Piercing the Clouds to Understand Climate Change

(NC)—Clouds have an enormous influence on our weather and climate. They are the key element of Earth’s hydrological cycle, bringing water from the air to the ground and from one region of the globe to another.

Because clouds also have a significant impact on Earth’s radiation budget, even small changes in cloud abundance or distribution could alter the climate even more profoundly than the anticipated changes in greenhouse gases, anthropogenic aerosols, or other factors normally associated with global warming.

CloudSat - a NASA-led satellite mission to which Canada is contributing an important scientific component - is the first attempt to study the clouds from space. The data that scientists will gather will allow them to better understand global changes in climate.

It is in this vein that the Canadian Space Agency developed its CloudSat educator kit, a curriculum-relevant complete package for primary school educators containing a CD-ROM with an educator guide, a poster and game board. The resource will provide Canadian educators with a tool to allow their students to immerse themselves in an interdisciplinary excursion to better understand meteorological and climate change while employing the scientific method.

Educators can order their free CloudSat kit by visiting the Educator section of the CSA website at: www.space.gc.ca.

The Canadian Space Agency’s Education Program supports learning opportunities for Canadian educators, students, youth and families to increase the scientific literacy of the next space generation and to encourage the pursuit of careers in science and technology.