INVESTIGATING GREENHOUSE GASES – Mini Case Study for Climate Detectives
The Mini Case Studies for Climate Detectives are intended to help teachers identify the topic that their Climate Detectives team will investigate and to guide them during the different phases of the project. In the template, teachers will find suggestions of different types of data that students could collect and analyse. The suggestions are not exhaustive, and the teachers may decide on their own specific focus within a given research area. The mini case study should be used in conjunction with the teacher guide and not as a stand-alone document.
This case study is dedicated to the topic of Climate change and Greenhouse gases and students will investigate how greenhouse gas emissions and concentrations in the atmosphere evolved in their country in the last decades. This mini case study is an ESA Education production in collaboration with ESERO Belgium.
Subject Technology, Science
- Be able to work scientifically by collecting data, making careful observations, looking for patterns and relationships
- Understand the relation between greenhouse gases and climate change
- Identify the main greenhouse gases
- Understand how Earth observation satellites can be used to monitor greenhouse gases
Did you know?
The Greenhouse gases are a natural part of the Earth’s atmosphere that allow us to hold on to some of the Sun’s energy in the form of heat. Without the greenhouse effect, the mean temperature of the Earth’s surface would be around -18°C, making our planet too cold to support life as we know it. Since the industrial revolution, human activities such as burning fossil fuels have increased the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to unprecedented levels. The Kyoto Protocol named the six greenhouse gases most increased by human activities. The top three are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
The Magic of Light – Using spectroscopes and colour wheels to study the properties of light
Brief description In this set of eight activities, pupils work individually or in groups to build a spectroscope that can...
Satellites observe the Earth
Satellites observe the Earth using a range of wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum. Discover how we can build a more complete picture of Earth’s climate by sampling the electromagnetic spectrum at multiple wavelengths.
The Carbon Cycle
Brief description In this set of three activities, students will learn about the carbon cycle and use it to identify...
A Passage opens – Arctic sea ice and climate change
Brief description In this set of three activities, students will discover the important role Arctic sea ice plays in the...
From the Ground and from the Sky- Analysing and understanding images of planet Earth taken from space
Brief description In this set of three activities, pupils are introduced to the idea of remote observation of the Earth...
After the storm – Tracking Hurricane Matthew and analysing its impact
Brief description In this set of two activities, students will explore the applications of Earth observation data in tracking hurricanes...
English 
Czech 
Danish 
Estonian 
Finnish 
French 
German 
Greek 
Hungarian 
Italian 
Latvian 
Lithuanian 
Dutch 
Norwegian 
Polish 
Portuguese 
Romanian 
Slovak 
Slovenian 
Swedish 
Spanish