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Handout
NASA

Nasa Earth Observatory: Ocean and Climate Fact Sheet

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about Earth's oceans and the effects that climate have had on the rising temperatures over the past one hundred years. Discover how the Earth's ocean and atmosphere are interlocked so that when one changes, the other is affected.
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Handout
Encyclopedia of Earth

Encyclopedia of Earth: Rapid Changes in Glaciers and Ice Sheets

For Students 9th - 10th
The world's glaciers and ice sheets are melting according to this extensive report. It makes recommendations on how to monitor this situation, explains what we know about the past when there was much less ice in the world, describes what...
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Handout
Other

Univ. Of Copenhagen: Centre for Ice and Climate: Preserved Fossil Dna in the Ice

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses how fossil DNA data that is collected from ice cores is used by scientists to reconstruct the composition of past ecosystems and their biodiversity, as well as climates. There is a great deal of other information on the website...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Time and Cycles: Dendrochronology

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students explore the direct impact of climate on annual tree growth patterns by using pre-marked paper strips to simulate tree-ring core samples.
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Article
National Earth Science Teachers Association

Windows to the Universe: Paleoclimates: Climates of the Past

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn how climate has changed in the past and how it relates to global warming. Links to related material.
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Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: Sahara Desert Climate

For Students 4th - 6th
Describes the climate of the Sahara Desert and the climate changes that have occurred there in the past.
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Unit Plan
University of California

University of California Museum of Paleontology: Stories From the Fossil Record

For Students 4th - 9th
This colorful, interactive site demonstrates how fossils can be used to discover a range of information about the past. Topics include Past Lives, Paleoecology, Geologic History, and Biodiversity.
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Graphic
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Link Between Arctic Sea Ice and Solar Radiation Absorbed

For Students 9th - 10th
The Arctic plays an important role in regulating Earth's climate. The region reflects much of the Sun's energy and helps keep the planet cool. Data collected by NASA have revealed that sea ice in the Arctic has steadily declined over the...
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Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Tour of Park Geology: Glaciers and Glacial Landforms

For Students 9th - 10th
Investigate glaciers past and present through this website that explores glaciers found in the National Park Service.
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Handout
PBS

Pbs: Nova: Learning About Earth's History With Ice Cores

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource explains how ice cores are used to analyze past events like air pollution, volcanic activity, climate changes, and radioactivity.
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Interactive
The Field Museum

Field Museum: Exhibits: Nature Unleashed: Inside Natural Disasters

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover the true powers of Mother Nature through this vivid collection of research, which delves into the causes of natural disasters and the impacts on those affected.
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Website
University of California

Ucmp: Learning From the Fossil Record

For Students 6th - 8th
Fossils provide scientists with clues about Earth's past. This site from the University of California's Museum of Paleontology is great for exploring lots of information on fossils.
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Article
American Institute of Biological Sciences

Action Bioscience: The State of Ecosystems

For Students 9th - 10th
Christian Samper details The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a report highlighting the detrimental impact of human life on the ecosystems of Earth over the past fifty years. Ecosystems have been deteriorating from a variety of waste and...
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Handout
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: Ice Stories: Ice and Sediment Cores

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn how scientists look inside glacial ice sheets by studying ice cores and use the clues found there to learn about past climates.
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Handout
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Woods Hole Oceanography Institute: Ice Ages: Glaciers Advance and Retreat

For Students 9th - 10th
Why have we had ice ages in the past? This resource explores the reasons why the earth's climate has repeatedly changed to create ice ages. A quiz is available to check your understanding.
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Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Hhmi: Biointeractive: Earth Viewer

For Students 9th - 10th
Watch the earth change with this interactive app? What did Earth look like 250 million years ago? Or 1 billion years ago? Or 4.5 billion years ago? What was the climate like in the deep past? Find the answers with EarthViewer, an...
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PPT
University of California

Ucmp: Paleoecology

For Students 3rd - 8th
This engaging presentation gives examples of insights gained throught the science of paleoecology. Examples are provided that show how paleoecologists use fossils to determine past climates, ecosystem changes and interactions between...
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Website
University of California

Earthguide: El Nino: Illustrating the Concept

For Students 3rd - 8th
Do you know what happens during a typical El Nino? This overview provides a description, characteristics, and animated maps showing sea surface temperature changes during past El Nino events.
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Article
Other

Earth Sky: When Did Humans Start Altering Earth?

For Students 9th - 10th
The ArchaeoGlobe Project assessed knowledge on human land use over the past 10,000 years, through the contributions of more than 200 archaeologists. It concluded that, by 3,000 years ago, most of Earth was already transformed by...