Discovering Plate Boundaries part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students work collaboratively using data maps to discover plate tectonic boundary processes. Data sets used are earthquakes, volcanos, seafloor age, and topography. Show other versions of this activity Hide The ...

Lab 2: What's a Watershed? part of EarthLabs for Educators:Drought
The lab activity described here was created by Betsy Youngman of Phoenix Country Day School and LuAnn Dahlman of TERC for the EarthLabs project. The hands-on activity in Part A is adapted from similar lessons by ...

Analyzing Plate Motion Using EarthScope GPS Data part of Earth Exploration Toolbook:Analyzing Tectonic Plate Motion with GPS Data
DATA: EarthScope GPS Data. TOOLS: Spreadsheet, Google Maps. SUMMARY: Learn how GPS monuments make precise measurements of Earth's surface. Graph motion data and map velocity vectors to explore tectonic motion and surface deformation in the Pacific Northwest.

Modeling the Effects of Dam Removal on the Elwha River part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students are introduced to the social and scientific issues surrounding the removal of the Glines Canyon Dam on the Elwha River, and conduct a hands-on experiment with real-world application to observe the effects ...

Student-centered Experiments on Earthquake Occurrence Using the Seismic/Eruption Program part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students select their own region of interest and interrogate the earthquake catalog to obtain quantitative data on the rate of occurrence of earthquakes of various magnitudes within their chosen region.

Urban Planning 101: Map Appreciation part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
This is a synthesis activity, providing closure to river and/or map units. Students will begin by looking at a series of maps, including 3D maps. They will brainstorm ways the natural world may interact with humans ...

Where's the volcanic threat? part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students investigate Costa Rican volcanic hazards using (a) the amount of silica in volcanic rocks, (b) a highly-simplified geologic map and (c) a satellite image of Costa Rican night time illumination (i.e., human ...

The Quaternary Glacio-Fluvial History of the Upper Midwest Using Anaglyph Stereo Maps part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students examine the anaglyph stereo map (with red/cyan glasses) and use textures to generate a surficial geology map of the Upper Midwest. They can then interpret the textures in terms of landforms, geomorphic ...

Geology Map Observations part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students construct the Earth's tectonic plates using geologic maps. The jigsaw method of collaborative group work is used. Skills such as careful observation, presentation, and synthesis are used to create a ...

It's All Connected: Global Circulation part of EarthLabs for Educators:Earth System Science
The lab activity described here was adapted by Erin Bardar of TERC for the EarthLabs project.  Summary and Learning Objectives Students are introduced to the global circulation patterns of the atmosphere and ...

A Bird's Eye View: Exploring Your Region part of EarthLabs for Educators:Earth System Science
The lab activity described here was adapted by Erin Bardar of TERC for the EarthLabs project. Summary and Learning Objectives In this Lab students focus their attention on an area significantly larger than their ...

Lab 1: Getting to Know the Cryosphere part of EarthLabs for Educators:Climate and the Cryosphere
The lab activity described here was developed by Erin Bardar of TERC for the EarthLabs project. Summary and Learning Objectives In Part A of this lab, students will learn about the different components that make ...

Is Greenland Melting? part of Earth Exploration Toolbook:GreenlandMelt
DATA: Thickness, velocity, and annual melt extents of the Greenland ice sheet TOOL: My World GIS SUMMARY: Explore map layers to examine annual melting and long-term changes of Greenland's ice sheet.

Exploring NCAR Climate Change Data Using GIS part of Earth Exploration Toolbook:NCAR Climate Change Data with GIS
DATA: NCAR Climate Change Scenarios. TOOL: ArcGIS. SUMMARY: Calculate summer average temperatures during the growing season (June, July, and August) using simulated, present-day, climate-modeled output and compare these to temperatures calculated using projected, future, climate-modeled output. Create a temperature anomaly map to summarize the analysis.

Impacts of El Nino and La Nina part of Oceanography:Activities
In this exercise, students explore NOAA and the Climate Data Center websites that provide information about El Niño. The students are then asked interpret a series of maps to describe the key changes in climate ...

How Cities Affect Their Local Climate part of Earth Exploration Toolbook:Are Our Cities Warming the Earth?
DATA: GLOBE Program Surface Temperature. TOOL: My World GIS. SUMMARY: Explore the urban heat island effect using student collected surface temperature data. Subset large datasets, buffer others, examine spatial relationships, and gather statistics to investigate temperature differences in urban and rural school sites.

Using NASA NEO and ImageJ to Explore the Role of Snow Cover in Shaping Climate part of Earth Exploration Toolbook:Exploring Albedo with NASA NEO
DATA: NASA Satellite Images. TOOLS: ImageJ and Image Composite Explorer (ICE) of NASA Earth Observations (NEO). SUMMARY: Explore and animate satellite images of reflected short wave radiation, snow cover, and land surface temperature downloaded. Then observe, graph, and analyze the relationship between these three variables.

Creating Custom Map Images of Earth and Other Worlds part of Earth Exploration Toolbook:Jules
DATA: Planetary images and geodesy data. TOOL: UNAVCO's Jules Verne Voyager Map Server. SUMMARY: Generate maps of Earth or any of 19 other planets and moons. Save and import images into presentations or reports.

Mt. Pinatubo and the Atmosphere part of SERC Web Resource Collection

In this lesson, students explore several facets of the impact of volcanic eruptions on the atmosphere. Students analyze three types of visual information: a graph of aerosol optical depth v. global ...

Investigating Weather and Climate with Google Earth part of CLEAN Collection

In this activity, students use Google Earth to explore global temperature changes during a recent 50 - 58 year period. They also explore, analyze, and interpret climate patterns of 13 different ...