Missing Carbon: CO2 Growth in the last 400,000 Years

Missing Carbon: CO2 Growth in the last 400,000 Years
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003300/a003307/index.html

Greg Shirah, Jim Callatz, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

This NASA animation shows the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide over different time scales. Viewers can compare the last 400,000 years, last 1000 years, and last 25 years. The data come from the Lake Vostok ice cores (400,000 BC to about 4000 BC), Law Dome ice cores (1010 AD to 1975 AD) and Mauna Loa observations (1980 to 2005).

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Middle School

Disciplinary Core Ideas: 3

MS-LS1.C1: Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use.

MS-PS3.D1: The chemical reaction by which plants produce complex food molecules (sugars) requires an energy input (i.e., from sunlight) to occur. In this reaction, carbon dioxide and water combine to form carbon-based organic molecules and release oxygen.

MS-PS3.D2: Cellular respiration in plants and animals involve chemical reactions with oxygen that release stored energy. In these processes, complex molecules containing carbon react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and other materials.

Cross Cutting Concepts: 4

Patterns, Scale, Proportion and Quantity

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Patterns, Scale, Proportion and Quantity

MS-C1.2: Patterns in rates of change and other numerical relationships can provide information about natural and human designed systems

MS-C1.3: Patterns can be used to identify cause and effect relationships.

MS-C1.4: Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in data.

MS-C3.1: Time, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small.

Science and Engineering Practices: 3

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

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Analyzing and Interpreting Data

MS-P4.1: Construct, analyze, and/or interpret graphical displays of data and/or large data sets to identify linear and nonlinear relationships.

MS-P4.2: Use graphical displays (e.g., maps, charts, graphs, and/or tables) of large data sets to identify temporal and spatial relationships.

MS-P4.3: Distinguish between causal and correlational relationships in data.

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High School

Performance Expectations: 3

HS-ESS2-1: Develop a model to illustrate how Earth’s internal and surface processes operate at different spatial and temporal scales to form continental and ocean-floor features.

HS-ESS2-2: Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth's surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems.

HS-ESS2-7: Construct an argument based on evidence about the simultaneous coevolution of Earth’s systems and life on Earth.

Disciplinary Core Ideas: 7

HS-ESS2.D1: The foundation for Earth’s global climate systems is the electromagnetic radiation from the sun, as well as its reflection, absorption, storage, and redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and land systems, and this energy’s re-radiation into space.

HS-ESS2.D2: Gradual atmospheric changes were due to plants and other organisms that captured carbon dioxide and released oxygen.

HS-ESS2.D3: Changes in the atmosphere due to human activity have increased carbon dioxide concentrations and thus affect climate.

HS-ESS2.E1: The many dynamic and delicate feedbacks between the biosphere and other Earth systems cause a continual co-evolution of Earth’s surface and the life that exists on it.

HS-ESS3.D1: Though the magnitudes of human impacts are greater than they have ever been, so too are human abilities to model, predict, and manage current and future impacts.

HS-LS1.C4: As a result of these chemical reactions, energy is transferred from one system of interacting molecules to another. Cellular respiration is a chemical process in which the bonds of food molecules and oxygen molecules are broken and new compounds are formed that can transport energy to muscles. Cellular respiration also releases the energy needed to maintain body temperature despite ongoing energy transfer to the surrounding environment.

HS-PS3.D2: The main way that solar energy is captured and stored on Earth is through the complex chemical process known as photosynthesis.

Cross Cutting Concepts: 4

Patterns, Cause and effect, Scale, Proportion and Quantity

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Patterns, Cause and effect, Scale, Proportion and Quantity

HS-C1.1: Different patterns may be observed at each of the scales at which a system is studied and can provide evidence for causality in explanations of phenomena

HS-C1.5: Empirical evidence is needed to identify patterns.

HS-C2.1: Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects.

HS-C3.4: Using the concept of orders of magnitude allows one to understand how a model at one scale relates to a model at another scale.

Science and Engineering Practices: 2

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

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Analyzing and Interpreting Data

HS-P4.1: Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g., computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.

HS-P4.2: Apply concepts of statistics and probability (including determining function fits to data, slope, intercept, and correlation coefficient for linear fits) to scientific and engineering questions and problems, using digital tools when feasible.

Grade Level

Intermediate (3-5)
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Middle (6-8)
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High School (9-12)
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College Lower (13-14)
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Topics

Cyclical and Natural Changes
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Anthropogenic Changes
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Measurements and Observations
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Paleoclimate Records
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Climate Literacy

This Animation builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Our understanding of climate

Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials
Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy | Technical Details

Teaching Tips

Educators will need to supply their own context for this animation.
The resource doesn't address the title "Missing Carbon," so it's suggested that the focus of this video is just on the changes of atmospheric CO₂.
An explanation of missing carbon is at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/BOREASCarbon/

About the Content

A short animation that shows how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has fluctuated over time.
Comments from expert scientist: This is a very nice animation showing the atmospheric CO2 concentrations as measured at Mauna Loa and reconstructed from ice cores. It requires background and introductory instruction prior to use. Does not work as a stand alone resource.

About the Pedagogy

This simple presentation makes it clear that the rise of atmospheric CO₂ since the industrial revolution is extraordinary.
There is no background material accompanying this animation, no information on the details of how these data were developed.

Technical Details/Ease of Use

The animation plays for 15.0 seconds and the downloads are 7-11MB.

Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN

There are three videos in this series, although there is no contextual information to stitch them together. http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/search.cgi?series=211

Entered the Collection: April 2013 Last Reviewed: October 2016

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Middle School (see details)

Middle School

Disciplinary Core Ideas: 3

Cross Cutting Concepts: 4

Science and Engineering Practices: 3

High School (see details)

High School

Performance Expectations: 3

Disciplinary Core Ideas: 7

Cross Cutting Concepts: 4

Science and Engineering Practices: 2

Grade Level

Topics

Climate Literacy

Teaching Tips

About the Content

About the Pedagogy

Technical Details/Ease of Use

Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN

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