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Listed under:  Science  >  Earth and space  >  Atmosphere
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Blue marble matches - activity

This is a resource for educators outlining practical activities that explore geological processes on Earth and how to identify geological features in images. It demonstrates how scientists use the Earth to gain a better understanding of other planetary bodies in the solar system through examining images of their geological ...

Online

Climate education guide, activity 3: trees and carbon

This is a teaching-learning resource containing teaching strategies and a student activity about the role of forests as carbon sinks and the effect of tree size on the capacity to store carbon. The resource has six tabs, five of which are relevant. The first tab provides information about the importance of forests in storing ...

Interactive

Oresome world

This interactive resource takes students on a journey of discovery in the energy and mining world. Oresome world contains five games or modules: Coal, Energy, Gas, Low emissions and Mining, and within each of these there are several facilities to explore, such as the Underground mining site, Hydroelectric power station, ...

Interactive

The greenhouse effect

This is an interactive resource about how greenhouse gases affect the climate. Students use a simulation to explore the atmosphere during the ice age and today. They change variables such as adding clouds, changing greenhouse gas concentrations and see how the temperature changes. They can then compare this to the effect ...

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Climate science analysis from The Conversation

This is a collection of articles about climate science. It includes articles about modelling, explanations about heat trends, predictions about sea level rise, and why the science about climate change is clear. The articles are written in plain language and are authored by experts from universities in Australia and around ...

Video

Four Corners: Ecological effects of bushfires

Did you know that Australia is the most flammable continent on Earth? Watch this clip to discover how bushfires impact natural ecosystems, and how the increasing global threat of bushfires may affect Australia. Australian scientists explain the ecological consequences of fire and a US expert describes his concerns for the future.

Video

Four Corners: Fire management strategies

What role do fire-behaviour specialists and ecologists have in fire management? Watch this clip to find out about issues relating to fire management in Australia, in particular prescribed burning.

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Landline: Water footprints in food manufacturing

How much water does it take to produce a large packet of M&Ms? Watch as the 'water footprint' of some household products is presented and hear the concerns expressed about the methods used to calculate these footprints. Discover how an examination of the water used by the components of some manufactured foods has led to ...

Video

Catalyst: Geoengineering - a solution to climate change?

What is geoengineering, and how is it being investigated by scientists as a means of combating climate change? Learn about some climate control techniques that could slow down or even reverse the effects of global warming. Hear an atmospheric physicist explain the pros and cons of geoengineering techniques.

Interactive

EarthViewer - iTunes app

Journey through geological time and discover changes on Earth from the Hadean time, more than 4.5 billion years ago, through to today. Find out about plate tectonics, continental movement, atmospheric conditions, life on Earth, extinction events, fossil sites and much more. Contains many features which include allowing ...

Interactive

Global change - iTunes app

Explores the global carbon and water cycles as well as the role that plants play in these cycles with particular emphasis on the stomata in the leaves. Also looks at human impact on these cycles and the climate. Includes videos, simulations showing changes over time, graphs, maps and a detailed glossary section. Free when ...

Audio

Solar thermal electricity

This program gives an update on research into solar thermal electricity. Liddell Power Station in the Hunter Valley, NSW is a hybrid power station using solar energy to pre-heat water and so reduce the use of coal and the production of carbon dioxide. Some scientists claim that harnessing the solar heat in an area 50km ...

Interactive

What should I plant to balance my carbon footprint?

Discussion about the strategy if tree planting used to balance the impact of human activities and its effectiveness.

Online

Recent evapotranspiration

This resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page with a map of Australia showing daily reference evapotranspiration and also tables of daily transpiration for each Australian state and the Northern Territory. Monthly data is available via the location links in the tables for each state.

Video

Drought culprit

This 12 minute video segment from Catalyst is an excellent resource for students researching how oceans influence conditions on Earth's surface. It demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of using models in science and how our understanding is open to revision as more information comes to light.

Interactive

Science Talk 2007: Jack Bacon

An interview with Dr Jack Bacon, NASA engineer and futurist. Jack talks to a teacher from Sydney Girls High School about his experiences on the Vomit comet and his research into alternative energy sources. Jack also shares with us his predictions for the future of science, space travel and energy sources.

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Forest learning: How is carbon stored?

This resource is a ten-page pdf produced by Forest and Wood Products Australia about the role forests play in reducing climate change. It includes sections on: properties of carbon; how carbon is cycled in ecosystems; the chemical formula for photosynthesis; and calculating CO2 stored in trees. The resource also includes ...

Video

Uranium Minerals

This 7 minute video segment from Catalyst describes how a unique deposit of beautiful crystals containing a high quantity of uranium in a safe form has been found in country Victoria. It is hoped that it may provide clues for the long term storage of nuclear waste.

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Chemicals on the Great Barrier Reef

This program deals with a range of human impacts on the Great Barrier Reef. Herbicides from land runoff have been traced to algae and sea grasses in river mouths and coastal zones along the Great Barrier Reef. Effects include retardation of photosynthesis and growth of corals. Other pressures on the reef include high water ...

Video

Cloud seeding

This nine and a half minute video segment from Catalyst describes how researchers from Monash University have hard evidence that cloud seeding can produce good amounts of extra rainfall. Data collected over a long period of time has give hope to scientists and environmentalists who are trying to reduce the impacts of droughts ...