Chapter 9 - Earth's Weather
Unit D - Water and Weather
Chapter 9 - Earth's Weather
Discover more about the Earth's weather and climate, and how scientists track and monitor storms.
Educator Materials
Amazing Albedo
There's a good reason why your summer attire is lighter and brighter than your winter wardrobe. This easy experiment illustrates the power of albedo in black and white.
Interactive
Seasonal Cycle
If the Earth turns all the way around every 24 hours, then why are some days longer than others? And why do we have winter and summer? See the answers for yourself—in a matter of seconds.
Article
Studying Ice Flows for Clues to Climate Change
What's better than watching ice melt? Building a computer model to simulate the melting! Ice flow plays an important role in everything from deep ocean circulation patterns to global warming.
Educator Materials, Article
Studying Tree Rings to Learn About Global Climate
By taking biopsy-like samples from centuries-old Siberian pines, scientists have reconstructed a 300-year record of temperature changes for the Arctic and the Northern Hemisphere.
Antarctic Weather Reports
Science Bulletin
Derecho
On July 4, 1999, a rare and terrifying storm swept through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota. What began like a standard-issue thunderstorm soon turned strange and fierce, generating green clouds and strong winds reminiscent of a tornado. In fact, the storm was a cousin of the tornado: a derecho (pronounced "de-RAY-cho"), a type of storm so infrequent and fast-moving that only in recent years have meteorologists begun to understand how to recognize and forecast it