Earth Systems. In the final section, students make a claim as to why the Earth's Energy Budget is currently out of balance and provide evidence to support their reasoning. 

Students analyze surface air temperature anomalies to identify change with respect to different latitudes across the world.

What is the atmosphere and why is it important?

Examine (daytime) surface temperature and solar radiation received at locations found near similar latitudes using NASA Data.

Students will analyze and interpret graphs to compare the flow of (shortwave) energy from the Sun toward China over the course of a year on cloudy versus clear days. Students will draw a conclusion and support it with evidence.

Explore and connect to the GLOBE Weather protocol bundle. 

Students will analyze a graph showing the amounts of peak energy received at local noon each day over the year changes with different latitudes. 

Ricky is a Software Engineer who works for the NASA Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Project with the group that specializes in clouds.  He develops software to ensure that the satellite data collected about clouds are accurate and accessible.