Earth as a System

Community Earth System Model
Air masses in and around North America

Air Masses
Carbon cycle diagram

Carbon Cycle Diagram
Carbon Cycle diagram from NASA

Carbon Cycle Diagram from NASA
Carbon Cycle Diagram

Carbon Cycle Diagram from the DOE
Carbon Cycle diagram from the DOE with numbers

Carbon Cycle Diagram from the DOE with numbers
Carbon Cycle Diagram from the IPCC

Carbon Cycle Diagram from the IPCC

Climate system from IPCC AR4
Coal strip mine and truck carrying dirt

Coal Strip Mine

Earth viewed from space

Earth
Global Atmospheric Circulation

Global Atmospheric Circulation
Heat transfer diagram

Heat Transfer Diagram
The Volcanic Explosivity Index

How Big Was That Eruption? Check the Volcanic Explosivity Index!
Map of Ocean Circulation

Map of Ocean Circulation
Eruption of Mount Pinatubo viewed from the ground several miles away

Mount Pinatubo Eruption, 1991
North Magnetic Pole Location from 1600 to 2001

North Magnetic Pole Location from 1600 to 2001
North Magnetic Pole Location from 1831 to 2001

North Magnetic Pole Location from 1831 to 2001
Radiation Budget Diagram for Earth's Atmosphere

Radiation Budget Diagram for Earth's Atmosphere
The Rock Cycle

The Rock Cycle
Diagram of the water cycle

The Water Cycle
Diagram showing what happens to carbon dioxide. Forty percent stays in the atmosphere, thirty percent is taken up through land cover, and thirty percent ends up in the ocean.

Where does carbon dioxide go?

Air Quality

Carvings on the exterior of an old limestone building are decaying due to acid rain.Carvings on the exterior of an old limestone building are decaying due to acid rain.

Acid Rain Damage
Denver, Colorado, on a day with good air quality with clear skies (top) and on a day with poor air quality with hazy skies (bottom).

Air Quality in Denver, Colorado
Carbon Dioxide molecule

Carbon Dioxide molecule
Carbon Monoxide molecule

Carbon Monoxide molecule
Chemical Composition of Earth's Atmosphere

Chemical Composition of the Atmosphere Diagram
Air pollution creates harmful yellow dust storms over the Korean Peninsula.

Dust storm

Diagram illustrating relative abundances of gases in Earth's atmosphere

Earth's Atmospheric Composition Diagram
Smokestacks from an oil refinery in Commerce City, Colorado, are shown pumping black smoke into the atmosphere.

Factory Smoke
Smoke rising from a forest fire over the mountains of Idaho.

Forest Fires Create Air Pollution
Pie chart showing the gases that make up the atmosphere: Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), Inert Gases- mostly Argon (.96%), and Carbon Dioxide (0.04%).

Gases in Earth's Atmosphere
Air pollution in Mexico City causes hazy skies that block sunlight from reaching the ground.

Haze over Mexico City
A picture of a thermal inversion over Boulder, Colorado, appears as a brown layer in the sky.

Inversion over Boulder, Colorado
Methane molecule

Methane molecule
Nitric oxide molecule

Nitric Oxide molecule
These two maps show typical nitrogen dioxide levels over China from January 1-20, 2020, and then show decreased nitrogen dioxide levels over the same area from February 10-25, 2020.

Nitrogen Dioxide During Coronavirus Shutdown (2020)
Nitrogen Dioxide molecule

Nitrogen Dioxide molecule
Nitrogen molecule

Nitrogen molecule
Multiple smokestacks releasing pollutants into the air in the form of white smoke, burning natural gas, and black smoke.

Oil Refineries Create Air Pollution
Oxygen molecule

Oxygen molecule
Brown patches scattered across the surface of three leaves of a potato plant are evidence of ozone damage.

Ozone damage to potato leaves
A view of the Earth showing the ozone hole as recorded in 2019.

Ozone Hole Over Antartica
Ozone molecule

Ozone molecule
Heavy traffic in Mexico City causes air pollution.

Pollution from Vehicles
Propane molecule - example hydrocarbon

Propane molecule - Hydrocarbon example
Sizes of Aerosols, Raindrop and Cloud Droplets

Sizes of Aerosols, Raindrop and Cloud Droplets
Smog over Denver, Colorado, appears as a hazy sky above the city.

Smog
The top image shows normal conditions when warm air rises from the surface, carrying pollutants from industry and homes up into the atmosphere where the air temperature is cooler. The bottom image shows thermal inversion, or when cool air and pollutants from the surface are inhibited from rising by a layer of warm air.

Temperature Inversion
A graphic showing ways you can help to reduce air pollution: wind turbines as an example of renewable energy, driving low pollution vehicles, taking the bus or riding your bike, refuel at gas stations in the evening, compost yard waste instead of burning it, mow grass in the evening, avoid using the fireplace or wood stoves when air quality is poor, use low VOC cleaners and paints, and in general use less energy.

What You Can Do to Improve Air Quality

How Weather Works

Air masses in and around North America

Air Masses
Side view (A) and weather map representation (B) of a cold front

Cold Front
Dropsonde in Flight

Dropsonde in Flight
Foggy forest

Foggy Weather
Global Atmospheric Circulation

Global Atmospheric Circulation
Heat transfer diagram

Heat Transfer Diagram
Diagram of how air moves in high (left) and low (right) pressure systems

High and Low Pressure Systems
Diagram of how clouds form

How Clouds Form
Weather map representation of an occluded front

Occluded Front
Rainbow

Rainbows
Dropsonde beneath parachute

Sonde and Dropsonde Photos
Weather map representation of a stationary front

Stationary Front
Diagram of the water cycle

The Water Cycle
Side view (A) and weather map representation (B) of a warm front

Warm Front
Scientist launching weather balloon

Weather Balloon Photos

Clouds

Altocumulus clouds

Altocumulus clouds

Altostratus clouds

Altostratus clouds

Cirrocumulus clouds over a forest

Cirrocumulus clouds

Cirrostratus clouds

Cirrostratus clouds
Cirrus clouds over a winter landscape

Cirrus Clouds

Diagram of cloud types. High in the atmosphere are cirrocumulus and cirrus. In the middle of the atmosphere are altocumulus and altostratus. In the lower atmosphere are stratocumulus, stratus and cumulus. Cumulonimbus clouds can be found from near the ground up to above 50,000 feet.

Cloud Types Diagram
Diagram of how mountains create clouds

Clouds Form Due to Mountains
Diagram of clouds forming due to weather fronts

Clouds Form Due to Weather Fronts
Diagram of how air that is forced to rise creates clouds

Clouds Form When Air is Forced to Rise
Contrails

Contrails
Contrails

Contrails
Three Types of Contrails

Contrails: Three Types
Cumulonimbus cloud

Cumulonimbus clouds
Cumulus clouds

Cumulus clouds
Diagram of how clouds form

How Clouds Form
Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud

Kelvin-Helmholtz Clouds

Lenticular clouds

Lenticular Clouds

Mammatus Clouds

Mammatus Clouds
Marine Stratocumulus Clouds

Marine Stratocumulus Clouds
Nimbostratus clouds with a rainbow

Nimbostratus clouds

A cloud floating in the middle of a museum room

Nimbus Munnekeholm by Berndnaut Smilde
Noctilucent clouds glowing on the horizon just after sunset

Noctilucent Clouds
Persistent Non-Spreading Contrails

Persistent Non-Spreading Contrails
Persistent Spreading Contrails

Persistent Spreading Contrails
Polar Stratospheric Clouds

Polar Stratospheric Clouds

Short Lived Contrails

Short Lived Contrails
Stratocumulus clouds at sunset

Stratocumulus clouds
Stratus clouds

Stratus clouds

Sun and Space Weather

Aurora viewed from space

Aurora from International Space Station on July 25, 2010
Compare Sun Images - Visible Light and Ultraviolet

Compare Sun Images - Visible Light and Ultraviolet
Coronal Holes in Ultraviolet Image of the Sun

Coronal Holes in Ultraviolet Solar Image - January 2011
Coronal Loops in UV TRACE image

Coronal Loops - UV image from TRACE - November 1999
Coronal Mass Ejection on January 4, 2002

Coronal Mass Ejection January 2002
Diagram of a cosmic ray air shower

Cosmic Ray Air Shower
Two views of sunspots

Different Views of Sunspots
Sketch of the Earth and Sun (not to scale)

Earth and Sun
Earth's Dipole Magnetic Field

Earth's Dipole Magnetic Field
Graph of Sunspot Counts from 1975 to 2016

Graph of Sunspot Counts
Neon light with the letters Ne, the symbol for neon

Neon Light
North Magnetic Pole Location from 1600 to 2001

North Magnetic Pole Location from 1600 to 2001
North Magnetic Pole Location from 1831 to 2001

North Magnetic Pole Location from 1831 to 2001
Photosphere - Sunspots and Granulation

Photosphere - Sunspots and Granulation
H-alpha View of the Sun

Red Light (H-alpha) View of the Sun - July 18, 2000
Diagram of the regions of the Sun

Regions of the Sun
Solar Active Regions: Sunspots on the left and UV image of the Sun on the right

Solar Active Regions - Sunspots and UV Image
Solar chromosphere during eclipse

Solar Chromosphere Eclipse Photo
Sun's corona - during eclipse (top) and UV image (bottom)

Solar Corona - Eclipse and UV Images
Solar eclipse on July 11, 1991 as seen from Hawaii

Solar Eclipse 1991 from Hawaii
Solar Filament in H-alpha Light

Solar Filament in H-alpha Light in July 2000
Ultraviolet image of a solar flare from November 2003

Solar Flare November 2003
Solar Prominences - Sept. 1999 & March 2003 - Ultraviolet SOHO images

Solar Prominences - Sept. 1999 & March 2003 - Ultraviolet SOHO images
Sun at Solar minimum

Sun at Solar Min - Red Light
Red sunspots on orange sun

Sun with Sunspots - March 29, 2001
Sun with Sunspots - Solar Max 2001 and Solar Min 2005

Sun with Sunspots - Solar Max 2001 and Solar Min 2005
Sun's Atmosphere - Corona and Chromosphere

Sun's Atmosphere - Corona and Chromosphere
Sun's Corona at Solar Min & Solar Max

Sun's Corona at Solar Min & Solar Max
Visible Light Spectrum of the Sun

Sun's Spectrum
Two views of sunspots

Sunspots

Ultraviolet image of a solar flare from November 2003

The Sun in Ultraviolet Light
Ultraviolet Sun with Coronal Loops

Ultraviolet Sun with Coronal Loops - April 2012
Earth's Magnetosphere

Visualization of Earth's Magnetosphere

Layers of the Atmosphere

Aurora viewed from space

Aurora from International Space Station on July 25, 2010
Layers of Earth's Atmosphere

Diagram of Atmosphere Layers
Dropsonde in Flight

Dropsonde in Flight
Layers of Earth's Atmosphere as seen from space

Earth's Atmosphere from ISS
Diagram illustrating relative abundances of gases in Earth's atmosphere

Earth's Atmospheric Composition Diagram
Regions of the Ionosphere diagram

Ionosphere Diagram - Regions & Altitude
Mesosphere diagram

Mesosphere diagram
Dropsonde beneath parachute

Sonde and Dropsonde Photos
Stratosphere Diagram

Stratosphere Diagram
Troposphere Diagram

Troposphere Diagram
Ultraviolet (UV) Black light bulb

Ultraviolet (UV) Blacklight
Wavelength of Blue and Red Light

Wavelength of Blue and Red Light
Scientist launching weather balloon

Weather Balloon Photos

Solving Climate Change

This is a photo of a bamboo forest.

Bamboo
This is a photo of labeled bike lanes on the street.

Bike Paths
This is a photo of a tractor moving a pile of steaming compost.

Composting and Reducing Food Waste
This is an image of a concentrated solar power plant that has a sunlight collection tower against a mountain backdrop.

Concentrated Solar Power
A concentrated solar power plant with mirrors surrounding a central tower.

Concentrated Solar Power

This is an image of rows of legume crops in pots, outside, with equipment suspended above them.

Crop Improvement
This is a photo of corn crop alternating with soybean crop.

Crop Rotation and Managed Grazing
A plate of salad with sliced avocado, lettuce, tomatoes on the vine, sliced bell pepper, chickpeas, cubes of sweet potato, shredded cabbage, and sprouts, with dressing drizzled over the top.

Eat A Plant Rich Diet
This is a photo of an electric car, zoomed in to show the charging port in place of a fuel filler inlet.

Electric Cars
A photo of a line of homes that have stilts to elevate them from the ground.

Elevating Homes

This is a photo of a cement sidewalk in a park taken from above. There is a park bench and some pigeons on the ground.

Emissions-free Cement
A geothermal power plant in Iceland

Geothermal Power
This is an image of a multi-storied apartment building surrounded by tall buildings in a city. The terraces of the apartment building are covered in vegetation, and there are lots of evergreen trees around the perimeter of the building as well.

Green Roofs and Walls
This is an image of a high speed train pulling into a train station.

High Speed Trains
A hydroelectric dam as viewed from above

Hydroelectric Dam
A nuclear power plant in India

Nuclear Power Plant
This is an image of cassava growing on a hillside in Vietnam. A cassava farmer is working on the cassava stem fencing that installed as a forage barrier between rows of cassava crop.

Planting Cassava
This is a photo from inside a public bus, looking towards the front of the bus with rows of seats on each side.

Public Transportation
This is an image of green stormwater management where water is directed from the road into a terraced garden area alongside the road.

Rain Gardens
This is a photo of of an apartment building with rows of window-unit air conditioners installed in the windows.

Remove HFCs from air conditioners
This is an image of large field solar panels arranged in rows, titled slightly towards the Sun.

Solar Energy
Wind turbines in a landscape

Wind Turbines

Storms and Other Weather

Big and Small, A Snowflake Story
Process of a blizzard. In the first image (top), a house is clearly seen. In the middle image, a house is partially obscured by blowing snow. In the bottom image, the house is almost completely obscured by blowing snow.

Blowing snow during a blizzard reduces visibility.
Diagram of how hurricanes form

How Hurricanes Form
Diagram of how tornadoes form

How Tornadoes Form
Hurricane Alex viewed from space

Hurricane

Hurricane damage to houses

Hurricane Damage
Ice-covered powerlines

Ice Storm
Lightning

Lightning
Microscope image of a snowflake

Snowflake
Fence covered in deep snow

Snowstorm
Storm Front Over Lake Superior

Storm Front Over Lake Superior
Supercell Thunderstorm

Supercell Thunderstorm
Storm clouds fill the sky above the grassy plains.

Thunderstorm
Diagram of a thunderstorm forming

Thunderstorm Formation
A crowd watches as a tornado form in Wyoming in June of 2009

Tornado in Wyoming (U.S.) on June 5, 2009
Trees laid flat from a microburst

Wind

How Climate Works

Carbon cycle diagram

Carbon Cycle Diagram
Carbon Cycle Diagram

Carbon Cycle Diagram from the DOE

Climate system from IPCC AR4
Koppen Geiger Climate Classification

Climates of the World
Coal strip mine and truck carrying dirt

Coal Strip Mine

Map of where the Glacial Lake Agassiz was located in North America. The Glacial Lake Agassiz covered much of the Canadian province of Manitoba, extending into Saskatchewan and Ontario, and south into North Dakota and Minnesota.

Glacial Lake Agassiz
Global annual mean surface temperature change from GISS

Global annual mean surface temperature change
Diagram demonstrating how greenhouse gases trap heat

How Greenhouse Gases Trap Heat
How to Measure Global Average Temperature in Five Easy Steps

How to Measure Global Average Temperature in Five Easy Steps
How Models Simulate 20th Century Climate With (top) and Without (bottom) the Imp

Just Add Humans: How Models Simulate 20th Century Climate With (top) and Without (bottom) the Impacts of Humans
Drawings of close up pollen particles from pine, hemlock, and sweet gum

Pollen Picture
Radiation Budget Diagram for Earth's Atmosphere

Radiation Budget Diagram for Earth's Atmosphere
The Year Without a Summer

The Year Without a Summer
Tree Rings

Tree Rings
Effects of an Increase on Mean Temperature

What Does it Mean to Change the Mean?

Impacts of Climate Change

Cracks in Dry Mud

Cracks in Dry Mud
Farmland affected by draught

Drought in the central United States

How Thawing Permafrost Soils Release Greenhouse Gases

How Thawing Permafrost Soils Release Greenhouse Gases
Map of coastal Bangladesh showing current sea level (left), one meter rise in sea level (center) affecting 15 million people, and 1.5 meter rise in sea level (right) affecting 18 million people.

Sea Level Change in Bangladesh
Future precipitation

The Future of Precipitation

The New Normal: Changes in Annual Normal Temperatures
Satellite image of New York City showing temperature (top) and vegetation (bottom). Areas with more vegetation have a lower temperature.

Urban Heat in New York City
Map of United States farms by county, showing the majority of farms in the center of the U.S.

Where are the farms in the United States?

Diagram showing what happens to carbon dioxide. Forty percent stays in the atmosphere, thirty percent is taken up through land cover, and thirty percent ends up in the ocean.

Where does carbon dioxide go?
changes in soil moisture and dry days in the US

Which areas are projected to get drier?