The amount of water vapor in the air is called humidity.
Resource Type: Information
Energy from the Sun includes visible radiation in all its colors of the spectrum, and invisible radiation including infrared, ultraviolet, and other energy types. Many of the optical phenomena we observe in our sky are due to how the Sun's light interacts with our atmosphere but the light we see is only a part of the total energy received.
Students receive data about tree ring records, solar activity, and volcanic eruptions during the Little Ice Age (AD 1350–1850). By comparing and contrasting time intervals when tree growth was at a minimum, solar activity was low, and major volcanic eruptions occurred, they draw conclusions about possible natural causes of climate change.
Resource Type: Activities
This web series tells the story of the lengths people went to in order to explore the atmosphere and the technologies they used to get high in the sky and make measurements.
Resource Type: Information
How is air pollution affected by weather? Some types of pollution are worse in the summer heat, while others are worse in cold winter weather.
Resource Type: Information
The atmosphere stretches far above Earth's surface, all the way to the limits of space. How do we study the atmosphere and what is happening within it near the ground, at different altitudes above our heads, and over both land and ocean?
The Appearance of the Sky
Resource Type: Information
"As far back as I can remember, I've always been curious about storms," says Aaron Pratt. When he was a small boy, his mother compared him to Sesame Street's Count von Count because they both got so excited whenever there was thunder and lightning.
In this activity, students observe how temperature changes can create a weather front, in particular how the mixing of warm and cold air can produce thunderstorms. Water, which behaves very similarly to air, and a density tank are used in this demonstration.
Resource Type: Activities