Earth's Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate

Initial Publication Date: July 22, 2015

Time required to complete this unit:

This page is under development and may be edited at any time. Some resources have not been cataloged, pending project approval.
3 weeks, or 12.5 hours, or 750 minutes (estimated)

Earth Science Content:

Key Terms: hydrosphere, hydrologic cycle, cryosphere, radiation budget, atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, albedo, doldrums, greenhouse gas, westerlies, thermohaline circulation, insolation, Coriolis Effect, El Nino, upwelling, La Nina

Unit Storyline

Scientists look at the Earth in holistic terms—as a dynamic, interconnected system. This system is composed of the hydrosphere, cryosphere, and atmosphere subsystems, which interact on various temporal and spatial scales with the biosphere and geosphere. These interactions among Earth's five subsystems influence climate and resource availability, which in turn affect Earth's habitability. For instance, Earth's global ocean stores solar energy and is a major driving force for weather and climate through complex atmospheric processes. Through the use of modern scientific research, data, and visualizations, scientists are creating a map of these many interconnections in a way that will allow us to better understand our world.

Developed by theDIG Texas BlueprintsEducation InternsandCoastal Bend DevelopmentTeams

Students will be able to (do)

  • Analyze how energy is responsible for atmospheric motion.
  • Describe the mechanisms that cause the Earth and atmosphere to interact, balancing heat in the system
  • Evaluate albedo through lab experiments.
  • Predict direction of movement when an object is affected by the Coriolis Effect.
  • Investigate motion of waters of the ocean (tides, currents, and thermohaline circulation.)
  • Compare how temperature and salinity influence movement of water.
  • Use data to explore El Niño sea surface temperature changes.

Students will know

  • The drivers of global ocean circulation.
  • Mechanisms and causes of changes in Earth's climate system.
  • Causes of the uneven distribution of solar energy on Earth's surface.
  • How Earth's atmosphere is heated from the Earth's surface.
  • How to make predictions about future weather and climate conditions based on current data trends.

Activities

The activities we have selected are congruent with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and are arranged to build upon one another. Therefore, to follow the storyline we recommend that teachers complete the activities in the order provided. To open an activity in a new tab or window, right click the activity link and select the preferred option.

Climate and the Biosphere

View Activity
https://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/weather_climate/index.htm

The labs presented in this unit on climate and weather include student readings, hands-on investigations, videos, animations, data analysis, and models that students explore to help them understand the ways in which energy from the Sun interacts with Earth's systems at global, regional, and local scales to give Earth its varied climates. Another key concept of the module are the multiple time scales at which climate operates, from predictable seasonal and annual cycles to cycles that last for tens of thousands of years and cause dramatic changes to life on Earth via glaciations, changes in sea level, and other long-term effects.

Instructional Strategies: Inquiry, Modeling

Resource Type: Laboratory investigation, experiment or demonstration

Time Required: 750 minutes for all labs

For this unit we have selected one lab:

  • Climate and the Earth's Energy Balance (Climate and the Biosphere Lab 2)

http://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/weather_climate/lab_2.html

Students explore how the composition of the atmosphere and incoming solar radiation control Earth's climate. They will investigate the greenhouse effect and the role of the water cycle in balancing the Earth's energy budget.

Time Required: 120 minutes

Teaching Box: Essentials of Weather

View Activity
http://www.teachingboxes.org/jsp/teachingboxes/weatherEssentials/index.jsp

This series of lessons from the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) represents an online assembly of lesson plans and digital resources that explore basic elements of weather. They are meant to provide an inquiry-based exploration of winds, clouds, and extreme weather events in order to demonstrate the inter-relatedness of Earth's processes.

Instructional Strategies: Inquiry, Modeling

Resource Type: Laboratory investigation, experiment or demonstration

Time Required: 700 minutes for all activities

For this unit we have selected one lab:

  • Lesson 4: Global Wind Patterns and Convection - Activity 1

    http://teachingboxes.org/jsp/teachingboxes/weatherEssentials/wind/sequence/lesson4_activity1.jsp

    Students explore global temperature distribution and the concept of how winds move in global patterns via hands-on kinesthetic activities.

    Time Required: 30 minutes

Modeling the Coriolis Effect

View Activity
http://www.carolina.com/teacher-resources/Interactive/modeling-the-coriolis-effect/tr10643.tr

Students conduct a simple experiment using markers and a balloon to learn to predict in which direction an object will move when being affected by the Coriolis effect.

Instructional Strategies: Inquiry, Modeling

Resource Type: Laboratory investigation, experiment or demonstration

Time Required: 20 minutes

The Coriolis Effect

View Activity
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/coriolis-effect.html

This NOVA video illustrates the Coriolis Effect.

Instructional Strategies: Lecture

Resource Type: Video

Time Required: 3 minutes

Ocean Currents: Making Waves, Episode 123

View Activity
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/apr14/mw123-currents.html

This NOAA video podcast discusses water motion in the oceans (tides, surface currents and thermohaline circulation).

Instructional Strategies: Lecture

Resource Type: Video

Time Required: 5 minutes

Detecting El Niño in Sea Surface Temperature Data

View Activity
https://serc.carleton.edu/eet/pmel/index.html

Students download seasonal SST data for the period from 1982-1998 and use My World GISTM to visualize and analyze the data. They look for the SST signatures for El Niño and La Niña events during that time period. Students then analyze SST data for a time period of their own choosing to determine whether El Niño or La Niña events occurred in that year's data.

Instructional Strategies: Inquiry

Resource Type: Laboratory investigation, experiment or demonstration

Time Required: 200 minutes

Climate and the Cryosphere

View Activity
https://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/cryosphere/index.html

This unit introduces students to many of the complex issues surrounding the cryosphere and its connections to climate. It includes articles, hands-on lab activities, videos, data analysis, maps, graphs, and online interactives which will help learners to understand how snow and ice interact with water, air, land, and life to regulate and reflect Earth's climate conditions.

Instructional Strategies: Inquiry, Modeling

Resource Type: Laboratory investigation, experiment or demonstration

Time Required: 750 minutes for all labs

For this unit, we have selected one lab:

  • Why We Study the Cryosphere (Climate and the Cryosphere Lab 1B)

http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/cryosphere/1b.html

Students explore the concept of albedo and the Earth's radiation budget. They model different surface conditions to explore how snow and ice help regulate Earth's temperature and climate.

Time Required: 90 minutes

2005 North Atlantic Stepping Stones Expedition: Top to Bottom

View Activity
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/05stepstones/background/education/ss_2005_topbottom.pdf

In this guide from Ocean Explorer (NOAA), students will look at impacts of climate change on biological communities found around deep-ocean seamounts.

Instructional Strategies: Challenge or problem-solving

Resource Type: Classroom learning activity

Time Required: 90 minutes

For this unit, we have selected one lab:

  • Earth's Frozen Oceans (Climate and the Cryosphere Lab 2)

http://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/cryosphere/2.html

Students learn how sea ice forms and influences ocean currents around the globe. They also investigate how sea ice thickness and sea ice extent change over time.

Time required: 150 minutes

Field Trips

Studies that examine how geologists think and learn about the Earth point to the value of field experiences in helping students develop practices that constitute geologic reasoning. We encourage teachers to take students into the field as much as possible. To this end, we include ideas for virtual and actual field trips. The former recognizes the limitations of the K-12 classroom setting. Field learning provides a chance to encourage the ability to see features that are important to professional practice. Indeed, many geoscientists report that fieldwork was a key factor influencing their choice of geoscience as a career.

Careers

Oftentimes it is difficult to learn how to get into a geoscience career. Below we have curated resources and stories from several paleontologists to give students an idea about how one can become a paleontologist. We want to emphasize that being a geoscientist, including a paleontologist, is typically not about being the best in one's class or having a science-specific skillset--successful geoscientists usually are interdisciplinary, creative, and have perseverance even when things do not go according to plan.

Scaffolding Notes

Teachers must develop their own individual plan for how they will teach the unit. The learning activities and educational resources in this unit are intended to complement other instructional activities led by the teacher. Many of the selected learning experiences provide links to excellent background preparatory materials, additional hands-on resources, teaching tips, and cross-curricular connections.

Teachers will need to create their own multimedia presentations, deliver lectures and assign ancillary work to their students in order to set the stage for effective use of the learning activities contained herein. Therefore, it is imperative to allocate time to review the activities and background material prior to using the learning experiences in this unit and to probe students for their prior knowledge before starting an activity.

In addition, although some activities may incorporate assessments, teachers may need to create their own assessments to ensure that are appropriate for the students they teach.

Asterisks (*) indicate teacher resource and background information recommendations for activity support.

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Next Generation Science Standards

Additional Resources