Students will learn how to use a sequence of images to illustrate the difference between sequestering and emitting carbon.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This interactive visualization from the NASA Earth Observatory website compares Arctic sea ice minimum extent from 1984 to that of 2012.

This visualization is a series of three short animations/videos that illustrate how the changing ice sheets result in sea level rise. It uses satellite data to show how Greenland and Antarctica are losing mass at a rate of 283 gigatons per year and 145 gigatons per year, respectively. Simulation shows visualization of one gigaton and how much this translates to sea level rise.

This is a ten-question quiz of basic to intermediate information about global climate change.

In this video, students learn that the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska in 1989 was not the sole cause of the decline of species in the local ecosystem. Rather, an explanation is posited for why some animal populations were already in decline when the spill occurred. Many of these animals share a common food: the sand lance, a fish whose populations have shrunk with the steady rise in ocean temperature that began in the late 1970s.

In this video segment, adapted from a student video produced at Northwest Indian College in Bellingham Washington, Native American elders discuss the impact of climate change on salmon populations and the importance of restoring balance in the natural world.

This video documents the challenges that climate change presents for four specific Arctic predators: polar bears, Arctic foxes, beluga whales, and walruses.

Two graphs from the NASA Climate website illustrate the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951-1980 average temperatures. The NASA plot is annotated with temperature-impacting historic events, which nicely connect an otherwise challenging graphic to real-world events.

This video takes viewers high into the Rocky Mountain snowpack, where researchers dig snow pits to explore the source of Colorado's water supply. Highlights the importance of snowpack on the supply of fresh water available in western and southwestern states. Snowmelt dynamics are discussed, including the impact of a warming climate.

This visualization, from the US Geological Survey, provides a simple schematic of the various pathways that water can take as it cycles through ocean, lakes, atmosphere, surface and ground.

In this lesson, students learn about the water cycle and how climate change impacts its patterns.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students contemplate their relationship with water and observe a demonstration to determine if shifting climates may affect the water cycle.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students explore an interactive diagram about the water cycle.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students watch a video and complete a series of questions in their student journals.

An interactive data visualization map of the USGS data of water usage from 2015 of the USA and US territories.

This classroom demonstration illustrates the amount of water stored in various parts of the Earth system in a straightforward manner. Students estimate the proportions of water in the oceans, icecaps and glaciers, groundwater, freshwater lakes, inland seas, soil moisture, atmosphere, and rivers. Then they fill beakers with the actual proportion and discuss what elements of the activity were surprising to them. Information on flash floods and flood preparedness and safety are included.

This humorous video suggests what might happen if a weather forecaster reported the weather in the context of climate change. There is a sharp contrast between the anchor focusing on short-term local concerns and the weather forecaster describing what is happening on a long-term global basis.

This detailed animated map shows global weather and climate events from the beginning of 2009 to the present. As the animation plays, specific events are highlighted to provide context and details for the viewer.

In this video, students see how data from the ice core record is used to help scientists predict the future of our climate. Video features ice cores extracted from the WAIS Divide, a research station on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

This video provides history on product development by General Motors and other industries that led to the release of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). It explains the connection between global warming and the ozone hole, chemical build-up in our lower and upper atmospheres, the increase in GWP gases, increased air quality ozone alerts and the 1987 Montreal Protocol that banned the use of CFCs globally.

This activity examines the impacts of hurricanes and storm surges on coastal communities.

In this video Dr. Richard Alley poses and addresses a simple question: What does carbon dioxide have to do with global warming?

In this lesson, students explore reasons why temperatures in particular Colorado cities are rising.