Tracking Water Using NASA Satellite Data
Provided by: NASA|Published on: November 21, 2023
Grades: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering
Authors: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Region: Global
Languages:
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This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson, students graph data collected by NASA's GRACE satellites and look at trends in the water mass of different locations.
- Students learn how the satellites use the concepts of gravity and mass to track water, why tracking water is increasingly important, and how water content has changed over a decade.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The videos, animation, and maps make this lesson great for visual learners.
- The graphing portion of the lesson is an excellent practice in collaboration with every small group responsible for a different year of data.
Additional Prerequisites
- There is a lesson on how to read heat maps linked in the Management section that teachers may want to use before doing this activity.
- Students should know how to graph data along an x- and y-axis.
- It may benefit students to understand the water cycle.
Differentiation
- Language arts students can write an informational piece to explain how the GRACE satellites work and what they measure.
- Geography classes can discuss how the trends in water in different locations will impact the people who live there.
- Students can discuss how climate change impacts the water cycle, sea level rise, and glacial melt.
- Younger classes who struggle with independently graphing the data can complete the graphs as a whole class, doing one or two years a day, and possibly gradually releasing responsibility as students become familiar with the process.
- Some students may need to spend more time with the definitions and explanations for mass and gravity before understanding how the satellites work.
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Scientist Reviewed
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