20-Year Map of Global Rainfall
This visualization from NASA shows global rainfall patterns over a 22-year span. It incorporates data from a combination of remote-sensing and ground-based sources.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Acid Rock WebQuest
Acid Mine Drainage and Its Impact on Water Quality
Collection Developed by:
WPSU
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9-12 |
Lesson Plan
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Anatomy of a Tsunami
Using visual models and other graphics, this interactive activity from NOVA Online reveals details of the December 26, 2004 tsunami that collided with coasts around the Indian Ocean.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Antarctica: A Challenging Work Day
What happens when the ground under your feet is ice and it's moving? This video segment adapted from NOVA features some of the dangers faced by scientists conducting research in Antarctica.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Antarctica: Sea Ice
This video segment adapted from NOVA uses microwave images to reveal how sea ice doubles the size of Antarctica each winter. Rare footage shows how sea ice crushed the famous ship Endurance in 1914.
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K-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Antarctic Ice Movement: Part I
This video segment adapted from NOVA explains why ice sheets move. To find out how fast they move, scientists carve a tunnel through a glacier.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Antarctic Ice Movement: Part II
Within Antarctic ice sheets are fast-moving streams of ice. This video segment adapted from NOVA hypothesizes about how ice streams are the result of warming at the end of the last ice age.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Antarctic Ice: Sea Level Change
What would happen if a portion of the Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt? This video segment adapted from NOVA uses animations to show the effect of a 6-meter sea-level rise on coastal cities across the world.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Arctic Climate Perspectives
This video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, describes how global climate change is affecting Barrow, Alaska.
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6-9 |
QuickTime Video
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Arctic Sea Ice Satellite Observations
In this interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain, learn how Arctic sea ice has changed over the past 25 years in terms of maximum winter extent, concentration, and the timing of breakup each spring.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Avalanche Town
The impact of natural disasters is made vivid in this video segment adapted from NOVA. A small town in Iceland, prepared for recurrent avalanches, is devastated when one takes a new and damaging path.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Bear Creek Wind Farm Tour
Ed DeJarnette explains the process of constructing a wind farm; its challenges and benefits. Ed DeJarnette is the construction project manager at the Bear Creek Wind Farm in northeast PA.
Collection Developed by:
WPSU
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9-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Biome in a Baggie
This ZOOMSci video segment shows how to create self-contained environments and explore how plants grow under different conditions.
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K-8 |
QuickTime Video
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Biomes
This interactive resource adapted from NASA describes the different temperature, precipitation, and vegetation patterns in seven biomes: coniferous forest, temperate deciduous forest, desert, grassland, rainforest, shrubland, and tundra.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Carbon Cycle Diagram
This diagram from NASA Earth Science Enterprise illustrates Earth's carbon cycle.
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6-12 |
JPEG Image
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Caves and Karst
This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service presents the key concepts of cave and karst systems, including how and where they form, different types, and various cave environments.
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3-12 |
HTML Interactive
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Chasing Tornadoes
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists are on the hunt for tornadoes. Using Doppler radar, they gather data in the hopes of solving the mystery of how tornadoes form.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Cloud Types
This interactive resource, adapted from NASA's S'COOL Project Tutorial, explains
how you can classify and identify various types of clouds.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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6-12 |
PDF Document
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Convective Cloud Systems
This video segment adapted from the Atmospheric Radiation Program explains the differences in the formation of tropical convective cloud systems over islands and over the ocean.
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3-8 |
QuickTime Video
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Coral Kid
In this video segment, ZOOM guest Cassie takes us on a tour of the coral reef near her home in Key Largo, Florida, and points out some of its unique features.
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K-8 |
QuickTime Video
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3-5 |
Lesson Plan
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Deep-Sea Vents and Life's Origins
Deep-sea vents are home to life forms that do not rely on the Sun's energy. They depend instead on energy from volcanoes on the ocean floor. This video segment adapted from NOVA hypothesizes that life on Earth may have begun in this extreme environment.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Deserts
Not all deserts are the same. This still collage produced for Teachers' Domain features views of different deserts around the world.
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K-8 |
Flash Image
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Documenting Glacial Change
This collection of comparative glacier images adapted from the National Snow and Ice Data Center shows substantial changes in five Alaskan glacier positions over periods of 60 to 100 years.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
HTML Interactive
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Earth System: Drought and Air Quality
This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center discusses how a drought can have negative effects locally, for example by increasing the number of forest fires, and also globally, for example by impacting air quality thousands of miles away.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Earth System: El Niño
This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center describes El Niño, how it forms, and the chain reaction of consequences it triggers around the globe.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Earth System: Ice and Global Warming
This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center explains ice's role in the Earth system, highlighting the delicate balance that could be upset with a continued rise in temperature due to climate change.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Earth Water Filter
In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members try to make the most effective water filter. They experiment with filtering dirty, salty water through different combinations of sand, gravel, and a cotton bandana.
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K-8 |
QuickTime Video
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Kerri-Ann Richard
In this video from Science City, Kerri-Ann Richard, an environmental engineer, describes how she became interested in the field and why it is important to clean up the environment by removing contaminants from soil and ground water.
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6-12 |
MPEG 4 Video
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An Everglades Visit
In this adapted video segment, ZOOM guest Tommy takes us on a tour of the Florida Everglades. He describes what makes a wetland biome unique, including the soil, precipitation, and biodiversity.
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K-8 |
QuickTime Video
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Examine Global Surface Currents
This visualization from McDougal Littell/TERC visualizes the relationship between global wind directions and the direction of ocean surface currents.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Exploring Environmental Change
Students explore the connections that can exist in a natural environment, and examine how changes to the environment, particularly those caused by human activity, can affect those connections.
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6-9 |
Lesson Plan
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Extreme Temperatures on the Moon
In this video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA, astronaut John Young experiences extreme temperatures on the Moon that are a result of the Moon's low gravity and lack of atmosphere.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Fastest Glacier
In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, scientists in western Greenland explain how a glacier there is shrinking and moving faster due to increased melting.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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6-12 |
GIF Image
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Flood: Farming and Erosion
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists investigate how farming along the Mississippi River impacts floods and what can be done about it.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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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.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Glaciers
Featuring images of glacier formations, this interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service explains what glaciers are, where they are found, how they form, and how they move.
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6-12 |
HTML Interactive
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9-12 |
Lesson Plan
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6-12 |
Lesson Plan
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Global Trends Quiz
In this interactive quiz from NOVA, take the Environmental Challenge and test your knowledge of human impact on the world's natural resources and climate.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Global View of the Seasons
This interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain features satellite data of Earth's seasonal cycles. Visualizations and comparative still images reveal how successfully plants are photosynthesizing at different times of the year.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Global Warming: Graphs Tell the Story
Examine graphs from the NOVA/FRONTLINE Web site to see dramatic changes in the temperature of Earth's surface and in the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
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9-12 |
HTML Document
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Global Water Distribution
How much water on Earth is fresh water? How much of that fresh water is found in icecaps? Lakes? Rivers? This interactive resource uses bar graphs to illustrate the relative distribution of fresh and salt water on Earth. Adapted from Oxford University Press
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Global Weather Machine
In this illustrated essay from NOVA Online, explore the cyclical process of weather creation and the effects of El Niño on the global weather system.
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9-12 |
HTML Document
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The Great Flood of 1993
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a meteorologist explains how an unusual weather pattern led to one of the most devastating floods of this century.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Great Ocean Conveyor Belt: Part I
This image from GRID-Arendal depicts the major circulation pattern of the ocean, illustrating interactions between temperature, salinity, and depth.
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9-12 |
GIF Image
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Great Ocean Conveyor Belt: Part II
A substantial increase in freshwater running into the northern Atlantic Ocean could dramatically affect climate and global ocean currents. This audio segment from National Public Radio presents viewpoints from scientists studying changes in ocean circulation.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Audio
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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.
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9-12 |
Flash Interactive
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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How Do Avalanches Form?
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, dramatic footage of avalanches and animations of ice crystals illustrate how a layer of weakly-bonded snow can contribute to a devastating avalanche.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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How Do Tornadoes Form?
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists use computer simulations to explore the question of how supercell thunderstorms produce tornadoes.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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How Hurricanes Form
This animation from NASA illustrates the phases in the formation of a hurricane.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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How to Build A Road
Geology and weather introduced a variety of unexpected problems when construction crews were building the Alaska Highway. In this interactive activity from the American Experience Web site, see how Army engineers improvised solutions to blaze a trail through the wilderness.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Human Impact on Water Quality
Students explore human impact on water resources, investigate the quality of their community's water supply, and consider ways to clean up and avoid further pollution.
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6-8 |
Lesson Plan
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Hurricane Katrina: Possible Causes
This media-rich essay from NOVA scienceNow explores new research into hurricanes that may help explain Katrina's devastating impact and discusses the possibility that global warming played a role.
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6-12 |
HTML Document
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Hurricanes: New Orleans Under Threat
This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW exposes how decades of development and geography combined to make the potential damage from a hurricane uniquely devastating in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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The Hydrologic Cycle
View the five processes of the hydrologic cycle in this interactive resource adapted from NASA in which animations illustrate condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and evapotranspiration.
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3-8 |
Flash Interactive
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Ice Shelf and Ice Sheet Simulation
In this interactive activity adapted from Texas A&M University, a block of melting ice simulates ice shelves and ice sheets and their differing effects on global sea level.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Infrared Gallery
How would your world look if you saw heat instead of light? In this interactive resource produced for Teachers' Domain, see what familiar objects look like through an infrared camera and watch infrared videos of geysers, mudpots, and hot springs.
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3-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Infrared: More Than Your Eyes Can See
In this video segment adapted from NASA, astronomer Michelle Thaller introduces the world of infrared light and demonstrates how infrared cameras allow us to see more than what the naked eye can perceive.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Jet Streams and Weather
Students learn about jet streams and explore the effects of the polar-front jet stream on weather conditions in North America.
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9-12 |
Lesson Plan
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Kid Meteorologist
ZOOM guest Amy wants to be a meteorlogist and volunteers
at a weather observatory. In this adapted video segment, she shows
us instruments used to predict the weather and describes how air
pressure affects weather patterns.
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K-8 |
QuickTime Video
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Life Before Oxygen
This video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA features evidence of life on Earth before the atmosphere contained a rich supply of oxygen.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Life's Little Essential: Liquid Water
Why is water necessary for life? Why is it the best and possibly only liquid to do the job? This illustrated essay from NOVA Online answers these questions, explaining why planetary scientists are on the lookout for water elsewhere in the solar system.
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6-12 |
HTML Document
|
Making Big Waves
Certain sections of the Northern California coast are host to some of the largest, most spectacular ocean waves in the world. In this video segment from QUEST, learn about how these waves are able to get so large.
Collection Developed by:
KQED Public Television
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9-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
Lesson Plan
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Mountain of Ice: If the Ice Melts
This interactive resource adapted from NOVA Online features a collection of images that show what would happen to selected coastlines around the world if the Antarctic Ice Sheet melted.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Mountain Weather
In this interactive activity from NOVA Online you can move an air mass over a mountain and see how several distinct microclimates are created.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Mountain Weather: A Climber's Story
In this video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA, a mountain climber's perilous journey reveals the extreme range of microclimates on Mount Kilimanjaro.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Natural Climate Change in Djibouti, Africa
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, animations are used to illustrate how change in the tilt of Earth's axis produces dramatic climate change over thousands of years.
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3-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Natural Wonders
Many of the interesting landmarks around the world are formed over time by natural processes familiar to us in our everyday lives. This still collage produced for Teachers' Domain features images of a variety of beautiful natural wonders.
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K-5 |
Flash Image
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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.
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6-12 |
Student Activity
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6-8 |
Flash Interactive
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Observe Clouds
This video segment produced for Teachers' Domain features a time-lapse video of clouds forming, changing, and moving across the sky.
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K-5 |
QuickTime Video
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Observe Images of Different Climate Zones
Interact with this world map from McDougal Littell/TERC to highlight different climate zones and see a photograph of each one. Ten climate zones are represented, including tundra, desert, humid subtropical, and others.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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Observe Precipitation
In this video segment produced for Teachers' Domain, observe different types of precipitation — rain, hail, and snow.
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K-5 |
QuickTime Video
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K-2 |
QuickTime Video
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Ocean Temperatures and Climate Patterns
This animation from The New Media Studio illustrates how the atmosphere and ocean together shape wind, current, and rainfall patterns in the tropical Pacific.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Oil Spill: Exxon Valdez, 1989
This video segment adapted from NOVA follows the clean-up effort after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska. Also featured is a marsh where an oil spill occurred 20 years earlier; analysis suggests that environmental damage may last for decades.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Once and Future Tsunamis
In this interactive world map from NOVA Online explore nine key tsunamis dating from 3.5 billion years ago and discover what experts have learned from studying them.
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6-12 |
Flash Interactive
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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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.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Pennsylvania Stream Water Treatment Systems
The video asks who will be around to keep water treatment systems going, monitor the quality of streams, and create new initiatives to keep water sources clean. A number of programs
address these issues and get young people involved in environmental and conservation activities.
Collection Developed by:
WPSU
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9-12 |
QuickTime Video
|
Pollution Along the Rhine River
This video segment adapted from Race to Save the Planet discusses the effects of water pollution along the Rhine River and its impact on local wildlife.
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6-12 |
QuickTime Video
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Raising the pH
Passive Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage
Collection Developed by:
WPSU
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6-8 |
Lesson Plan
|
Rate Tornado Damage
In this interactive activity from NOVA Online, use the Fujita tornado intensity scale to assess the level of destruction left in the wake of actual tornadoes.
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3-12 |
