Connect the Spheres

Connect the Spheres Activity Source: Adapted with permission by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Global Precipitation Measurement Mission. This activity will provide you with an introduction to a series of lessons — Survivor Earth — about water resources on Earth. You’ll investigate Earth systems by making observations in nature and identifying systems in the natural world. Ultimately, you will understand how the four spheres, or systems, on Earth — biosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and atmosphere — are interconnected. [Read More]

Understanding Paleoclimate

Understanding Paleoclimate Activity Source: American Geophysical Union. Adapted with permission from EarthComm: Earth System Science in the Community, American Geosciences Institute. Climate scientists study evidence in the geologic record, such as fossils, to figure out what climate was like over hundreds of thousands of years (“paleoclimate”). One fossil they use is pollen, a part of a flowering plant that helps make a seed. Pollen can be blown into lakes, where it is preserved in sediment. [Read More]

What Will Survive?

What Will Survive? Activity Source: Adapted with permission by Archaeological Institute of America. Archaeological remains include artifacts (portable) and features (non- portable) made and used by humans. Archaeologists use these objects to understand how ancient people lived. How well archaeological remains survive depends on the materials they were made of, the ways they were used, the manner in which they were discarded, and the environment in which they were deposited. Organic remains generally decay in a short time unless preserved in special conditions. [Read More]