Climate, Jetstream, and Polar Vortex

This video reviews how increasing temperatures in the Arctic are affecting the path of the jet stream, the severity of storms, and the length of individual weather events (rain, storms, drought).

Estimated International Energy Flows 2007

This set of flow charts illustrates energy sources and uses in 136 countries around the world. The data from 2007, but is still useful for comparing energy patterns in different countries. This is the first comprehensive package of worldwide, country-level energy flowcharts that has been produced.

Campus Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

Students conduct a greenhouse gas emission inventory for their college or university as a required part of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.

Gulf Stream Heat Budget and Europe's Mild Climate: A Problem-based Learning Activity

In this role-playing activity, learners are presented with a scenario in which they determine whether the Gulf Stream is responsible for keeping northern Europe warm. They must also address the potential future of the Gulf Stream if polar ice were to continue melting. The students work in small groups to identify the issue, discuss the problem, and develop a problem statement. They are then asked what they need to know to solve the problem.

An abrupt global climate change event in Earth history- Evidence from the ocean

This activity is a research project in which students explore and synthesize key paleoceanographic evidence for the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) as found in marine sediment cores collected and analyzed during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 208 (Walvis Ridge).

Nuclear: High power, hard to handle

This video reviews key points as well as pros and cons of nuclear power.

Decrease in Carbon Isotope Ratios

This three-panel figure is an infographic showing how carbon and oxygen isotope ratios, temperature, and carbonate sediments have changed during the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. The figure caption provides sources to scientific articles from which this data was derived. A graphic visualization from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows the rapid decrease in carbon isotope ratios that is indicative of a large increase in the atmospheric greenhouse gases CO2 and CH4, which was coincident with approximately 5C of global warming.

From Isotopes to Temperature: Working With A Temperature Equation

In this activity, students will use oxygen isotope values of two species of modern coral to reconstruct ambient water temperature over a four-year period. They use Microsoft Excel, or similar application, to create a spreadsheet of temperature values calculated from the isotope values of the corals by means of an algebraic equation. Students then use correlation and regression techniques to determine whether isotope records can be considered to be good proxies for records of past temperatures.

NOAA View Data Exploration Tool

This data viewing tool from NOAA is highly engaging and offers nearly instant access to dozens of datasets about Earth. Users select from atmosphere, ocean, land, cryosphere, and climate, and drill down from there into more detailed categories.

Gallery of Temperature Change Data

This gallery of ten temperature graphs shows global temperatures on different timescales from decades (recently measured temperatures) to centuries (reconstructed) to millions of years (modeled from ice cores).

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