Climate Resources
Fact Sheets
These Fact Sheets are the Frequently Asked Questions from the report accepted by Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M.Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
Historical Overview of Climate Change Science
- What Factors Determine Earth's Climate? 363Kb
- What is the Relationship between Climate Change and Weather? 473Kb
- What is the Greenhouse Effect? 1.85Mb
Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing
Observations: Surface and Atmospheric Climate Change
- How are Temperatures on Earth Changing? 3.37Mb
- How is Precipitation Changing? 283Kb
- Has there been a Change in Extreme Events like Heat Waves, Droughts, Floods and Hurricanes? 366Kb
Observations: Changes in Snow, Ice and Frozen Ground
Observations: Oceanic Climate Change and Sea Level
- Is Sea Level Rising? 117Kb
Palaeoclimate
- What Caused the Ice Ages and Other Important Climate Changes Before the Industrial Era? 248Kb
- Is the Current Climate Change Unusual Compared to Earlier Changes in Earth's History? 64Kb
Couplings Between Changes in the Climate System and Biogeochemistry
Climate Models and their Evaluation
Understanding and Attributing Climate Change
- Can Individual Extreme Events be Explained by Greenhouse Warming? 112Kb
- Can the Warming of the 20th Century be Explained by Natural Variability? 525Kb
Global Climate Projections
- Are Extreme Events, Like Heat Waves, Droughts or Floods, Expected to Change as the Earth's Climate Changes? 61Kb
- How Likely are Major or Abrupt Climate Changes, such as Loss of Ice Sheets or Changes in Global Ocean Circulation? 68Kb
- If Emissions of Greenhouse Gases are Reduced, How Quickly do Their Concentrations in the Atmosphere Decrease? 159Kb
Regional Climate Projections
Lesson Plans
Case Studies
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency partnered with NOAA and six other federal agencies to develop the Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators. The purpose is for classroom teachers and informal educators in parks, refuges, forest lands, nature centers, zoos, aquariums, science centers, etc., to teach middle school students about how climate change is affecting our nation's wildlife and public lands and how everyone, even students, can become "climate stewards".
Topics in the case studies include regional impacts of climate change, "Spotlight on Species" on public lands that are being affected by climate change, and strategies being employed by "Climate Stewards" in each region who are helping ecosystems adapt to a changing world.
Western Forests and Mountains
Case Study 924Kb
Student Activity:
Eastern Forests and Woodlands
Case Study 927Kb
Student Activities:
- Impact of Climate Change on Bees in Eastern Forests: Pollination in Action 128Kb
- Impact of Climate Change on Bees in the Eastern Forest: Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms 127Kb
Eastern Coastline
Case Study 893Kb
Student Activity:
- Impact of Climate Change on Diamondback Terrapin 90Kb
- Watershed Activity 1 76Kb
- Watershed Activity 2 76Kb
- Watershed Activity 3 76Kb
Carribbean Islands
Case Study 854Kb
Student Activities:
Polar/Subpolar (Alaska)
Case Study 455Kb
Student Activity:
Gulf Coast
Case Study 889Kb
Student Activities:
Western Coastline
Case Study 433Kb
Student Activity:
Pacific Islands
Case Study 449Kb
Student Activities:
- Impact of Climate Change on Hawaiian Monk Seals: Mapping Deep-Sea Habits 81Kb
- Impact of Climate Change on Hawaiian Monk Seals: The Odd Couple 122Kb
- Impact of Climate Change on Hawaiian Monk Seals: Seals, Corals and Dollars 75Kb
Great Lakes
Case Study 858Kb
Student Activities:
Desert Arid Southwest
Case Study 890Kb
Student Activity:
Prairie Grasslands
Case Study 435Kb
Student Activities:
Teaching Climate
Teaching about Climate: An Educators Toolkit
- Common earth and climate science misconceptions
- Classroom activities about Paleoclimate (tree rings, coral, ice cores, pollen)
- Presentations and activities about the state of climate knowledge
- Classroom activities about human health perspectives of climate
- Reports and activities about the ecological impacts of climate change
- Community and classroom projects for a sustainable planet
- Links to resources for formal and informal audiences
Earth Science and Climate Misconceptions
- Earth Science Misconceptions 33Kb
- Common Climate Misconceptions doc and PPT 48Kb
- Climate Conversations
Climate Change of the Past
- Prehistoric Climate Change (Leaf analysis from Smithsonian) 2.7Mb
- Site A Fossils (high res) 5.14Mb
- Site A Fossils (low res) 1.30Mb
- Site B Fossils (high res) 974Kb
- Site B Fossils (low res) 3.93Mb
- Dendrochronology
- Trees: Recorders of Time 600Kb
- Time and Cycles 102Kb
- Tree Ring Paloeclimate Slide Set 443Kb
- Paleoclimates and Pollen 167Kb
- Coral Paleoclimate 557Kb
- Ice Core Paleoclimate 569Kb
- Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years 7.12Mb
State of Climate Knowledge
- How do We Know? PPT 2.87Mb
- What is the Difference Between Weather and Climate? 19.1Mb
- Warming World - Interactive 4.98Mb
- Kathryn Hayhoe Climate Presentation 5.55Mb
- American Teens' Knowledge of Climate Change 1.46Mb
- Americans' Knowledge of Climate Change 2010 7.93Mb
- Knowledge of Climate Change Across Global Warming's Six Americas 9.13Mb
- Monitoring Climate 1.9Mb
- National Parks Climate Message Cards 304Kb
- The Processes of Science Presentation 3.53Mb
- Tree Benefits Lesson Plan 5.1Mb
- US Forest Service Climate Brief 826Kb
- US Forest Service Climate Change Education Resources 522Kb
- Climate Change: Present, Past, and Future 1.66Mb
Human Health Perspectives
- What's All the Buzz About?
- Driven to Extremes: Health Effects of Climate Change 1.87Mb
- Climate Change and Health - Native American 965Kb
- Acid-Base Chemistry
- Ocean Acidification
- Preparing a People 687Kb
- Kyoto Protocol
- Kyoto Protocol - Teacher 777Kb
- Kyoto Protocol - Student 1.0Mb
- Kyoto Protocol - Reading 3.7Mb
Climate Change Impacts
- Climate Change Investigator 25.8Mb
- Sea Grant Climate Resources
- A Logic Tool for Climate Decisions 2.6Mb
- Birds and Climate Change 2.9Mb
- Carbon Cycle and Climate Change 125Kb
- Carbon Cycle Game 2.4Mb
- Carbon Sinks 1.9Mb
- Climate Change and Fossil Fuel Use 11.1Mb
- Climate Change in Rhode Island 1.4Mb
- Climate Change Scientist 2.2Mb
- Climate Weblinks From Sea Grant 28Kb
- Disappearing Artic Ice 85.9Mb
- Fossil Fuels and Climate Change 2.1Mb
- Fossil Fuels Facing the Future 198Kb
- Intro to Climate Change 45.4Mb
- Life on Artic Ice 62.3Mb
- Long Term Datasets 1.15Mb
- Our Bearable Climate 3.5Mb
- Reading Climate Zones 2.6Mb
- Student Guide to Carbon Cycle 514Kb
- Thermal Expansion of the Ocean 96Kb
- Understanding Climate Zones 670Kb
- Using Graphical Data 979Kb
- USFS Climate Change Curriculum 5.21Mb
- National Academy Ecological Impacts of Climate Change 8.3Mb
- NPS Coastal Adaptation Brief 391Kb
- NPS Communication Brief 446Kb
- NPS Responding to the Challenge 389Kb
- Parkscience Climate Change in Parks 19.3Mb
- Parkscience Special Issue on Climate 6.2Mb
- USGCRP Climate Impacts Report 13Mb
What You Can Do
- Trends and Consequences 414Kb
- USFS Sustainable Living Curriculum 2.6Mb
- USFS Green Jobs 2.0Mb
- Natural Inquirer - Climate Change 27.0Mb
- USFS Climate Change and Water 5.5Mb
- Carbon Cycle Poster 1.63Mb
- USFS Carbon Dioxide 6.3Mb
- USFS Beetles are Super Cool 512Kb
- USFS Tree Carbon Sequestration 6.7Mb
- USFS Urban Trees 6.2Mb
- USFS Soil and Atmosphere 2.1Mb
- Building Climate Understanding: Tools and Strategies 7.49Mb
