Exploring El Niño & Impacts of Changing Ocean Temperature

Duration: 45 minutes

Grade Levels: 5-8

Students explore ocean temperature data visually with NOAA View Global Data Explorer. They record historic ocean data related to national marine sanctuaries and monuments, then graph and analyze it.
Resources

Lesson Plan

Partner

Grade Levels: 5-8

Duration: 45 minutes

Concepts/Skills: CAbsorption, climate, data, El Niño, GIS, La Niña, ocean currents, phytoplankton, trade winds, upwelling

Objectives:

  • Use a geographic information system (GIS) to collect historical data about national marine sanctuaries and monuments
  • Argue from evidence about how changes in sea surface temperature, upwelling and phytoplankton populations could impact marine sanctuaries, wildlife and Earth’s systems
  • Discuss how the ocean moderates climate and makes life on Earth habitable