April 22, 2021 03:00 PM EST - April 22, 2021 04:00 PM EST
In this presentation, students will learn about the different types of evidence that we use to measure Earth’s climate change. For past climate change, we have to act like a detective and use whatever kinds of clues Earth leaves for us. These kinds of evidence include ice cores, lake deposits, tree rings, and the fossil shells of long-dead organisms. These clues show us that our climate has changed greatly in the past. Not long ago, Chicago was under a mile of ice from a giant glacier! However, we now have a much easier time measuring climate change — with NASA! Not only does NASA send rovers to Mars and astronauts to the moon, but NASA also operates a wide array of satellites that monitor Earth’s temperature, glacier sizes, atmosphere content, forest fire and drought locations, and sea level. These new kids of evidence show that Earth’s climate is once again changing rapidly.
Michael Wysession has been a Geophysics Professor at Washington University in St. Louis for 30 years, doing research and teaching about earthquakes. Michael is also an international leader in geoscience literacy and education, and was one of the lead authors of the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards.
