Polar Sciences Collection: Atmosphere

Change grade range

Resource	Grade Level	Media Type
Arctic Atlas In this interactive atlas adapted from UNEP/GRID-Arendal, explore different environmental features of the Arctic. Select from a list of themes to customize your map, then zoom in to take a closer look at one of six featured regions.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Arctic Climate Perspectives This video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, describes how global climate change is affecting Barrow, Alaska.	6-9	QuickTime Video
Changing Arctic Landscape In this video adapted from the Artic Athabaskan Council, learn how warmer temperatures in the Arctic are transforming the landscape, triggering a host of effects such as permafrost thawing and insect infestations.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Climate Change This video segment adapted from NOVA explains the difference between weather and climate and features groundbreaking analysis revealing that Earth's climate has changed much faster than previously believed.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Contaminants in the Arctic Food Chain The levels of contaminants found in particular animals vary widely depending on where they fit into the Arctic food chain, as described in this video segment adapted from LOKE Films and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme.	5-12	QuickTime Video
Contaminants in the Arctic Human Population In this video segment adapted from LOKE Films and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, learn how human populations in the Arctic are affected by industrial contaminants in the food chain.	5-12	QuickTime Video
Earth as a System This visualization adapted from NASA maps progressive global changes onto a rotating globe. Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere are shown to be dynamic and interconnected.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Earth’s Albedo and Global Warming In this interactive activity adapted from NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, learn about Earth's albedo (the ratio of reflected vs. incident solar radiation), how pollution alters albedo, and how ice-albedo feedback may accelerate global warming.	6-12	HTML Interactive
Earth's Cryosphere: Antarctica Learn about the different features of snow and ice in Antarctica using satellite imagery in this video segment adapted from NASA.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Earth's Cryosphere: The Arctic In this video segment adapted from NASA, take a tour of the cryosphere in North America and the Arctic using satellite imagery.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Earth System: Satellites This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center shows how integral satellites are to everyday life and describes the different types, including orbital and geostationary.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Gallery of Auroras View this stunning collection of auroral displays from NOVA Online to find out why auroras appear in different colors and shapes and whether they occur on other planets.	3-12	Flash Interactive
Giving Rise to the Jet Stream This interactive activity from NOVA Online uses animation and graphics to offer a detailed explanation of the jet stream. A thorough account is given of the role played by the Sun's heat and Earth's shape and rotation, among other factors.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Global Warming and The Greenhouse Effect This video excerpt from Race to Save the Planet discusses the greenhouse effect and global warming.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Global Warming: Carbon Dioxide and the Greenhouse Effect This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE demonstrates the physical property of carbon dioxide that causes the greenhouse effect.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Global Warming: Graphs Tell the Story Examine these graphs from the NOVA/ FRONTLINE Web site to see dramatic increases in the temperature of Earth's surface and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.	6-12	HTML Document
Global Warming: The Physics of the Greenhouse Effect This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE examines the greenhouse effect, its role in keeping Earth habitable, and the industrial changes that have led to an increase in the planet's average temperature.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2: A Record of Climate Change Using images and graphs, this interactive resource illustrates scientists' efforts to study Earth's climatic history for the last 250,000 years by drilling into the Greenland Ice Sheet and examining ice cores. Adapted from the Wright Center for Science Education, Tufts University.	9-12	Flash Interactive
A Hole in the Sky This video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA profiles two scientists who were surprised in 1984 to discover a hole in our atmosphere's ozone layer as big as the United States.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Inuit Observations of Climate Change In this video adapted from the International Institute for Sustainable Development, an Inuit community collaborates with Western scientists studying climate change. Inuit observations are recorded and included in the data collection process, expanding the scientists' understanding of changes in the area.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Melting Ice In this media-rich lesson, students explore the role that ice plays on Earth, the factors causing it to melt, and the local and global consequences of melting ice.	6-12	Lesson Plan
Observations of Climate Change In this media-rich activity, students learn how data gathered through surveys with local residents and data collected by remote satellites are complementary tools that help deepen our understanding of the effects of climate change in the Arctic and elsewhere.	6-12	Student Activity
Ozone Hole This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center gives a detailed explanation of the catalytic chemical process that has led to the creation of the ozone hole.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Penguin Response to Climate Change Find out how climate change is affecting Antarctic Adélie penguins and their ecosystem in this video segment adapted from Lloyd Fales and Sweetspot Pictures, Inc.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Polar Bears and Climate Change In this video from the World Wildlife Fund, learn how rising temperatures in the southern Arctic could lead to polar bear extinction.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Satellites Orbiting Earth This animation adapted from NASA shows the orbital paths of spacecraft in NASA's Earth Observing Fleet that are a source of wide-scale, primary research about Earth.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Solar Wind's Effect on Earth This video segment adapted from NASA describes solar storms and their effects on Earth. Animations of coronal mass ejections and solar cycles help explain what we know, and what we can predict, about solar activity.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Stories in the Ice Take a journey back through time, using ice cores to learn about the Earth's climatic history. From the FRONTLINE/NOVA: "What's Up with the Weather?" Web site	9-12	HTML Document
Taking the Earth's Temperature This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "What's Up with the Weather?" depicts research efforts to record Earth's past and present temperatures shifts.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Water Vapor Circulation on Earth This simulation from the National Center for Atmospheric Research portrays annual patterns in water vapor and precipitation across the globe, illustrating general circulation patterns as well as seasonal and regional variation.	6-12	QuickTime Video

Not yet registered?

You are now "Test Driving" Teachers' Domain

About Registration:

Thank you for "Test Driving" Teachers' Domain

For more information:

Polar Sciences Collection: Atmosphere