Climate Literacy Catalog
This collection of web sites was developed in the Fall of 2008 by Mark S. McCaffrey of CIRES Education and Outreach as a "next step" toward a reviewed and annotated collection of "cream of the crop" high quality digital resources that support the Essential Principles of Climate Literacy. Building on experience gained through the development of the Climate Change Collection, the goal of this phase of the effort is to begin to assemble a catalog of online resources that in the near future will be reviewed i) for scientific accuracy and currency by science experts, ii) for ease of use and appropriateness in educational settings and iii) annotated with any suggestions, concerns or ideas for enrichment and extensions to the resource.
Climate Literacy Principles
- Life and Climate Are Linked 10 matches 1. Life on Earth has been shaped by, depends on, and affects climate
- The Nature of Science 18 matches 2. We increase our understanding of the climate system through observation and modeling
- Sun Drives Earth System 35 matches 3. The Sun is the primary source of energy for the climate system
- Complex Interactions 61 matches 4. Earth's weather and climate systems are the result of complex interactions
- Natural Variability and Change 15 matches 5. Earth's weather and climate vary over time and space
- Human Activities and Change 18 matches 6. Evidence indicates human activities are impacting the climate system
- Making Decisions 7 matches 7. Earth's climate system is influenced by complex human decisions involving economic costs and social values
Results 1 - 20 of 61 matches
Atmosphere-Ocean Model part of SERC Web Resource Collection
The Atmosphere-Ocean Model is a computer program that simulates the Earth's climate in three dimensions on a gridded domain. The model requires that the user enter two kinds of input, specified ...
Changing Paleoclimates and Mass Extinctions part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This article provides a model for climatic change and relates climatic cycles with major extinction events in the history of the Earth. It discusses the mechanisms behind modern climate zones ...
The Carbon Cycle part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This Earth Observatory site contains detailed information on the carbon cycle of the Earth. It provides an explanation of the role of carbon in the geologic carbon cycle followed by a discussion of ...
Ecology Lesson Plans part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This webpage features lesson plans for studies related to ecology, and targets the K-12 audience. Examples include Pollution Solutions, which discusses the many factors that contribute to the ...
The Discovery of Rapid Climate Change part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This article from the American Institute of Physics discusses the evolution of scientific views about global climate change. The history of this evolution gives a good example of the stepwise fashion ...
CO2 and You part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This lesson has students observe and quantify their household and vehicle energy consumption; explain the relationship between energy consumption, energy production, and its influences on the ...
Atmospheric Processes: Radiation part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students investigate how different surfaces absorb heat and apply their experience with the surfaces to interpret real-world situations. From this information, they come to ...
What Factors Impact a Greenhouse? part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This activity has students use a model to investigate factors in greenhouse heating and cooling. The type of surface that sunlight first encounters is the most important factor. Forests, grasslands, ...
Where in the World is Carbon Dioxide? part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This three part activity has students set up experiments to help them better understand the atmospheric portion of the carbon cycle. From this activity, they will be able to explain the concept of ...
Crowded Planet Ecology part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This radio broadcast discusses the need to consider the effects of a growing human population when studying ecosystems, since there are virtually no pristine ecosystems left. The 1 minute, 33 second ...
Foundation for Water and Energy Education part of SERC Web Resource Collection
The Foundation is committed to providing balanced information regarding the use of water as a renewable energy resource in the Northwest. All segments of the public have become increasingly concerned ...
Water Vapor Protocol part of SERC Web Resource Collection
The purpose of this activity is to measure the total precipitable water vapor (column water vapor) in the atmosphere above an observer's site. Students point a GLOBE/GIFTS water vapor instrument at ...
NSIPP: North America Water Vapor and Soil Moisture part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This site provides an animation of atmospheric water vapor and soil moisture from December 1999 through June 2000 for North America from the NSIPP global climate model.
True Color MODIS Albedo image improves Climate Modeling part of SERC Web Resource Collection
The MODIS instrument, flying aboard NASAs Terra and Aqua satellites, measures how much solar radiation is reflected by the Earths surface almost every day over the entire planet. Zooming in on ...
Carbon Dioxide: The Heat is On part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students will observe the effect of the gases resulting from a burned fossil fuel on the heat absorption of air and determine the ability of phytoplankton to remove greenhouse gases ...
Carbon Cycle in the Lab: Carbon Products and the Processes That Link Them part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This lab teaches students about the nature of carbon, the different types of compounds it exists in (e.g. charcoal, glucose, carbon dioxide), the biochemical reactions it takes part in ...
Bad Greenhouse part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This site is designed to belie the statement that the greenhouse effect is caused when gases in the atmosphere behave as a blanket and trap radiation which is then reradiated to the Earth. Students ...
Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2: A Record of Climate Change part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students learn about efforts to study Earth's climatic history for the last 250,000 years by drilling into the Greenland Ice Sheet and examining ice cores. They will answer ...
Recognizing Forests' Role in Climate Change part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This article explains the importance of forests in the carbon cycle and why they must be preserved. Topics include carbon sequestration in forests and strategies for forest-based mitigation of global ...
"Carbo" the Carbon Atom part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Students can learn about the carbon cycle by following a carbon atom through its "travels". They can interact with the story by choosing which of several paths the atom may take through various ...
