Earth Exploration Toolbook Chapters
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Data: Sea Surface Temperature Grids
Tool: My World GIS
Download over fifteen years of seasonal sea surface temperature (SST) data from the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). Use a Geographic Information System (GIS) to create and analyze average SST maps, looking for El Niņo and La Niņo events.
- Data: Sea Ice Images
Tools: ImageJ, Spreadsheet application
Download images from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and animate them to see how sea ice in the Arctic has changed over the last 30 years. Use image processing software to measure the ice extent during November of each year. Import the measurements into a spreadsheet application to produce a graph, and compare them to air temperatures in the region.
- Data: TOMS Images
Tools: ImageJ, Spreadsheet application
Download images from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument and use image processing software to measure the area of the ozone hole over time. Import measurements into a spreadsheet application to produce a graph.
- Data: Wetlands Descriptors
Tool: Ramsar International Wetlands Data Gateway
Access data on wetlands around the world and perform a series of searches to identify wetland areas that might benefit from protection.
- Data: Landsat Images
Tool: ImageJ
Download and examine a series of registered Landsat images showing an area of rapid urbanization in southeast Asia. Use image processing software to produce a map documenting how human activities have changed the coastline over time.
- Data: Over 100 types of planetary and geodesy data
Tool: UNAVCO's Jules Verne Voyager Map Server
Use Jules Verne Voyager, an online map tool to create large-scale maps of Earth or any of 19 other planets and moons. Create maps to compare features from different worlds at the same scale. Save and import the images into a presentation or a word-processing document.
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Data: GOES Images
Tools: ImageJ
Learn how to transform a series of GOES images into an animation, and how to create a storm track from that animation, determining both storm speed and direction.
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Data: Climate Model Predictions
Tools: EOS-Webster, Spreadsheet application
Access climate model predictions from EOS-Webster, a digital library of free Earth science data. Produce graphs of the data in a spreadsheet application to compare climate predictions among U.S. states through the year 2100. Analyze the graph to interpret regional trends in climate change.
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Data: Sea Floor Age, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes
Tool: My World GIS
Create a base map and perform analyses on three different geologic datasets. Use the visualization capabilities of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify relationships among observations of sea-floor age, earthquakes, and volcanoes and understand how they support the theory of plate tectonics.
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Data: Global Digital Elevation Model Data
Tool: GeoMapApp
Explore an illustrated timeline describing how humans have learned about the seafloor, and gather data to construct a profile across the Atlantic Ocean. Download and use GeoMapApp to create visual representations of bathymetric data.
- Data: Streamflow data, Precipitation data
Tool: Spreadsheet application
Request specific datasets from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), and use a spreadsheet application to produce a graph comparing them. Analyze the graph to interpret conditions that affect streamflow.
Investigating Earthquakes: GIS Mapping and Analysis
Data: Recent and Historical Earthquake Data
Tool: ArcVoyager Special Edition GIS
Tool: ArcExplorer Java Edition for Education GIS
Download lists of recent and historical earthquakes from USGS, then use a spreadsheet application to prepare the data. Import the data into a Geographic Information System (GIS). Use the GIS to analyze the data and predict where the next big earthquake will occur.- Data: Seismic Wave Model Output
Tool: ArcVoyager GIS
Examine seismic wave model data in ArcVoyager, a freely available Geographic Information System (GIS). Use the GIS to examine variations in seismic wave velocities and infer the depth of the crust-mantle boundary beneath ocean basins and North America.
- Data: MODIS Images
Tool: ImageJ
Download and examine MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images of the Aral Sea from 1973 through 2003. Use image analysis software to quantify change in the width and area of the sea over time.
- Data: Satellite-based global data sets from NASA
Tools: NASA Earth Observatory Animation Generator, Carbon Visualator
Learn to use visualization capabilities available through NASA's Earth Observatory. You'll build several animations of satellite data that illustrate carbon pathways through the Earth system.
- Data: Ocean Buoy Data, MODIS Images
Tools: GoMOOS Online Graphing Tool, WebCOAST
Access the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System (GoMOOS) to obtain data from buoy monitoring stations about conditions that influence the timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom. Graph these data in an online graphing tool and analyze the output to predict the date when the phytoplankton bloom should occur. Access MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite images from WebCOAST to check your prediction.
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Data: Student-collected environmental data
Tool: GLOBE Online Graphing Tool
Access and graph environmental data that has been collected by students who participate in the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program. Use GLOBE's graphing tool to compare several variables, and interpret the graph to examine evidence of Earth system processes.
