As the carbon dioxide concentration of our atmosphere increases and our climate warms, the hay fever season seems to be getting longer and more severe. In this case study, students assume the a role of a public relations specialist contracted to communicate the link between climate change and pollen allergies. The activity focuses on the importance of scientific skills to careers outside science, and is most suitable for a lower-level introductory biology, human health, or environmental science course.

One of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of teaching an advanced placement environmental science course is finding enriching field and lab activities for your students. These labs have been developed by an experienced team of environmental science educators in partnership with the Environmental Literacy Council. Each lab has been the subject of an extensive peer review by a number of experienced environmental science educators. The content of this initial collection is varied, and APES teachers and students in different areas around the country should be able to complete each of the labs. These initial labs are not typical cookbook variety. They each contain an inquiry-based component. Over time, additional labs and tools for new and experienced teachers will be added to the collection.

The earth's biogeochemical systems involve complex, dynamic processes that depend upon many factors. The three main factors upon which life on the earth depends are......

The various components of earth's systems interact with one another through the flow of matter and energy. For example, mass (carbon dioxide and oxygen gases) is exchanged between the biosphere and atmosphere during plant photosynthesis....

During the hurricane season of 2004, an unprecedented four hurricanes hit Florida. This animation shows the accumulated rainfall produced by three of those hurricanes during the month of September. The animation also shows the rainfall from the typhoons in the Pacific Ocean during the same period.

The purpose of this activity is to measure the aerosol optical thickness of the atmosphere (how much of the sun's light is scattered or absorbed by particles suspended in the air). Students point a GLOBE sun photometer at the sun and record the largest voltage reading they obtain on a digital voltmeter connected to the photometer. Students observe sky conditions near the sun, perform the Cloud, Optional Barometric Pressure (optional) and Relative Humidity Protocols, and measure current air temperature. Intended outcomes are that students will understand the concept that the atmosphere prevents all of the sun's light from reaching Earth's surface and they learn what causes hazy skies. Supporting background materials for both student and teacher are included.

A devastating series of fires occurred in Southern California during October 2003. The effects of these fires were detectable from space. The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument measures aerosol particles (microscopic airborne dust and smoke). TOMS was able to detect aerosols from these fires moving West over the Pacific Ocean and East over the continental United States.

The Horn of Africa has been experiencing exceptional droughts over the last decade. Using data collected from the NOAA POES satellite, changes in the severity of the drought conditions in the Horn and around the world are shown.

This is a series of activities demonstrating that air has mass, takes up space, and can exert a force on objects enough to lift them.

By watching and performing several simple experiments, students develop an understanding of the properties of air: it has mass, it takes up space, it can move, it exerts pressure, it can do work.

Students are introduced to the concept of air quality by investigating the composition, properties, atmospheric layers and everyday importance of air. They explore the sources and effects of visible and invisible air pollution. By learning some fundamental meteorology concepts (air pressure, barometers, prediction, convection currents, temperature inversions), students learn the impact of weather on air pollution control and prevention. Looking at models and maps, they explore the consequences of pollutant transport via weather and water cycles. Students are introduced to acids, bases and pH, and the environmental problem of acid rain, including how engineers address this type of pollution. Using simple models, they study the greenhouse effect, the impact of increased greenhouse gases on the planet's protective ozone layer and the global warming theory. Students explore the causes and effects of the Earth's ozone holes through an interactive simulation. Students identify the types and sources of indoor air pollutants in their school and home, evaluating actions that can be taken to reduce and prevent poor indoor air quality. By building and observing a few simple models of pollutant recovery methods, students explore the modern industrial technologies designed by engineers to clean up and prevent air pollution.

Air pressure is pushing on us all the time although we do not usually notice it. This activity will discuss the units of pressure and give the students a sense of just how much air pressure is pushing on them.

This is an inquiry activity that relies of pervious understanding of balancing and weighing to introduce a properties of air.

Students are introduced to air masses, with an emphasis on the differences between and characteristics of high- versus low-pressure air systems. Students also hear about weather forecasting instrumentation and how engineers work to improve these instruments for atmospheric measurements on Earth and in space.

This lesson is designed to help students gain knowledge in accessing current weather data and in using the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS) to specify and download historical satellite data.

In this video segment adapted from KUAC, find out why the horizon in Alaska is sometimes shrouded in pollution and what it means for climate change in the Arctic.

This is the second of four curriculum guides focusing on astrobiology and careers for grades 5-8. Students are confronted with the challenge of searching for and designing a planet that would be habitable to humans. Using an online, multimedia module, students change the amounts of gases in our atmosphere and draw conclusions about which factors are necessary for human survival. Students then engage in classroom activities that help them to form an understanding of atoms, elements, and molecules as the components of gases that have unique properties that makes each gas important to human survival. They further explore the process of chemical change, with a focus on some of the chemical reactions most important to human survival. In contrast, they learn how the inert gas, nitrogen, is important to human life by contributing to our surface pressure. Finally, they connect their learning to the systems they explored in Astronomy.

The ASPIRE Lab is now one of the most innovative and interactive science education websites available on the Internet. You will find not only fun interactive labs, but well designed and produced curriculum content, created by teachers for teachers. The powerful combination of inquiry-based content, along with interactive, hands-on labs provides a powerful visualization tool for you and your students to use. Best of all, the ASPIRE Lab is free!

This exercise is intended to reinforce the importance of Earth's atmosphere to living organisms. Topics include our bodies' interactions with the atmosphere; its composition and structure; and natural changes in the atmosphere (weather).