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 26 matches 1. Life on Earth has been shaped by, depends on, and affects climate
- The Nature of Science 38 matches 2. We increase our understanding of the climate system through observation and modeling
- Sun Drives Earth System 62 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 27 matches 5. Earth's weather and climate vary over time and space
- Human Activities and Change 34 matches 6. Evidence indicates human activities are impacting the climate system
- Making Decisions 24 matches 7. Earth's climate system is influenced by complex human decisions involving economic costs and social values
Results 41 - 60 of 120 matches
The Climate Time Machine Activity: Using Fossil Pollen to Study Climate Change part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students use real data on fossil pollen from a lake in Washington State to study climate change. Working in teams, they separate simulated pollen grains from 'sediment samples,' ...
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 ...
Vital Climate Graphics part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This collection of graphic images, prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations, provides visual information on climate change issues that makes it possible to ...
Analyzing Greenhouse Gases and Global Temperature Data Over Time part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students plot data on the concentrations of various greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere and look for trends. They will learn that greenhouse gases allow the Sun's light to pass ...
Climate Change Calculator part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This calculator allows users to calculate their ecological footprint in terms of trees required to sequester the carbon from carbon dioxide emissions produced by household use and transportation. ...
Abrupt Climate Change part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This clearinghouse provides links to information about abrupt climate change, a phenomenon which recent evidence indicates is not unusual. Users can choose from a variety of links that lead to ...
Planet Under Pressure part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Planet Under Pressure is a six-part British Broadcasting Company (BBC) News Online series looking at some of the most pressing environmental issues facing the human race today. The series takes a ...
The Earth's Orbit part of SERC Web Resource Collection
These eleven activities relate to the results of the motion and position of the Earth in its orbit, investigating both the causes and the effects of changing seasons. It starts simply by trying to ...
Modeling Your Water Balance part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This activity sheet (PDF download) allows students to create a physical model illustrating the soil water balance using glasses to represent the soil column. They use data from the GLOBE Data Server ...
Ice Cores Teacher's Guide part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students will learn how and why scientists drill ice cores in Greenland. They will use this knowledge to create an ice core that demonstrates how natural and human factors affect ...
The Essence of Ecology part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This tutorial provides an introduction to basic concepts of ecology such as species extinction, generalist and specialist adaptation strategies, and the relation between extinction of one species and ...
Diurnal Temperature Changes and Water Vapor Content part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students will examine data for air temperature and dewpoint temperature for two different days at the same station to understand how moisture in the air affects the diurnal ...
Water Vapor Circulation on Earth part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Water vapor plays an important role in the water cycle and in the distribution of heat around the planet. By observing the movement of water vapor, scientists can study global wind patterns and the ...
MY NASA DATA Contributed Lesson 11: Seasonal Cloud Cover Variations part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This lesson is designed to help students gain knowledge in using the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS) to specify and download a microset of data, then to use the data to determine the seasonal ...
Infrared Gallery part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Human eyes cannot see infrared wavelengths, but with the help of false-color imaging, temperature differences become visible and invisible features are suddenly illuminated. This interactive gallery ...
Earth in Motion: Seasons part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Earth's orbit around the Sun, together with the tilt of its axis, results in periodic climate changes around the globe known as seasons. Different locations experience different types of climate ...
" + theTitle + " part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This interactive map and database allows users to access paleoclimate data from around the world. Users can choose the type of paleoclimate data (e.g. treerings, fire history, etc) and the location ...
Corriolis Model Instructions part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This VPython model of the coriolis force is interactive and allows users to change parameters, modeling the motion of a marble fired across a rotating turntable. The motion can be viewed as an ...
Orbiting Earth part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This Flash animation contrasts the geostationary versus polar orbits for satellites. For a geostationary orbit, the satellite remains directly above a fixed point at all times; in time with the ...
