Week 13: Hurricane

Week Thirteen: Hurricane
The Weather Viewed from Space
Weeks 13, 14, and 15 make up a three-week cycle about a hurricane. Currently, you are in the Sphere Study week of the cycle.

This week you should refer to the resources listed under Readings & Recommendations, and you need to complete the assignment listed under Sphere Study Assignment & Rubric. This week’s assignment focuses on …

Identifying and researching the key concepts for the fourth sphere you will be studying
Helping your Sphere Group members to understand the key concepts and critical questions
Identifying interactions between the event of the week, a hurricane, and your sphere

Suggested Activities for Your Students
In "Looking at Earth from Space," start at p. 147. Either select or modify two activities that would be appropriate for the grade level you teach.

See Weather in Our Lives

Sphere Study Assignment & Rubric
This week you and your Sphere Group will become experts in the relationship of individual spheres to an Earth event.

You will need to read about the hurricane before you can do the Sphere Study Assignment & Rubric.

Note: Refer to Group & Team Formation to find out which sphere you should be studying this week.

Readings & Recommendations

Read: Welcome to NASA's Earth Science Enterprise: Educational CD-ROM

Under the Air section

“Atmospheric Phenomena” pp. 1-8

Read: Satellites can not "hover" above Earth in low earth orbit. Geostationary satellites high above the earth can orbit once a day, thus appearing to hover. Many remote sensing satellites are in polar orbits and cross a given spot on the earth only infrequently (e.g., every 17 days). The close-up views given by these satellites may not be as timely as desired.

Recommended: Science Is a Study of Earth, pp. 76-79. After you have done the Suggested Activities for Your Students, consider evaluating them using the scheme in Science Is a Study of Earth on p. 71. As an alternative, you might modify this activity evaluation to a more appropriate plan for your future use.

Recommended : In Looking at Earth from Space, you might consider doing the activity on pp. 17-23 to learn more about general circulation of the atmosphere at mid-latitudes.

Recommended Web Sites:

Space Science and Engineering Center (Data and Imagery)

OSU Atmospheric Science Program (National data)

Purdue University (Images)

USA Today's weather pages.

If your state has a major university with an atmospheric sciences department, it is likely to have an accessible and useful weather Web site.