Tracking Storms by Satellite

In this lesson, learners use a Web-based version of ImageJ to examine images of Hurricane Katrina as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico in August 2005. Students explore infrared radiation, water vapor, and visible radiation, and use images captured by the NOAA GOES satellite to plot and measure the path of Katrina.

Go to Lesson

Relevant standard(s)

NSES Standard: Science as Inquiry, Grades 5-8, Content Standard A
• USE APPROPRIATE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES TO GATHER, ANALYZE, AND INTERPRET DATA: The use of tools and techniques, including mathematics, will be guided by the question asked and the investigations students design. The use of computers for the collection, summary, and display of evidence is part of this standard. Students should be able to access, gather, store, retrieve, and organize data, using hardware and software designed for these purposes.

NSES Standard: Earth and Space Science, Grades 5-8, Content Standard D
• Clouds, formed by the condensation of water vapor, affect weather and climate.
• Global patterns of atmospheric movement influence local weather. Oceans have a major effect on climate, because water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat.

NSES Standard: Science and Technology in Society, Grades 5-8, Content Standard E
• Science and technology are reciprocal. Science helps drive technology, as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and provides principles for better instrumentation and technique. Technology is essential to science, because it provides instruments and techniques that enable observations of objects and phenomena that are otherwise unobservable due to factors such as quantity, distance, location, size, and speed. Technology also provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and analysis.

NCTM Standard: Measurement, Grades 6-8
Instructional programs should enable students to understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and processes of measurement:
• understand, select, and use units of appropriate size and type to measure angles, perimeter, area, surface area, and volume.
• select and apply techniques and tools to accurately find length, area,
volume, and angle measures to appropriate levels of precision.

NETS Standard: Grades 6-8
• Use content-specific tools, software, and simulations (e.g., environmental probes, graphing calculators, exploratory environments, Web tools) to support learning and research.