Overview

Big Idea

Remote sensing and digital imagery provide us with a glimpse of our changing Earth. Comparing measurements of sea level, land ice, Arctic sea ice, and carbon dioxide over the past decades suggest that the Earth’s climate is warming—a phenomenon that is attested to by an increase in the mean annual surface temperature of the Earth’s surface. Examine evidence of climate change from different parts of the Earth’s system and consider what it means to live on a planet with a dynamically changing climate.

Data Activity

Examining the Vital Signs

Summary

How is the Earth’s climate changing? Within the mainstream scientific community the fundamentals of global warming and climate change are no longer in question and increasing evidence shows that human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and land degradation, cattle ranching, and rice farming, play a significant part in contributing to this change. Examine evidence of climate change from different parts of Earth’s system and consider what it means to live on a planet with a dynamically changing climate.

Standards

This module is aligned to the following national learning and curriculum standards:

• Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Science
• National Science Education Standards
• A Framework for K-12 Science Education
• Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practices

Objectives

In this module, you will:

1. Analyze diverse kinds of data around the world that document a warming planet.
2. Analyze graphical representations and scientific visualizations of data exhibiting climate change.
3. Consider strategies to engage students in data analysis.

Background Information

The first satellite images of Earth, taken more than 50 years ago, revolutionized our understanding of the world we live in. From our first glimpse of a storm thousands of miles across, a storm that seemed impossibly large at the time, scientists began to realize that the Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere all interact with each other to generate our weather systems, and ultimately, our global climate.

NASA and PBS

This professional development experience was funded by NASA's Global Climate Change Education initiative. This initiative is designed to improve the quality of the nation's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education and enhance students' and teachers' literacy about global climate and Earth system change from elementary grades to lifelong learners.

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