How NASA Studies Water

Part of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) For Kids Only complex of K-12 educational websites, How NASA Studies Water is a portal to satellite monitoring information about the global water cycle. The site links to three special projects/missions that deal specifically with water: SeaWiFS, Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and El Nino. The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project provides Earth scientists with information about the ocean's fertility. The TRMM satellite measures how much rain is falling at any given time around the tropics so that scientists can better predict weather patterns. NASA scientists takes part in a number of international projects aimed at better understanding the causes and effects of El Nino, an abnormal warming of surface ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific. El Nino, Making Sense of the Weather explains the damages and changes that El Nino causes in the weather in language geared to students in grades 6-12. Educational levels: Graduate or professional, High school, Middle school, Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division