The surface of the Earth is a patchwork of many colors. Find out how the colors of our planet impact climate.
Resource Type: Information
A guest post by NCAR scientist Peggy Lemone - How do you measure rain? And how accurate are the measurements?
Weather balloons carry instruments high in the atmosphere to measure wind, temperature, and humidity.
Resource Type: Information
Air moves around the planet in a consistent pattern, called atmospheric circulation. Learn how convection and the spinning of the Earth create the prevailing winds.
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Fitting puzzle pieces together is analogous to how we study the Earth. By considering Earth as an integrated system, with many interlocking parts, we are able to understand the larger picture of global change.
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The climate where you live is called regional climate. Global climate is a description of the climate of a planet as a whole, with all the regional differences averaged.
Resource Type: Information
Henry Boynton can tell you what the atmosphere looks like at 51,000 feet above Earth's surface, a good 15,000 feet higher than most commercial airplanes venture. "The biggest thing you notice is that the sky is a lot bluer," he observes.
Air is a mixture of naturally occurring gases and human-made air pollutants. Learn more about these gases and the role they play in our atmosphere.
Resource Type: Information
Laura Pan describes herself as an "accidental" scientist. She never intentionally set out to pursue a science career. Rather, she began with an interest in theoretical physics and found herself drawn along as adventures unfolded, first in remote sensing and more recently in high-altitude research flights.
In this activity, students use models to observe that air is a fluid that flows due to temperature-driven density differences.
Resource Type: Activities