Global Warming
The Earth’s average temperature rose by more than half a degree Celsius over the last century. What caused this change? Join NASA’s Earth Observatory Team in an investigation into the causes and effects of global warming.
Image Composite Editor (ICE)
The Image Composite Editor
is designed to be an easy first step into the realm of Earth system
science, image processing, data analysis, and satellite remote sensing
via your Web browser. ICE is a java applet with several modes for analysing remote sensing data,
including color image composites with multiple wavelengths, display of time series, mathematical
functions between multiple datasets, and analysis tools such as scatterplots and histograms.
Patterns of Change
These twelve activities, using Quicktime movies and 3-D snapshots of Earth, allow students and educators to
observe our planet's patterns of change, over time and space, and to think critically about what might be the
causes and effects of those changes. The activities can be used independently of one another or
as a series.
Mission: Biomes
The following two activities are designed for teachers to use in classrooms as supplementary, interdisciplinary units. Mission: Biomes
is especially appropriate for grades 3 through 8, and is designed to be interactive and
self-correction which will allow each student to work at his or her own pace.
Great Graph Match
Geo Grapher needs your help to match temperature and precipitation graphs for different
locations to the biomes where they belong.
To Plant or Not to Plant?
Travel with Bill Botanist on an expedition to each of the world's biomes. Help him
study his plant specimens and choose the best possible biome to plant each one in.
Fire Detection with False-Color Images
Build a composite false-image of a scene of the Amazon rainforest using 3 of the fifty bands provided by the MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) Compositer. Learn how
various bands of the electromagnetic spectrum can be combined to show things that the normal human eye can’t detect. In this case it’s the
difference between fire, smoke, and clouds.
Event-Based Science: Remote Sensing Activities
The Event-Based Science (EBS) Project is working with a grant from NASA and scientists
from the Goddard Space Flight Center to produce remote sensing activities that are tied directly to EBS modules.
Although EBS remote-sensing activities are designed for use with middle school students who are using EBS modules, they are available free to everyone.
Earthquake!
This pair of lessons uses satellite imagery to investigate
earthquake faults near San Francisco, California. Urban Sprawl asks students to compare maps of earthquake locations to regions of urban growth shown by
satellite data. Students evaluate recent seismic activity near geologic faults in Active or Not? That Is The Question.
Fire!
Using a series of satellite images, students will evaluate effects
of the 1988 forest fires in Yellowstone National Park. Data from
before the fires, the year after the fires, and a decade after the fires
show several stages of forest progression.
Flood!
Students
look for evidence of changes in river channels using imagery from the
1993 floods on the Missouri River. This lesson also discusses oxbows and floodplains.
Hurricane!
Hurricane! is an Event-Based Science module about one of the most devastating weather events that people can experience.
Oil Spill!
Oil Spill! is an Event-Based Science module about oceanography. It uses the 1989 spill of over 10 million gallons of oil from the tanker Exxon Valdez to establish the context for exploring concepts related to shoreline oceanography. The task in Oil Spill! requires students to examine competing sites for a new oil terminal. Students acquire then use their new knowledge of tides, currents, marine life, and harbor topography to advise an oil company.
Blight!
In this lesson students will use
meteorological data and satellite images to determine weather patterns that lead to drought, and use satellite imagery and drought maps to investigate how crops respond.
|