Lesson Plan: Intermediate Level Equipment & Telecommunication Mac LCII or better, 256 color monitor, 8 MB RAM CD-ROM drive Internet access (14.4 KB or faster modem & SLIP/PPP) Software, Multimedia, and Images SLIP/PPP Software WWW Browser (Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, NCSA Mosaic) NIH Image PictureBook file Naval Oceanographic Products: http://www.navo.navy.mil/navo/products.htm Vocabulary convection, current, altimetry, Gulf Stream, eddy, loop current Activity One: Understanding currents Materials: Two clear glasses for water Salt Food coloring (red and blue) Medicine droppers Access to hot and cold water (water can be heated or tap)In order to understand how hot and cold currents work, gather two clear glasses of water. One should be cold, the other very hot. Add drops of blue food coloring to the cold water. Using an eye dropper slowly add drops of the blue, cold water to the glass of hot water.
Watch to see what happens. The cold water, being denser, will sink to the bottom of the glass. Reverse the process by adding red food coloring to a glass of hot water, keeping the cold water clear. Slowly add drops of the warm, red water to the clear cold water and see what happens.
Water currents can also be associated with salinity. Again gather two glasses of water, this time of equal temperature. Add salt and blue food coloring to one glass. Using an eye dropper, slowly add drops of the blue, salty water to the glass of plain water.
Watch to see what happens. The salty water being denser will sink to the bottom of the glass. Again, reverse the process using red colored fresh water and clear salty water. Add drops of the fresh to the salty water and observe what occurs.
Discuss what was learned by asking questions such as: What happens when warm water enters a cold current? What happens when fresh water and salt water currents meet? What happens to cold water in a warm current?Now that the students have an understanding of how ocean currents work, they will be doing an activity with the Gulf Stream, which is a warm current. Relate understanding of this activity to the Gulf Stream coloring project which follows.
Activity Two: Show me on a Map! Materials Macintosh computer with Internet access for every 4 students WWW Browser PictureBook file. Paper and crayons or colored pencils Overhead transparencies (prepared in advanced) of: a. Multi-channel Sea Surface Temperature Map (colored image) b. Ocean Features Analysis Map (black/white data map) -These should be for the same date so that numeric data matches the color coded data- ProceduresIntroduce Sea Surface temperature by displaying color images of temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico obtained from satellite data (Multi-Channel Sea Surface Temperature map). Some images are included here. Current images with up to date data are posted on the Internet daily. Discuss the colors shown and the temperature ranges for each color. Blue is the coldest and red is the warmest temperature shown.
Using an overhead of the numerical sea surface data page (Features Analysis Map), discuss the information shown concerning water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Atlantic coast. Be sure students understand the position of the coastlines. Note the location, temperature comparisons, and direction of the warm eddies (WE). Compare temperature differences in the map. Discuss the conversion chart of temperatures in Celsius and Fahrenheit.
Distribute handouts of the numerical sea surface map to each students. Assign colors for the temperature ranges from blue (coldest), to red (warmest). A possible color assignment for a June map might be (in degrees Centigrade):
20 & below: purple 21 & 22: blue 23 & 24: green 25 & 26: yellow 27 & 28: orange 29 & 30: redAssist students as they color-by-number the water portion of the map. Once complete, review maps and compare to the color sea surface temperature images for the same day. Identify and discuss location of Gulf Stream. Discuss location of Gulf Stream as a warm current on the eastern side of the continent.
Using overhead, introduce Spectral Wave Prediction map (SWAPS). This map provides information on the wave heights and directions using vectors. Discuss any correlation with weather patterns. North winds bring dry, cool air. South winds bring warm, moist air. Using colored pencils, pass out student copies of this map and have students superimpose the wind direction using latitude and longitude from the Altimetry map. Talk about how this would influence a sailor's route.
Review concepts and maps used in part two. The multi-media activity on the CD-ROM version gives information, descriptions and map examples. At this point students should have a sufficient understanding of the maps necessary to move onto the next activity.
Activity Three: Plotting a Course Materials Macintosh computer with Internet access for every 4 students WWW Browser World map or globe ProceduresReview concepts and maps used in part two.
Pick a city along the Gulf coast. Place a picture of a sailboat on the map at that city. Place a blue ribbon across the Gulf on the Mexican coast. Explain to the children they will be involved in a sailing race. Their goal is to cross the Gulf as quickly as possible to win the race. Ask the students to list information they will need in order to plot a course. Elicit responses based on previous activity with temperature, altimetry and SWAPS maps.
Over the course of the next 4 days, gather information on sea conditions in the Gulf of Mexico, using the Naval Oceanographic Products page: http://128.160.23.51/noframe/select.products.htm
The Multi-Channel Sea Surface Temperature product map provides current and back informational maps for different ocean regions. These are the color coded with the warmer waters indicated in hues of red and orange, while the cooler waters shown in blues and violets. View and download and examine these images over a four day period, discussing patterns and any differences that might appear.
The Oceanographic Forecast Model product provides the SWAPS (Spectral Wave Prediction System) maps. Choose the Gulf of Mexico as the area of interest and then select the 12 hour map. Requesting the Product listing will bring up a small map. Click to bring up a larger map. View and download this map. Examine these images over a four day period, also discussing patterns and differences that appear in wave height.
Finally, select the Altimetry Data Fusion Center product. Choose the most recent data and view the Gulf of Mexico in the colored satellite pass. Save the map for each part in the chosen sailing path. Once again observe the 4 days of data to discover patterns and differences.
On the final day of the activity, review all maps and information. Construct graphs and tables to record data over the course of the activity. Draw conclusions and summarize what was discovered.
Apply the information obtained to plot the course for the sailboat. Over the next week, check the maps at the Naval Oceanographic site daily for new information and course alterations based on the most recent data. Also check weather conditions along the path. Move the sailboat along its plotted trajectory as the imaginary race concludes.
Ship logs should be kept during this activity to keep track of weather and water conditions on a daily basis. Course headings and distance traveled each day could also be recorded.
As the activity concludes, students should have an understanding of ocean conditions, what information must be gathered and how the information can be used.