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Database Provider

Author

University of Oslo

Grades

6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th

Subjects

Science, Earth and Space Sciences

Resource Types

  • Video, 31 seconds
  • Data

Regional Focus

Global, North America, United States, USA - West, Hawai'i

Format

Downloadable MP4/M4V

Weekly Atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa

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Synopsis
  • This short animated video shows the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide from 2007-2021. 
  • These measurements were taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawai'i. 
Teaching Tips

Positives

  • The lines on this animated graph build on each other, showing exactly how much atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased in recent years.

Additional Prerequisites

  • Students should have a basic understanding of climate change and the greenhouse effect.
  • Students should know that carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas most responsible for global heating.
  • Scientist Charles David Keeling began measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii in 1958.

Differentiation

  • This would be a great video to show at the beginning of a lesson on climate change. It may be powerful to show this video before explaining the context. You can have students write down three "noticings" and three "wonderings" about this video.
  • You can ask students about the average increase per year and see if they can figure out how decomposition and photosynthesis affect the level of CO2 throughout the year.
  • Students can access real time data from NOAA to see current levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Scientist Notes
Using empirical data from the Mauna Loa observatory, this 31-second video shows both the annual cycle of carbon dioxide as well as the continued yearly increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.

  • Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
    • ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
      • MS-ESS3-5 Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
      • HS-ESS3-5 Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.
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