Our Changing Planet

When we look around us, we can see that our planet's climate is changing rapidly. The National Earth Science Teachers Association and Windows to the Universe are working together with NBC Learn and the National Science Foundation to explore the impact that climate change is having on our planet. The resources below provide links to videos developed by NBC Learn on twelve key indicators of climate change, as well as lesson plans for teachers to use to explore the science behind these indicators with their students at the secondary level.

 NBC Learn VideosRelated Lesson Plans
Changing Mosquito Genes Changing Mosquito Genes
Grapevines and Drought Grapevines and Drought (Climate Change and Your Breakfast!)
Bark Beetle Outbreaks Bark Beetle Outbreaks
Survival of Trees Survival of Trees
Disappearing Lizards Disappearing Lizards
Fresh Water in the Arctic The Case of the Leaky Gyre
Warming Lakes The Warming of Our Large Lakes - Reasons for Concern
Withering Crops Withering Plants - Stressing Over Lost Water
Ocean Temperatures Rising Ocean Temperatures - Rising Sea Levels
Fading Corals Fading Corals
Ocean Acidification Ocean Acidification - The Chemistry is Less than Basic
Black Carbon Black Carbon - A Dusty Situation
Melting Glaciers Melting Glaciers
Thawing Permafrost Permafrost Gas Leak
Rising Sea Level Sea Levels Rising
Adaptation of Butterflies Adaptation of Species (Birds and Butterflies)
Infectious Diseases Infectious Diseases
<a href="/earth/Water/ocean_gyres.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">Ocean gyres</a> are large swirling bodies of water that are often on the scale of a whole <a href="/earth/Water/ocean.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">ocean</a> basin. Ocean gyres dominate the open ocean and represent the long-term average pattern of ocean <a href="/earth/Water/ocean_currents.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">surface currents</a>. This image shows the five major ocean gyres. Gyres rotate in a clockwise direction in the Northern hemisphere and a counter-clockwise direction in the Southern hemisphere because of the <a href="/physical_science/physics/mechanics/Coriolis.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">Coriolis Effect</a>.<p><small><em> Windows Original (Original map is from <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">Wikipedia Commons</a>)</em></small></p>The production of sea ice is also important to the layering of water in the Arctic Ocean. As <a href="/earth/polar/sea_ice.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">sea ice</a> is made near the Bering Strait, salt is released into the remaining non-frozen water. This non-frozen water becomes very salty and very dense and so it sinks below the cold, relatively fresh Arctic water, forming a layer known as the <a href="/earth/Water/salinity_depth.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">Halocline</a>. The Halocline layer acts as a buffer between sea ice and the warm, salty waters that have come in from the Atlantic.<p><small><em> NASA</em></small></p>Satellite observations of lake temperatures at many lakes around the world show that lakes are warming worldwide. Because lakes play such an important role in society, as a source of food, water, and recreation, these changes can have a significant impact on many aspects of our lives. Watch the NBC Learn video - <a href="/earth/changing_planet/warming_lakes_intro.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">Changing Planet: Warming Lakes</a> to find out more. This is an image of the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania.<p><small><em> Image Courtesy of Marc Mayes</em></small></p>Coral animals build reefs in warm, tropical seawater. However, <a href="/earth/changing_planet/ocean_temperatures_intro.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">seawater can be too warm</a> for their liking. If waters get too warm, coral animals lose the algae that live within their little bodies, a process called coral bleaching. Without the algae, corals have less nutrition. Unless cooler temperatures return, allowing algae to return, the coral dies.<p><small><em>Credit: UNC</em></small></p>As temperatures rise and soil moisture decreases, plants are stressed, which can lead to <a href="/earth/climate/crops_withering.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">crop withering</a>. <a href="/teacher_resources/online_courses/health/events_health.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">Droughts</a> accompanied by increased temperatures can lead to famine, social and political disruptions. Scientists are helping with early identification of drought that might trigger food shortages. Watch the NBC Learn video - <a href="/earth/changing_planet/withering_crops_intro.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/ozone_tropo.html">Changing Planet: Withering Crops</a> to find out more.<p><small><em>Image taken by Tomas Castelazo, Creative Commons <a href=&quot;http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en&quot;>Attribution 3.0 Unported</a> license.</em></small></p>

Explore Our Changing Planet

Changing Mosquito Genes

DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, which is a substance found in every living cell on Earth. ...Read more

Grapevines and Drought

In this episode, you will learn how climate change is impacting one of our countries most ...Read more

Bark Beetle Outbreaks

Bark beetles are native to North America. They are about the size of a grain of rice. They've ...Read more

Survival of Trees

Trees contain some of nature's most accurate evidence of the past. Their growth layers, appearing ...Read more

Disappearing Lizards

It turns out that snakes are the most feared of any animal on Earth. Reptiles have had a consistently ...Read more

Infectious Diseases

Climate change is having a major impact on many infectious diseases. In some cases, warmer ...Read more

Adaptation of Species

As the Earth system warms due to rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the ...Read more

Rising Sea Level

As the Earth's atmosphere warms due to rising levels of greenhouse gases, our oceans are warming ...Read more

Thawing Permafrost

As the Earth system warms due to rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the ...Read more

Melting Glaciers

As the Earth system warms due to rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, observations ...Read more

Black carbon

Black carbon contributes to global warming in two ways.  When in the atmosphere, it absorbs ...Read more

Ocean Acidification

The dramatic increase in atmospheric CO2 in the past few decades has resulted in a startling ...Read more

Fading Corals

The delicate balance of life and environment which sustains coral reefs globally is under threat. ...Read more

Ocean Temperatures

As the ocean warms, it will also expand in volume, causing sea level to rise. ...Read more

Withering Crops

What will happen to crops, as Earth's temperature rises and soils dry out because of changing ...Read more

Warming Lakes

Satellite observations of lake temperatures at many lakes show that lakes are warming ...Read more

Fresh Water in the Arctic

As Arctic sea ice melts, the fresh water released may impact the global ocean circulation ...Read more

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Did you know?

Did you know that greenhouse gases are increasing rapidly in the Earth's atmosphere?

Did you know that a significant portion of sea level rise is due to the expansion of sea water due to increasing temperature?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Spreading ridge
xSpreading ridge : An oceanic spreading ridge is the fracture zone along the ocean bottom where molten mantle material comes to the surface, thus creating new crust.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Even in the Desert, Plants Feel the Heat of Global Warming

Global warming is a hot topic, and it's causing concern for scientists studying winter annuals in the Sonoran Desert. While desert winters have become warmer and drier over the years, climate changes have...Read more


Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA