Earth and Space Science

Atmosphere

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NOVA

RESOURCE	GRADE LEVEL	MEDIA TYPE
1900 Air Pollution Examine this graph from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "What's Up with the Weather?" Web site to see dramatic increases in three greenhouse gases over the last two hundred years.	9-12	Document
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.	6-12	Video
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.	6-12	Video
Astronauts in Hard Hats This media-rich series of interviews from the NOVA Web site explores the unique challenges faced by astronauts doing construction work in outer space.	6-12	Document
Astronauts Speak: Gene Cernan In this audio resource from NOVA, astronaut Gene Cernan recounts his harrowing experience during America's first attempt to do work in outer space.	3-12	Audio
Atmospheric Pressure Did you know that air has weight? This illustrated essay from the NOVA Web site explores conditions that affect air density and atmospheric pressure.	6-12	Document
Body Breakdowns This interactive feature from the NOVA "Surviving Denali" Web site details the variety of ways the body can fail while climbing a high-altitude peak.	6-8	Interactive
Capturing Carbon: Where Do We Put It? In this interactive activity from NOVA scienceNOW, explore options for storing carbon dioxide in order to prevent further global warming.	6-12	Interactive
Cave Formation: Biogeochemical Cycles This video segment adapted from NOVA chronicles the discoveries that led to a radical new theory in which living organisms, not just geological processes, play an active role in cave formation.	6-12	Video
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.	6-12	Video
The Dating Game: Radioactive Carbon In this media-rich essay from the NOVA Web site, learn about the atomic structure of radioactive carbon and how it can be used to determine the age of organic remains, such as bones and teeth.	6-12	Document
Discovering Air Our understanding about the air we breathe has changed dramatically through time. This illustrated timeline from the NOVA Web site tracks the changing thought on air and the creation of the Periodic Table of the Elements.	6-12	Document
Eclipse of the Century This video segment adapted from NOVA features spectacular footage from the 1991 solar eclipse that fortuitously occurred directly over several major astronomical observatories in Hawaiʻi.	3-12	Video
Everest: Test Your Brain This interactive feature from the NOVA "Everest" Web site lets you take the same brain quizzes that researchers used to test the brain function of climbers on Mount Everest.	6-8	Interactive
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.	3-12	Video
Free-Falling and "Weightlessness" Discover the difference between free-falling and weightlessness in this interactive activity from the NOVA Web site.	6-12	Interactive
Galileo: Discovering Jupiter's Moons This video segment adapted from NOVA shows how Galileo, using his newly developed refracting telescope, observed four of Jupiter's moons, the first astronomical bodies to be discovered since ancient times.	3-12	Video
Galileo on the Moon Watch Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott perform Galileo's falling objects experiment on the Moon in this video segment from NASA.	3-12	Video
Galileo: Sunspots This video segment adapted from NOVA shows how Galileo used his telescope to carefully observe and study sunspots.	3-12	Video
Global Warming: Beyond Fossil Fuels Martin Hoffert, professor of physics at New York University, discusses global warming and alternative energies in this interview from the NOVA/FRONTLINE Web site.	6-12	Document
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	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	Document
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.	9-12	Document
Global Warming: The Developing World This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at the future of global warming as developing nations, including India and China, increase their need for energy.	6-12	Video
Global Warming: The Hydrogen Car Is the hydrogen car the answer to global warming? This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at the pros and cons of this developing technology.	3-12	Video
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	Video
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.	6-12	Video
History of the Universe This interactive timeline from the NOVA Web site recaps the theoretical origin and formation of the universe, and forecasts its eventual fate.	6-12	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	Video
How Did Life Emerge Here? This video segment adapted from NOVA describes the emergence of life on the islands of Hawaiʻi from a barren volcanic platform under the ocean waves to the rich explosion of life that covers the many climate zones of the islands today.	3-12	Video
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.	6-12	Video
How Do You Get to the Moon? This video, adapted from NOVA, showcases the competing engineering plans designed for landing a person on the Moon for the first time.	6-12	Video
Ice-Core Record of Climate This video excerpt from NOVA: “Extreme Ice” explores how ice cores reveal a relationship between greenhouse gases and climate.	6-12	Video
Life Before Oxygen This Interactive NOVA: "Earth" video segment looks at ancient organisms that lived anaerobically, the origins of photosynthesis, and the new forms of life this process made possible.	3-12	Video
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.	3-12	Video
Mars Dead or Alive: A Hostile Environment This NOVA video segment describes the challenges presented by the frozen desert environment of Mars to NASA engineers designing two robots that will journey millions of miles to the red planet.	6-12	Video
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.	6-12	Video
Mount Pinatubo: The Aftermath of a Volcanic Eruption This video segment adapted from NOVA features footage of the aftermath of the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines, including falling ash and mud flows.	3-12	Video
A New Theory of Lightning In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, follow scientists as they test a new theory suggesting that lightning here on Earth is triggered by cosmic rays from far-away dying stars.	6-12	Video
Newton's Third Law of Motion: Astronauts in Outer Space In this video segment adapted from NOVA, NASA learns hard lessons from the first American attempt to do work while "walking" in space. The video also explores Newton's third law of motion.	3-12	Video
Next-Generation Space Suits In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, MIT engineer Dava Newman is working to replace today's bulky, inflated space suits with a radical, sleek design that may one day allow astronauts to walk easily on Mars.	9-12	Video
Photosynthesis This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" looks at photosynthesis, the chemical process plants use to make their own food.	3-12	Video
Snapshot of U.S. Energy Use This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at American energy consumption and the resulting production of greenhouse gases.	3-12	Video
Solar Magnetism This video segment adapted from NOVA describes how the Sun's magnetism can have an effect here on Earth, from dramatic auroras to a mini-Ice Age in the 1600s.	6-12	Video
Solar Paint Your Roof In this video segment adapted from NOVA, see how nanotechnology might be used to create a new, cheaper way to produce solar electricity for the home.	6-12	Video
Sources of Radiation This interactive activity from the NOVA Web site explores sources of radiation, both harmful and beneficial, natural and manmade.	6-12	Interactive
Stellar Velocity: The Doppler Effect This interactive activity from the NOVA Web site illustrates the Doppler effect and shows how it applies to measuring the direction and speed of stellar objects.	6-12	Interactive
Stories in the Ice Take a journey back through time, on the NOVA/FRONTLINE Web site, using ice cores to learn about Earth's climatic history, including evidence of global warming and nuclear activity.	6-12	Document
Total Solar Eclipse Animation This brief animation adapted from NOVA illustrates how total solar eclipses form and explains the stages from first contact to totality.	3-12	Video
Trying to Breathe on Mount Everest In this video segment adapted from NOVA, climbers attempting to reach Mount Everest's summit must contend with the low levels of oxygen at high altitudes.	6-12	Video
What Causes the Gulf Stream? This video segment adapted from NOVA visualizes how Earth's rotation and uneven heating from the Sun cause prevailing winds and influence ocean surface currents. An animation and infrared satellite image illustrate the shape and direction of the Gulf Stream System in the Atlantic Ocean.	6-12	Video
Your Carbon Diet Find out how much energy you use and some ways to conserve in this interactive activity from the NOVA/FRONTLINE Web site.	3-12	Interactive
Your Carbon Diet In this interactive activity from the NOVA/FRONTLINE Web site, you can click on various items in a typical New England house to find out how much energy each uses and some ways to reduce energy consumption in your home.	6-12	Interactive