Lake Champlain Ice
Exploring Changes in the Ice Cover on Lake Champlain
Eileen Stachowski, Robert Cully, Susan Powers,
Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY
July 2011
Details
Type: Project Module
Length: 3 to 4 – 45 minute class periods
Content Area/Course: Earth science, Environmental science
Targeted Grade Level: 9-12
Prerequisite Knowledge: General concepts and appreciation that the climate has been and will continue to change, Basic knowledge of IPCC emission scenarios and their relation to predictions of future climate change
Prerequisite Skills: Basic MS Excel experience – manipulating data, creating graphs, linear regression (Note – instructions for linear regression can be omitted for younger students)
Technology/web resources: Microsoft Excel, internet access to data
Thinking skill development: Comprehension, Evaluation
NASA Resources Used: Satellite images of Lake Champlain region from MODIS satellite, GISS Surface Temperature Analysis web tool.
Description
This activity uses data from NASA and NOAA to help students understand changes in temperature and ice coverage in the Lake Champlain region. The use of historical data enables an exploration of the changes and trends that have already occurred and the use of models to predict future climate change can be used to contemplate predictive models’ results and credibility.
Resources
About MODIS and Satellite Imagery
Climate Change in the Lake Champlain Basin
Climate Change in the Lake Champlain Basin Press Release
Lake and Watershed Data Sources
Nature Conservancy: Lake Champlain
NOAA’s web site for Burlington VT
Tutorial - NASA GISS Surface Temperature Analysisl








