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.
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Climate Literacy Principles
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Climate Literacy Principles Show all Climate Literacy Principles
- Solar Heat, Energy, Radiation 11 matches A. Solar energy heats Earth's surface and thus the atmosphere, causing movements of air masses and introducing water in the global water cycle.
- Daily Variations, Diurnal Cycle 2 matches B. Daily variations in solar energy over Earth, caused by the planet's spherical shape, influence many weather and climate processes.
- Axial Tilt 6 matches C. The tilt of Earth on its axis causes solar energy to fall more directly on different parts of Earth during different times of the year, resulting in seasonal changes.
- Orbital Cycles 8 matches D. Gradual changes in Earth's orbit around the Sun over tens of thousands of years alter the spatial distribution and intensity of solar energy received on Earth, causing long-term warming and cooling trends, such as ice ages and the warm periods in between them.
- Greenhouse Effect, UV, Infrared 25 matches E. Gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, temporarily trap infrared radiation from the warmed surface of Earth. The additional warmth in the atmosphere created by the greenhouse effect allows liquid water and other life-supporting processes to exist on much of Earth's surface.
- Fossil Fuel Formation 8 matches F. Sunlight is the ultimate source of most of the energy used by humans. The energy in fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal comes from energy captured long ago from the sun.
- Energy Balance 13 matches G. Earth's climate is remarkably sensitive to changes in the planet's energy balance.
Sun Drives Earth System
13 matches General/OtherResults 1 - 20 of 62 matches
Global Warming Facts and Our Future part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This virtual museum website provides easily understood scientific information that helps both policy makers and the public answer important questions about the changing global climate in order to ...
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: Scientific Visualization Studio part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This is the web page for The Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS), a branch of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) that generates visuals to promote a greater understanding of ...
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 ...
Global Climate Change part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Global Climate Change is one of the Exploring the Environment series of online modules. Emphasizing an integrated approach to environmental earth science through problem-based learning, this module ...
Solar Energy Experiment part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This experiment demonstrates that energy from the Sun can be collected and stored in a variety of ways. Using plastic bottles painted black and white and capped with balloons, students will see that ...
The Sustainable Energy Coalition part of SERC Web Resource Collection
The Sustainable Energy Coalition brings together more than 30 national business, environmental, consumer, and energy policy organizations. Founded in 1992, the Coalition promotes increased federal ...
Seasons: Why It's Essential part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This lesson gives high school students a clear understanding of why the seasons occur and reinforces the ability to articulate this concept to others. Students review the basics of the seasons and ...
Global Warming and Energy part of SERC Web Resource Collection
The global warming page of the Sierra Club is a portal to information about greenhouse gases and global warming. It starts with an overview on global warming and energy and has links to timely ...
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 is a Greenhouse? part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This activity is designed to familiarize students with how a greenhouse retains heat by building simple models. As a result of this activity, students will come to understand that greenhouses are ...
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 ...
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 ...
On the Shoulders of Giants - Milutin Milankovitch part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Milutin Milankovitch formulated a comprehensive mathematical model that calculated latitudinal differences in solar radiation upon the Earth's surface and the corresponding surface temperatures for ...
Windows to the Universe: The Greenhouse Effect part of SERC Web Resource Collection
At this site, users can read a basic explanation of the greenhouse effect, which is accompanied by a diagram illustrating the concept. This link is to the intermediate version, but beginner and ...
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 ...
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 ...
What's Up With the Weather: Your Carbon Diet part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this energy use simulation students are asked to click on the various household items to see what is draining energy and learn how to make their home more energy efficient. This simulation is not ...
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 ...
