Current Events

  • Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather
    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong corr...Read more

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    Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather

    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong correlation between the occurrence of volcanic eruptions and extreme cold weather in Ireland over a 1200 year period. Data analyzed in this study cover the period from 431 to 1649, during which time up to 48 volcanic eruptions are identified in Greenland ice core records through deposition of volcanic sulfate in annual layers of ice. You can find the study (open access), published on 6 June 2013 in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, at http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024035/article. Find out more about how volcanoes can influence climate.
  • EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US
    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, acco...Read more

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    EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US

    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, according to the National Weather Service in Norman Oklahoma. The tornado, which remained on the ground for 40 minutes and reached 2.6 miles across (4.2 km), took the lives of 18 people including storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young. For more information on the tornado, visit http://ow.ly/i/2hfDG.
  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.

Workshop at the 2008 NSTA National Conference in New Orleans

NSTA National 2007 Interactive Simulations workshopWindows to the Universe staff presented a workshop titled "Interactive Simulations and Hands-on Activities across the Earth and Space Sciences" at the NSTA National Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, from 8-9 AM on Friday, March 20, 2008.

This workshop combined hands-on activities with computer-based interactives and animations.

Below are links to the resources (write-ups of hands-on activities and accompanying student worksheets, interactive simulations, animations, images, and web pages with relevant background information) used or referred to during this workshop:

  1. Climate
    1. Activities
      1. Carbon Dioxide - Sources and Sinks (in Spanish)
      2. Graphing Sea Ice Extent in the Arctic and Antarctic
    2. Interactives
      1. Select Various Maps Depicting Climate to View
      2. Maps of Projected Future Regional Climates
      3. Compare Images of Arctic Sea Ice Extent Side-by-side
      4. Compare Images of Antarctic Sea Ice Extent Side-by-side
    3. Animations
      1. Annual Variation in Sea Ice Extent in the Northern Hemisphere
      2. Annual Variation in Sea Ice Extent in the Southern Hemisphere
  2. The Very, Very Simple Climate Model
    1. try out the Very, Very Simple Climate Model
    2. Educator's Guide - "Using the Very, Very Simple Climate Model in the Classroom"
    3. Notes about the Very, Very Simple Climate Model
    4. background info: What Is a Climate Model?
    5. background info: How Climate Models Work
    6. background info: Accuracy and Uncertainty in Climate Models
    7. background info: Climate and Global Change
    8. background info: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
    9. Background info from our "Climate Discovery" online course sequence (more in-depth, but may be harder to follow outside of the context of the course):
      1. Climate Model "Test Drive"
      2. Where are we now? Climate "Today"
      3. The IPCC
      4. Climate Modeling
      5. Predictions of Future Global Climate
  3. Magnetism
    1. Activities
      1. Magnetometer (in Spanish)
      2. Magnetometer Extensions - Prospecting for Iron Ore & Seafloor Spreading (in Spanish)
      3. Terrabagga (in Spanish)
    2. Interactives
      1. Bar Magnet & Compass interactive (Flash)
      2. Bar Magnet, Compass, and Magnetic Field Lines (Java)
      3. Earth's North Magnetic Pole
      4. Earth's Magnetic Field and Compass
    3. Background info on site
      1. Planetary magnetosphere pages
        1. Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
        2. Detecting Planetary Magnetism
      2. Basics of magnetism pages
        1. Magnetic Field, Magnetism, The Force of Magnetism
  4. Exploring the Atmosphere with Virtual Balloon Flights
    1. Virtual Balooning game
    2. Student Worksheet
    3. background info: Layers of Earth's Atmosphere
  5. Orbits
    1. Animations
      1. Perihelion and Aphelion
      2. Elliptical Orbits
      3. Eccentricity of an Orbit
    2. Interactives
      1. Elliptical Orbits
      2. Mars Orbit and Opposition
      3. Comet Orbit and Tails
  6. Paleoclimateology - Dendrochronology
    1. Dendrochronology Interactives
      1. "Build a Tree" Dendrochronology Activity
      2. Align Tree Ring Cores Activity
    2. Project Learn activity page
      1. "Time & Cycles - Dendrochronology" activity
      2. Student guide
    3. Climate Discovery Teacher's Guide activity - "Trees: Recorders of Climate Change"
Last modified March 17, 2009 by Randy Russell.

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