Development for this project was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation.

Project ATMOSPHERE Peer-Led Training Sessions

Following is a listing of meteorology topics treated by Peer Trainers in teacher enhancement seminars. The seminars are offered in a variety of locations, frequently at state science teachers' meetings. The topics, all of which involve classroom tested, hands-on activities, include workshop guides provided at no charge, to all participating teachers.

• Weather Studies with Newspapers
  
  • Identifies many kinds of weather, climate, and related information that can be found in newspapers.
  
  
• El Niño/La Niña
  
  • Investigates density-driven circulation by using a set of temperature and salinity measurements from simulated water samples taken at different depths at a single location in the Atlantic Ocean. The objective is to build a global perspective of deep ocean structure and density-driven circulation.
  
  
• Weather Satellites
  
  • Describes the two basic types of satellites, geostationary and polar-orbiting.  Defines three types of weather satellite imagery and explains the information provided by each type.  Includes transparencies of the different types of satellite imagery.
  
  
• Highs and Lows
  
  • Describes the weather characteristics associated with high and low pressure systems.
  
  
• Weather Radar: Detecting Precipitation
  
  • Describes how a radar works and how it is used to detect precipitation.  Provides information on how to interpret radar data for hazardous weather.
  
  
• Hazardous Weather
  
  • Explains and describes the processes of hazardous weather associated with thunderstorms, hurricanes, and winter storms.
  
  
• Clouds (with Temperature Strip)
  
  • Explains the processes by which clouds are formed.  Includes a brief discussion about water vapor.  Has a  cloud chart with different clouds types.
  
  
• Sunlight and Seasons
  
  • Describes the characteristics of solar energy.  Examines the astronomical features that create Earth's seasons.  Lists atmospheric effects on incoming solar energy.
  
  
• Jet Streams
  
  • Explains the physical processes that create the polar-front jet stream.  List characteristics and relationships of the polar-front jet stream to U.S. weather.
  
  
• Atmosphere Aloft
  
  • Describes characteristics of upper-air weather maps and why meteorologists are interested in such maps.
  
  
• Sunlight and the Earth Activity and Transparency
  
  • Provides a description of visible satellite imagery.  The activity uses viewgraphs of visible satellite imagery on the equinoxes and solstices in order to describe the changes in orientation of the Earth's rotational axis relative to the Sun's rays over the course of a year (the seasons).  Estimations of the noon solar altitude and number of hours of daylight are determined for any latitude.
  
  

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