How can falling snow, snowstorms, snowpacks and ice cores help us understand weather, climate and climate change?
Winter can be fun! A good snowfall makes sledding, skiing — and a snow day off from school — all possible. Long periods of below-freezing temperatures allow skating on lakes and ponds. Scientists look forward to cold weather so they can study the affect of winter on Earth. They examine snowpacks and ice cores from areas that have been in deep freeze for centuries to understand the climate and the climate change in those areas. As NASA pursues answers to the fundamental question, “How is Earth changing and what are the consequences for life on Earth?” NASA researchers are studying climate and climate change. NASA satellites are providing important data for everything from daily weather reports to studies of rainfall, sea ice melting and changes in glaciers. Winter tells its own, special story about the water and energy cycle, weather, and climate. The Student Observation Network module Winter’s Story explores the essential question “How can falling snow, snowstorms, snowpacks and ice
