This video segment highlights how the U.S. military is the single largest user of energy in the nation, but it is also trying to reduce its carbon bootprint. Scenes taped at Fort Irwin and Camp Pendleton show the Army and Marines experimenting with wind and solar in order to reduce the number of fuel convoys that are vulnerable to attack.
This course is a laboratory accompaniment to 12.803, Quasi-balanced Circulations in Oceans and Atmospheres. The subject includes analysis of observations of oceanic and atmospheric quasi-balanced flows, computational models, and rotating tank experiments. Student projects illustrate the basic principles of potential vorticity conservation and inversion, Rossby wave propagation, baroclinic instability, and the behavior of isolated vortices.
Students observe and discuss a vacuum cleaner model of a baghouse to better understand how this pollutant recovery method functions in cleaning industrial air pollution.
Students observe demonstrations, and build and evaluate simple models to understand the greenhouse effect, the role of increased greenhouse gas concentration in global warming, and the implications of global warming theory for engineers, themselves and the Earth. In an associated literacy activity, students learn how a bill becomes law and research global warming legislation.
This activity involves student teams classifying clouds into the main categories, making a poster of their findings, having a poster session and learning the vocabulary terms cirrus, stratus and cumulus.
This book making activity is a way to assess students knowledge of cloud types, their description, and the weather they bring.
As ice retreats and energy resources along Alaska's North Slope become more accessible, diverse stakeholders consider potential futures and develop a science-informed view of the implications of development in the region.
Over the past 40 years, some lobstermen in South Thomaston, Maine, say that they could "set their watches by the start of the lobster shedding event each season. In 2012, though, extreme warm ocean temperaturesan ocean heat wavecombined with early and repeated lobster shedding. The obvious changes in lobsters during this event galvanized many lobstermen to take the impacts of climate change seriously.
This activity is a field investigation where students measure, record and describe weather conditions using common tools (rain gauge, thermometer, and barometer). They will compare their observations to Weather.com (online) and the local newspapers to compare their findings, and record these observations.
A survey of the mechanical behavior of rocks in natural geologic situations. Topics: brief survey of field evidence of rock deformation, physics of plastic deformation in minerals, brittle fracture and sliding, and pressure-solution processes. Results of field petrologic and structural studies compared to data from experimental structural geology.
Laboratory or field work in earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences. To be arranged with department faculty. Consult with department Education Office. This course introduces students to the basic concepts of Medical Geology/Geochemistry. Medical Geology/Geochemistry is the study of the interaction between abundances of elements and isotopes and the health of humans and plants.
Students observe and discuss a cup and pencil model of a cyclone to better understand the science behind how this pollutant recovery method functions in cleaning industrial air pollution.
Students learn about the remote sensing radio occultation technique and how engineers use it with GPS satellites to monitor and study the Earth's atmospheric activity. Students may be familiar with some everyday uses of GPS, but not as familiar with how GPS technology contributes to our ongoing need for great amounts of ever-changing global atmospheric data for accurate weather forecasting, storm tracking and climate change monitoring. GPS occultations are when GPS signals sent from one satellite to another are altered (delayed, refracted) by the atmosphere passed though, such that they can be analyzed to remotely learn about the planet's atmospheric conditions.
Students learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the greenhouse effect. They construct their own miniature greenhouses and explore how their designs take advantage of heat transfer processes to create controlled environments. They record and graph measurements, comparing the greenhouse indoor and outdoor temperatures over time. Students are also introduced to global issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and their relationship to global warming.
This algebra lesson from Illuminations helps students develop their understanding of mathematical functions and modeling using spreadsheets, graphing calculators, and computer graphing utilities. The differences between linear, quadratic and exponential models are described. Students will also improve their understanding of how to choose the appropriate graphical representations for data. The material is intended for grades 9-12 and should require 5 class periods to complete.
The heart of this activity is a laboratory investigation that models the production of silicon. The activity is an investigation of silicon: the sources, uses, properties, importance in the fields of photovoltaics (solar cells/renewable energy) and integrated circuits industries, and, to a limited extent, environmental impact of silicon production.
Students are introduced to natural disasters, and learn the difference between natural hazards and natural disasters. They discover the many types of natural hazards avalanche, earthquake, flood, forest fire, hurricane, landslide, thunderstorm, tornado, tsunami and volcano as well as specific examples of natural disasters. Students also explore why understanding these natural events is important to engineers and everyone's survival on our planet.
Students explore the causes and effects of the Earth's ozone holes through discussion and an interactive simulation. In an associated literacy activity, students learn how to tell a story in order to make a complex topic (such as global warming or ozone holes) easier for a reader to grasp.
In this case study, developed for an introductory environmental studies course, students grapple with the issue of air pollution, specifically the causes and effects of haze and smog as ubiquitous, persistent air quality problems that plague urban and rural areas alike. In analyzing local conditions in Minnesota, students explore the wider environmental, political, social, and human health implications of air pollution.
This interactive diagram from the National Academy of Sciences shows how we rely on a variety of primary energy sources (solar, nuclear, hydro, wind, geothermal, natural gas, coal, biomass, oil) to supply energy to four end-use sectors (residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation). It also focuses on lost or degraded energy.