This multi-part activity introduces users to normal seasonal sea surface temperature (SST) variation as well as extreme variation, as in the case of El NiÃo and La NiÃa events, in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Via a THREDDS server, users learn how to download seasonal SST data for the years 1982 to 1998. Using a geographic information system (GIS), they visualize and analyze that data, looking for the tell-tale SST signature of El NiÃo and La NiÃa events that occurred during that time period. At the end, students analyze a season of their own choosing to determine if an El NiÃo or La NiÃa SST pattern emerged in that year's data.

In this problem-based learning (PBL) activity, students take on the role of a student research scientist and explore the role of solar energy in determining climate, focusing on the urban heat island effect. Students conduct research and compare temperatures between two cities, and determine the factors that are responsible for the difference exhibited between them. The lesson is supported by teacher notes, answer key, glossary and an appendix with information about using PBL in the classroom. This is the third of three activities in Investigating the Climate System: Energy, a Balancing Act, and serves as an authentic assessment for all three modules.

This article provides links to web sites that describe the Arctic and Antarctica in terms of geography, climate, and ecosystems.

Through this activity, students in a liberal arts mathematics class will develop experience with real-world statistical concepts through the context of sustainability: estimation, survey writing, sampling techniques, and data analysis.

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Learning how to develop a sequence of lessons based on an inquiry-based learning from the first lesson to the last.

We introduced a new required course "EnSc 210: Issues in Environmental Science" for our majors about three years ago. When I was assigned to teach this course for the first time, I struggled with developing a syllabus and recommending a text for the course. Since we also offer classes in "Environmental Geology" and an introductory course "EnSc 110 Understanding the Earth," the challenge was to avoid duplication while developing an appropriate syllabus. What I finally decided to do was to have students provide ideas. So, on the first day of class I announced that we don't have a syllabus for this course (many sighs of disappointment) and, after a brief remark on some current environmental issues, invited each student to suggest at least one topic for inclusion in the course. After some hesitation (as expected) hands went up and I began writing each topic on the white board. Pretty soon we had 20-25 topics with some overlapping themes. Some of these included: population problem, global climate change, air and water pollution, waste management, environmental health, species decline, environmental impact of large dams, and sustainability. After some discussions about relative importance of various topics and the time available to cover each during the semester, we narrowed it down to about 10 topics for detailed study. I prepared my syllabus (linked below) based on this list which worked very well because: we were able to include key topics and, very importantly, students felt a sense of 'ownership' which led to a very interesting and interactive class experience throughout the semester.

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To complete this assignement student have to work in groups to answer a series of questions on the evolution of land plants. They need to combine material previously covered in lecture and information from the WWW to determine how the evolution of land plants changed the lithosphere, atmophere, and biosphere.

After completing the attached exercise the students participate in a guided discussion. There are several way to divide students up into groups.

Different groups are asked to summarize: the link between the spread of land plants and

1) atmospheric carbon levels and climatic conditions,

2) organic carbon and dissolved oxygen levels in the ocean

3) the abundance of corals and other marine animals: shallow vs. deep ocean

4) Erosion rates on land and rates of organic matter burial in the oceans.

5) General patterns in diversity and biomass of marine and terrestrial fauna

Then each group is asked to discuss how the aspect they considered about the Devonian Extinction fits into and differs from conditions we see in the modern carbon cycle.

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Short Description:
This is a book of blogs, a collection of diverse works from researchers across the globe who all have something important to say about the way in which our world is changing and how we can strive towards a more sustainable future. This book contains the work of over 80 urban social researchers on sustainable urbanisation and transitions to urban contexts. The aim of this book is to welcome dialogues, rather than a monologue, on the urbanisation processes taking place across the world and what to do about the places we build, and the impacts of human activity on the environment, health and climate. This project was carried out in association with the International Social Science Council.

Word Count: 104976

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The overarching goal of this exercise is for students to explore the early anthropogenic hypothesis, which claims that early agriculture had a substantial impact on greenhouse gases and global climate thousands of years ago (Ruddiman, 2003). Students compare changes in greenhouse gas concentrations that occurred thousands of years ago to more recent changes that occurred over hundreds of years. Students also relate changes in greenhouse gas concentrations to warming. The exercise is completed over a 1.5- to 2-week period as the class covers a chapter on climate change.

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Some of the Viking images sent back from Mars in the 1970s show tantalizing evidence of dendritic valley networks in some of the oldest terrains on the planet. One of the big questions ever since has been whether it might have rained early in Mars history.

One of the ways of deciding whether the Mars valley networks might have been produced by rainfall is to find out how similar they are to valley networks on Earth, which we know are produced by rainfall. The standard method for analyzing drainage basins is comparison of the number of drainage segments per square kilometer (drainage density) and how extensively branched the network is (stream order).

In this exercise, students calculate stream order for valley segments mapped by Hynek and Phillips (2003) using MOC/MOLA data. Students then use data on valley segment length and drainage basin area from Hynek and Phillips (2003) to calculate drainage density. They compare stream order and drainage density for the Mars site with similar calculations for areas on Earth and evaluate the question of whether valley networks on Mars might be consistent with rainfall on an early Mars, and what the uncertainties and limitations are in their conclusions.

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In this activity, students collect weather data over several days or weeks, graph temperature data, and compare the temperature data collected with long-term climate averages from where they live. Understanding the difference between weather and climate and interpreting local weather data are important first steps to understanding larger-scale global climate changes.

SYNOPSIS: This lesson introduces the idea of soil as an ecosystem and as a carbon sink.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson unravels the importance of soil and engages students to take actions to restore the soil for living things to survive. All materials have been fact-checked, and this lesson is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson creates a collaborative learning environment for students to learn about soil as an ecosystem and a carbon sink for the environment.
-This lesson features kinesthetic learning as students will be digging into samples of soil.
-Students will develop a strong connection to self and others as they explore how we depend on soil.
-Students will have an opportunity to share with family members the lessons learned via their artistic model of soil and its importance to all of us.
-This lesson features age-appropriate vocabulary development.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-It is necessary to obtain soil samples magnifying glasses before the lesson.
-The teacher will need to gather “found” art materials from the classroom (e.g., paper, chenille stems, tissue paper, yarn, felt, glue, tape, etc.).
-Teachers will need to get the book Dirt: The Scoop on Soil ahead of time. It is available in most public and school libraries.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students can make predictions or answer questions after viewing the time-lapse video while exploring the soil samples, and as they develop their soil carbon sink models.
-Students can work in pairs or teams to complete the hands-on soil activity and during the Inspire step.
-Groups of students with mixed abilities can collaborate as they build their soil carbon sink models.
-As an extension, students can walk around the schoolyard or playground and look for examples of “healthy” soil that is home to living organisms.

This activity illustrates the carbon cycle using an age-appropriate hook, and it includes thorough discussion and hands-on experimentation. Students learn about the geological (ancient) carbon cycle; they investigate the role of dinosaurs in the carbon cycle, and the eventual storage of carbon in the form of chalk. Students discover how the carbon cycle has been occurring for millions of years and is necessary for life on Earth. Finally, they may extend their knowledge to the concept of global warming and how engineers are working to understand the carbon cycle and reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions.

This activity engages students with the concept of Direct Air Capture. Students watch an engaging film, participate in a reading and writing activity, and then model carbon dioxide adsorption/desorption in an exciting lab.

SYNOPSIS: This lesson explores the benefits of green spaces, how green spaces are disappearing, and how the disappearance of green spaces relates to environmental justice.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson lets students understand the relationship between disappearing green spaces and environmental justice in their community. The lesson is elementary, suitable for classroom, use and has no scientific misconceptions. All materials are thoroughly sourced and have passed our science review.

POSITIVES:
-Students will better understand deforestation utilizing Google Earth.
-Students learn how urban tree cover disproportionately benefits wealthier communities.
-This lesson uplifts student voices and creates student agency to make the world better.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 2 of 6 in our 3rd-5th grade Green Spaces unit.
-Knowledge of the terms goods and services would be helpful prior to this lesson.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students are able to select one of three options in the Inspire section of this lesson.
-Outgoing students can share their mini-comics or stories with the class when they are finished.
-Teachers can support students who feel motivated to make changes in their schools or communities. Any project like this can extend far beyond this lesson.

In recent years, the redistribution of risk has created conditions for natural and technological disasters to become more widespread, more difficult to manage, and more discriminatory in their effects. Policy and planning decision-makers frequently focus on the impact that human settlement patterns, land use decisions, and risky technologies can have on vulnerable populations. However, to ensure safety and promote equity, they also must be familiar with the social and political dynamics that are present at each stage of the disaster management cycle. Therefore, this course will provide students with:

An understanding of the breadth of factors that give rise to disaster vulnerability; and
A foundation for assessing and managing the social and political processes associated with disaster policy and planning.

In recent years, the redistribution of risk has created conditions for natural and technological disasters to become more widespread, more difficult to manage, and more discriminatory in their effects. Policy and planning decision-makers frequently focus on the impact that human settlement patterns, land use decisions, and risky technologies can have on vulnerable populations. However, to ensure safety and promote equity, they also must be familiar with the social and political dynamics that are present at each stage of the disaster management cycle. Therefore, this course will provide students with: An understanding of the breadth of factors that give rise to disaster vulnerability; and A foundation for assessing and managing the social and political processes associated with disaster policy and planning.

A cross-curricular lesson plan about El Niño for 6th grade math, science, and ELA that covers Common Core standards and NGSS.

In this unit, students will analyze how climate change affects migration around the world and the policies that could be effective in addressing the issue. To start, students will investigate what motivates people to move in general. Then students will read “The Great Climate Migration” by Abrahm Lustgarten and Meridith Kohut, where they will be introduced to how climate change may affect migration in the future. Students will then investigate how climate change is impacting migration by reading and presenting about specific scenarios around the globe. Finally, students will begin to research how policy can address climate migration to avoid disastrous outcomes in the future.

Students pass around and distort messages written on index cards to learn how we use signals from GPS occultations to study the atmosphere. The cards represent information sent from GPS satellites being distorted as they pass through different locations in the Earth's atmosphere and reach other satellites. Analyzing GPS occultations enables better global weather forecasting, storm tracking and climate change monitoring.