As an anticipatory set, young environmental technicians watch a video about how ocean temperatures seem to be changing along with the global climate. They perform a laboratory demonstration with the purpose of observing what happens to...

Swirling and churning, the waters of the North Atlantic play a vital role in Earth's climate! Discover the many factors that produce circulation using a multimedia lesson from PBS's Weather and Climate series for high schoolers. Scholars...

How is it possible for ocean water to have layers? The sixth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates factors that cause different water densities to occur. Experiments...

An educational lesson allows young chemists to test the solubility of different types of salt at various temperatures. Groups create a graph using data from unsaturated, saturated, and supersaturated solutions.

There's nothing better than a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. Scholars explore how water affects change in temperature using a hands-on experiment on climate. They use measurement tools to compare the continental and oceanic...

Earth's vast ocean is full of mysteries! Science scholars discover the big-picture properties that influence its characteristics at different latitudes using a instructional activity from PBS's Weather and Climate series. After...

Young scientists demonstrate how Earth's temperature has varied gradually over time. They attempt to answer four questions that all pertain to how the Pacific Ocean's temperature has evolved. This lesson includes internet research and a...

The instructions for demonstrating ocean turnover are provided in this resource. You could set this up for your earth science class as part of a lecture on convection currents or as an explanation of how ocean currents form. An animation...

Battle of the hemispheres? In the fourth installment of a five-part series, young oceanographers use the NOAA website to collect temperature data from drifters (buoys), one in the Northern Hemisphere and one in the Southern Hemisphere....

Now that you know the ocean has layers, let's name them. The seventh installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program covers terminology associated with ocean layers, such as thermocline and...

Sea explorers and scientists have found that because of temperatures being two to three degrees Celsius at the bottom of the ocean, most animals are lethargic in order to conserve energy. In this web quest, pairs of learners read about...

How can organisms light up in water? Bioluminescence is light produced in a chemical reaction that can occur in an organism's body. First, learners determine what happens to light/color as you move into the deep ocean. In groups, they...

Students obtain remote sensing data to compare and contrast global biomass data with global temperature data.

Students use satellite data to explore sea surface temperature. They explore the relationship between the rotation of the Earth, the path of ocean current and air pressure centers. After studying maps of sea surface temperature and ocean...

How do robots assist ocean explorers in collecting data and images? The final installment in a five-part series has science scholars examine underwater images collected by robots and identify the organisms shown. Groups then calculate...

Learners describe the role of density in driving deep ocean currents and the density layers of the ocean. They determine that the ocean is one continuous body of water with global currents that interact, with water surrounding all...

Students design and conduct an experiment to determine the effect of salinity and temperature changes in the movement of ocean currents. For this earth science lesson, students record observations and collect data. They share their...

Students investigate the ocean environment. In this ocean lesson, students discover the physical properties of the ocean. Over two days, students work in small groups investigating ocean maps and creating water currents.

Students relate heart rate and development to environmental conditions through experiment. In cooperative groups, students record the heart rate in developing zebra fish. Groups create a standard curve to predict the temperature at...

Students use real satellite data to determine the changes in near-surface air temperature at different times of the year over the Caribbean Sea. They discover how Earth's tilt causes seasonal differences in incoming solar energy. They...

Students investigate the role of temperature and salinity in determining seawater density. They use a Temperature-Salinity Diagram to examine the effects of mixing on density.

Students use satellite data to compare precipitation and surface temperatures on different islands.  For this satellite lesson students create graphs and explain the differences between weather and climate. 

Young scholars use satellite data to see the correlation between sea temperature and sunlight in the Gulf of Maine.  In this phytoplankton lesson students use Excel to analyze data. 

A challenging activity helps young geographers explore the temperatures around the world! They study how the Earth's land temperatures are affected by their proximity to an ocean, as well their latitude and their altitude. A very...