A set of hands-on laboratory activities that uses the pH scale to understand the changes in ocean chemistry due to increased carbon dioxide emissions. This module shows that increased ocean acidification has adverse effects on marine organisms.
Tag: Climate and the Hydrosphere
Video Micro-lecture: Ocean Buffer Chemistry
A video micro-lecture that explains carbonate buffering in the ocean. It includes discussions on the changes in the chemical composition of the ocean caused by a higher concentration of dissolved CO2, ocean acidification and the resulting effect on ocean biota.
Reading: The Water Cycle
A reading that describes the impacts of climate change on the water cycle of Earth. This reading titled, ‘The Water Cycle and Climate Change’ by UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) Center for Science Education details the effects of climate change on the natural water cycle on Earth.
Students will learn how various processes of the water cycle, such as evaporation, precipitation, and cloud formation, are potentially affected by climate change. They will further understand how these changes in turn could exacerbate the impacts of global warming.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- Describe the water cycle.
- List some of the ways how climate change can affect the weather.
- Discuss the water cycle and how it affects Earth’s climate.
About the tool
| Tool Name | The Water Cycle and Climate Change |
| Discipline | Chemistry |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Environmental Chemistry, Water Cycle, Biogeochemical Cycles, Hydrologic Cycle, Condensation, Evaporation, Evapotranspiration, Groundwater, Precipitation, Sublimation |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Hydrosphere; Climate and the Atmosphere |
| Type of tool | Reading |
| Grade Level | Middle School, High School |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) Center for Science Education |
| Hosted at | UCAR Center for Science Education Website |
| Link | Link |
| Access | Online |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Classroom/ Laboratory Activity: Interactive Quiz on the Water Cycle
An interactive quiz about the Water Cycle. This quiz by NASA’s Global Climate Change website allows students to test their knowledge about the natural water cycle and its role in Earth’s climate.
Students will be quizzed on various aspects of the water cycle, including evaporation and precipitation. They will understand the connections between the various components of the water cycle and be introduced to some of the facts and figures associated with these components.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- Discuss the ‘Water Cycle’ and its components in the classroom.
- Discuss how climate change can potentially affect the water cycle.
About the tool
| Tool Name | Precipitation and the Water Cycle |
| Discipline | Chemistry |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Environmental Chemistry, Water Cycle, Biogeochemical Cycles, Hydrologic Cycle, Condensation, Evaporation, Evapotranspiration, Groundwater, Precipitation, Sublimation |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Hydrosphere; Climate and the Atmosphere |
| Type of tool | Quiz |
| Grade Level | Middle School, High School |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | NASA’s Global Climate Change |
| Hosted at | NASA’s Global Climate Change Website |
| Link | https://climate.nasa.gov/quizzes/water-cycle/ |
| Access | Online |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Video Lecture: Thermodynamics and the Hydrostatic Equation
A video lecture titled, ‘The Hydrostatic Equation’ from the e-learning course, ‘Introduction to Atmospheric Science’ developed by C Balaji, IIT Madras, for National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), India. This video lecture introduces the hydrostatic equation and explains in detail the concept of ‘virtual temperature’ and its importance in thermodynamics.
Students will learn about virtual temperature, impact of water vapour on virtual temperature, hydrostatic equation, impact of pressure on hydrostatic equation, and geo potential and its importance in thermodynamics.
A transcript of the lecture is also provided.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- What is ‘virtual temperature’?
- Given the virtual temperature of air is 298K and water vapour content is 1.5%, what is the actual temperature of air?
- What role does virtual temperature play in Earth’s Climate System?
About the tool
| Tool Name | Lecture-11: The Hydrostatic Equation |
| Discipline | Physics, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Atmospheric Sciences, Atmospheric Physics, Virtual Temperature, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Hydrostatic Equation |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Atmosphere; Climate and the Hydrosphere |
| Type of tool | Video Lecture (50 mins) |
| Grade Level | Undergraduate, Graduate |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | C Balaji, IIT Madras |
| Hosted at | NPTEL (https://nptel.ac.in/courses/119/106/119106008/) |
| Link | Link |
| Access | Online |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Reading: The climate in our hands – Ocean and Cryosphere
The Office for Climate Education (OCE) presents a Teacher’s Guidebook that aims to support teachers in carrying out various activities on climate change and the ocean and cryosphere in their classrooms, and targets students of ages 9 to 15.
Read More “Reading: The climate in our hands – Ocean and Cryosphere”
Video: What is Ocean Acidification?
A video to understand ocean acidification and its impacts.
Visualization: pH Levels of Oceans and Atmospheric CO2
A visualization that allows students to explore changes in the pH levels of oceans for different levels of atmospheric CO2. It includes visualizations of CO2 concentrations corresponding to various emission scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Read More “Visualization: pH Levels of Oceans and Atmospheric CO2”
Classroom/Laboratory Activity: Ocean Chemistry, Ocean Acidification, and Oyster Growth
Visualization: The Effects of Sea-level Rise on the Coast of California
An interactive visualization to observe and understand the possible effects of sea-level rise and different storm scenarios on the coast of California.
Read More “Visualization: The Effects of Sea-level Rise on the Coast of California”
Visualization: The Changing pH of Ocean Water and Its Impact on Marine Life
A visualization to learn about the pH scale, the pH of different liquids, ocean acidification, and the possible impacts of ocean acidification on marine life.
Read More “Visualization: The Changing pH of Ocean Water and Its Impact on Marine Life”
Teaching Module: Biogeochemical Cycles and Climate Change
A teaching module that discusses the carbon cycle and the nitrogen cycle. This reading by University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) describes the 2 cycles and details how the components are cycled through different parts of the Earth- atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere.
Students will be introduced to biogeochemical cycles, the processes involved, and how the carbon and nitrogen cycles work. They will further understand how anthropogenic activities potentially alter the functioning of such cycles and how this contributes to climate change.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- What is the carbon cycle? Describe its components and processes.
- What is the nitrogen cycle? Describe its components and processes.
- Discuss how biogeochemical cycles influence Earth’s climate?
About the tool
| Tool Name | Biogeochemical Cycles |
| Discipline | Chemistry |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Carbon Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle, Sequestration, Capture and Storage, Sources and Sinks, Biogeochemical Cycles |
| Climate Topic | Long-term Cycles and Feedback Mechanisms; Climate and the Atmosphere, Climate and the Biosphere; Climate and the Hydrosphere, Climate and the Anthroposphere; Climate Mitigation and Adaptation |
| Type of tool | Teaching Module |
| Grade Level | Middle School, High School |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) |
| Hosted at | UCAR Website |
| Link | Link |
| Access | Online |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Teaching Module: T-tests and Climate Data
A teaching module by Wendy Van Norden, University of Wisconsin, that makes the use of T-tests to analyse dataset to study seasonal ice cover over Lake Mendota, US, to understand how climate change has impacted ice cover over 160 years.
This teaching module will have the following outcomes:
- Students will learn the use of Excel through a guided-inquiry process of the statistical tool (T-test) for comparing change in seasonal ice cover data over time.
- Students will be introduced to statistical terms such as probability, variance, uncertainty, standard deviation, mean and T-test.
- Students will understand the difference between annual variability versus long-term trends.
Additionally, students will learn to use and investigate the IPCC Likelihood Scale and apply it to their statistical results.
Use this tool to help students find answers to:
- What is a T-test?
- Using T-test for the given data, calculate the probability of ‘ice off’ date being earlier than in the previous decades.
About the Tool
| Tool Name | Probabilities, Uncertainties and Units Used to Quantify Climate Change |
| Discipline | Mathematics and Statistics |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Probability, Variance, Uncertainty, Standard Deviation, Mean, T-test, P-value |
| Climate Topic | Climate Variability Record; Climate and the Hydrosphere |
| Type of tool | Teaching Module |
| Grade Level | Highschool |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | Wendy Van Norden |
| Hosted at | CLEAN Website |
| Link | https://cleanet.org/resources/42682.html |
| Access | Online/ Offline |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Video: Indian Monsoon
Climate Science Education Series
Developed by Science Media Center, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, India
Classroom/ Laboratory Activity: Using Isotopes to Measure Temperatures
A classroom/ laboratory activity titled, ‘From Isotopes to Temperature: Working With A Temperature Equation’ from Starting Point by Dorien McGee, University of South Florida, USA, that uses oxygen isotopic data from corals and sea water as a proxy for determining ocean temperatures.
This activity includes isotope and ocean temperature data in an Excel spreadsheet and a PowerPoint Presentation with detailed instructions and equations. It further includes questions that you may wish to use in your classroom to introduce different oxygen isotopes, methods of data collection and how isotopic data can be used to reconstruct average ocean temperatures.
Students will learn basic concepts in both Chemistry and Earth Sciences related to isotopes, isotopic ratios, and the temperature equation.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
- Define ‘isotopes’.
- What can the ratio of oxygen isotopes found in corals tell us about the ocean temperature on a geological timescale?
- What does the correlation coefficient between oxygen isotopes and current ocean temperature tell us about the efficiency of using corals for statistical analysis?
About the Tool
| Tool Name | From Isotopes to Temperature: Working With A Temperature Equation |
| Discipline | Chemistry, Earth Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Isotopes, Oxygen Isotopes, SMOW, Isotopic Ratios, δ18O, Correlation, Regression, Oceanography, Paleontology, Marine Geology |
| Climate Topic | Climate and the Hydrosphere, Climate Variability Record |
| Type of tool | Classroom/Laboratory Activity |
| Grade Level | Undergraduate |
| Location | Global |
| Language | English |
| Translation | |
| Developed by | Dorien McGee, University of South Florida, USA |
| Hosted at | Starting Point: Teaching Entry Level Geoscience |
| Link | Link |
| Access | Online, Offline |
| Computer Skills | Basic |
Video: Galapagos Penguins, Permanent El Niño, and Human Evolution
Interactive Resources: Data in the Classroom
NOAA’s ‘Data in the Classroom’, is a set of classroom/online activities based upon real time ocean data, to establish the potential link between the changes in oceans and marine life caused by climate change.
Teaching Module: Climate Change and Water
A teaching module to introduce the impact of climate change on water systems and the resulting effects on human society.
Teaching Module: The Impact of ENSO and Human Activities on River Hydrology (a case study of the Huanghe River)
A teaching module to learn about the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) by performing calculations and analyzing results for Tahiti and Darwin (Australia), and for the Huanghe River in China.
Video: Hadley Circulation Cell
Climate Science Education Series
Developed by Science Media Center, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, India
