This mini lesson focuses on the 2015-2016 El Niño event and how its weather conditions triggered regional disease outbreaks throughout the world. Students will review a NASA article and watch the associated video to use as a tool to compare with maps related to 2015-2016 rainfall and elevated disease risk, and answer the questions.
Educational Resources - Search Tool
This activity is one of a series in the collection, The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change activities.
This graphic organizer may be used to help students analyze the processes and components of Earth System phenomena.
In this activity, students use satellite images from the NASA Landsat team to quantify changes in glacier cover over time from 1986 to 2018.
The Earth System Satellite Images, along with the Data Literacy Cubes, helps the learner identify patterns in a specific image.
This lesson walks students through the use of Landsat false-color imagery and identification of different land cover features using these as models.
Students will use coloring sheets to create a color coded model of El Niño, then make comparisons using the actual model by answering questions. If the Data Literacy Map Cube is used with this, students will color their models first.
Students will examine a 2014-2015 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event to identify relationships among sea surface height, sea surface temperature, precipitation, and wind vectors.
Students evaluate graphs and images of sea ice and relate them to changes in albedo. Students make a claim about the interaction of albedo and sea ice extent.
The advance-and-retreat cycle of snow cover drastically changes the whiteness and brightness of Earth. Using two maps created using NASA satellite data for 2017, students review the seasonal differences of snow and ice extent and answer questions on their observations.