This classroom activity (originally developed for the GPM Poster) will teach students about the value of Earth's freshwater resources and how important it is to study how water is transferred and stored.

GPM Water Cycle Droplet Handout

Primary Topic:

Water Cycle

Subtopics:

Hydrologic Cycle, Satellites, Freshwater Resources

Type:

Image

Audience:

Outreach, Formal, General

Standards:

ESS2.C

Keywords:

GPM Core Observatory, transpiration, evaporation, groundwater

Summary:

Educational handout in the shape of a raindrop. The front shows a diagram of the water cycle, and the back has information about GPM and facts about water.

How do you Build a Weather Satellite?

Primary Topic:

Technology

Subtopics:

Satellites, Remote Sensing

Type:

Lesson Plan

Audience:

Informal, Formal, 6 - 8, K - 5

Standards:

ETS2.A

Keywords:

engineering, orbit, sensors

Summary:

This booklet explains the basics of weather satellites and contains activities to explain questions like "How does a satellite stay up in space without falling back to Earth? "

Where do Hurricanes get their Energy?

Primary Topic:

Societal Applications

Subtopics:

Weather and Climate, Tropical Cyclones, Energy Cycle

Type:

Video

Audience:

Informal, Formal, 9 - 12, 6 - 8

Standards:

ESS2.D, ESS3.B, ETS2.A

Keywords:

extreme weather, hurricanes, tropical cyclones, satellites, latent heat

Summary:

How do hurricanes get their energy? NASA hurricane scientist Dr. Jeff Halverson explains how hurricanes draw energy from the ocean surface.

EarthLabs: Drought

Primary Topic:

Societal Applications

Subtopics:

Data, Freshwater Resources, World Health

Type:

Audience:

Standards:

Keywords:

Summary:

When drought occurs, water supplies for agriculture, industry, and personal use decrease, and people need to find ways to cope with the shortage or leave the area. This series of lesson plans teaches students about the science of droughts.

World Droughts From 2005 to 2009 Versus Where Crops are Grown

Primary Topic:

Societal Applications

Subtopics:

Data, Freshwater Resources, World Health

Type:

Image

Audience:

Outreach, Informal, Formal, General

Standards:

ESS3.A

Keywords:

drought, agriculture

Summary:

Using data from various satellites, these images show maps of the location of world droughts compared to where crops are grown.

India's Disappearing Water

Primary Topic:

Societal Applications

Subtopics:

Satellites, Remote Sensing, Freshwater Resources, World Health

Type:

Video

Audience:

Informal, Formal, 9 - 12, 6 - 8

Standards:

ESS3.A, ESS3.C

Keywords:

hydrology, groundwater, water table, gravitational field, GRACE

Summary:

During the past decade, groundwater beneath the northern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan has decreased by more than 88 million acre-feet. Using NASA's twin GRACE satellites, scientists determined the rate of groundwater change in India.

Mississippi Flooding in 2011

Primary Topic:

Societal Applications

Subtopics:

Satellites, Remote Sensing, Floods

Type:

Video

Audience:

Informal, Formal, 9 - 12, 6 - 8

Standards:

ESS3.B

Keywords:

natural disasters, LANDSAT

Summary:

Heavy spring rains and snowmelt led to devastating floods along the Mississippi River in May 2011. Landsat 5 flew over the Mississippi River on May 10, 2011, giving a distinct view of the extraordinary extent of the flooding.