Using NASA NEO and ImageJ to Explore the Role of Snow Cover in Shaping Climate

B. Youngman, C. McAuliffe, R. Freuder, J. Lockwood, K. Ward, D. Herring, H. Riebeek, Earth Exploration Toolbook Chapter from TERC

In this activity students download satellite images displaying land surface temperature, snow cover, and reflected short wave radiation data from the NASA Earth Observation (NEO) Web site. They then explore and animate these images using the free tool ImageJ and utilize the Web-based analysis tools built into NEO to observe, graph, and analyze the relationships among these three variables.

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Notes from our reviewers

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Teachers should become fully familiar with the NEO website and with the functionality of both the ImageJ and ICE used in this activities. These are complex instructions that may intimidate some students (and teachers), but they are thorough and should support a great exploration experience.
A very solid activity with important satellite datasets and visualization tools, which use state-of-the-art tools. Focus is on albedo and not the science of climate change. Students are looking only at a single year of data. Activity does not explore how the data from the satellite sensors are processed to create the maps.
Will appeal most to visual learners, good readers and detail-oriented learners who are willing to follow scripted step-by-step directions. No support for assessment. While it is useful for students to search and download their own datasets, the resource does provide the teacher with direct access to the datasets needed for the activity.