Current Events

  • 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.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

Introduction to Earth's Climate - Content Pages from Web-based Course

Tree ringsNCAR Online Education offers web-based courses for teachers seeking professional development opportunities. Click here to see a current list of courses and to get more information about them.

We are making the content pages (text with images, videos, animations, and interactive multimedia) from those courses available on the Windows to the Universe web site. This will allow course graduates to access the materials after the course has ended, and will also allow them to provide their students with access to the course materials as they see fit.

This page provides links to the content pages from the course "Introduction to Earth's Climate".

Introduction to Earth's Climate (content pages)

  1. What is Climate & An Overview of Earth System Science
    1. Weather and Climate Basics
    2. Introduction to Climate (Project Learn)
    3. Differences Between Weather and Climate
    4. Introduction to Systems & the Climate System (Moodle only)
    5. What is Climate?
    6. What Controls the Climate System?
    7. ESS in a Nutshell
  2. Climate Science: How Do We Study Climate?
    1. Keeping Track (The Rough Guide to Climate Change, Robert Henson, pp. 171-192)
    2. Direct Measures of Climate (Moodle only)
    3. Making Direct Climate Measurements (Moodle only)
    4. Indirect Evidence of Climate Change (Moodle only)
    5. Making Models of the Climate System (Moodle only)
    6. Scientists Who Study Climate (Moodle only)
    7. Climate Change 2007 from the IPCC
    8. The Physical Science Basis (Summary provided by Windows the Universe)
    9. Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (Summary provided by Windows the Universe)
  3. Paleoclimate
    1. The Ghost of Climate Past
      1. The Long View (The Rough Guide to Climate Change, Robert Henson, pp. 193 - 226)
      2. How to Investigate Climates of the Past (Moodle only)
      3. The History of Earth's Climate (Moodle only)
    2. Case Study 1: Tree Rings and Climate
      1. "Build a Tree" Dendrochronology Activity
      2. Align tree ring core samples
    3. Case Study 2: Paleoclimates and Pollen
      1. "Paleoclimates and Pollen" Activity
  4. Earth's Energy Balance & Solar Energy Input
    1. The Sun - how far? how big?
    2. The Solar Furnace
    3. The Multispectral Sun
      1. "Infrared - More Than Your Eyes Can See" Video
    4. Solar Variation
    5. Solar Radiation at Earth
    6. Solar Energy in Earth's Atmosphere
Last modified February 2, 2010 by Dennis Ward.

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