What is EARTH?
EARTH uses near-real-time data from ocean observatories to design and test outreach with the Internet as an interface to scientists, teachers, students, and the public. Click here for more information on the EARTH program.
EARTH 2009 Schedule | Participants | Photos
The 2009 EARTH workshop is taking place this week in Monterey from June 24th to June 28th. The focus of this EARTH workshop is on Ocean Observatories. 22 classroom teachers, administrators and informal educators from around the country are working hard to write new lesson plans that will help teachers bring data into the classroom.
Featured Activity: Microbes and Climate
This activity is meant to provide students with an understanding of how microbes play a role in the climate system, from the formation of the atmosphere to current climate dynamics to the role of microbes in climate change. This activity can be done within a unit on microbes, microbial oceanography or as a stand-alone activity connected to climate change. The activity is meant to be completed in one class period (60 minute minimum), but could be extended.
Printable Lesson Plan
Excerpt from Global Environmental Change: Microbial Contributions, Microbial Solutions from the American Society for Microbiology
Climate Change Could Impact Vital Functions of Microbes, ScienceDaily (June 8, 2008)
Microbes as Climate Engineers, ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2008)
Microbes and Climate Activity student handout (MS Word | Adobe PDF)
Previous Featured Activity: The Good, the Bad, and the Bountiful
This activity has moved to the Marine Biology>Microbiology section of the EARTH Web site.
Click here to go to the activity.
The 2008 EARTH workshop was held at Oregon State University the week of July 20th, 2008. The workshop was a joint workshop hosted by MBARI, the Center for Microbial Oceangraphy: Research and Education (C-MORE), and NASA Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets Program (ASTEP).
Full-hemisphere views of the Earth from GOES (Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellites).
GOES satellites are built by NASA and operated by NOAA.
EARTH logo designed by Jennifer Trask, 2003