Understanding weather, climate, landforms, and more!
The land masses on our Earth literally keep us grounded ... without them we would live on a vast and infinite ocean! But how did such large land masses form and have they always looked the way they do now?
Scientists can’t travel back in time, so they must instead come up with theories as to why the land masses on Earth are in their current locations and how they formed. Most scientists believe that landmasses formed on Earth billions of years ago. It was a process that began with thousands of quick volcanic eruptions one after another, causing a buildup of what we call the crust of the Earth. At the same time, clouds had formed that were sending down rain to fill the Earth’s oceans.
About 70-80% of the Earth’s crust is made up of granite, which scientists believe is made by these quick eruptions and subsequent cooling. These giant slabs of rock that formed did not stay in place, but instead shifted in relation to one another, something scientists have named Plate Tectonic Theory.
Imagine what the globe looks like today. It appears that all the land masses and continents are in one steady location, yet they are shifting slightly each year. Plate tectonics are responsible for earthquakes and what caused the formation of a giant landmass, named Pangea, millions of years ago, as well as its separation into all the different land masses we see on a globe today. If you want to see it for yourself, CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO that concentrates a billion years of continental movement into 40 seconds!
Earth hasn’t always looked the way it does now. When landmasses first formed, Earth’s climate was overall warmer, creating a literal hotbed for all sorts of plant and animal species to emerge. But, because climate naturally changes over time, our Earth eventually began to cool and what we now know as the Ice Age began. This is when glaciers, or giant landmasses made of ice, covered large portions of the globe.
But the “Ice Age” doesn’t mean the whole earth was cold the entire time. Instead, the climate flip flopped between glacial and interglacial periods of time. When glaciers were more prominent, they would move around the Northern latitudes of the Earth, creating different land masses such as valleys, giant rock formations and moraines. During the interglacial periods, on the other hand, the climate of Earth was like our climate today. In fact, some scientists hypothesize that WE ARE STILL EXPERIENCING THE ICE AGE and that today we are simply in an interglacial period!
The Ice Age’s last glacial period ended in Indiana a mere 15,000 years ago. As glaciers formed and moved, they shaped Indiana’s landscape in significant ways, flattening hills, burying rivers, digging out new lakes and forming piles of rock called moraines. Northeastern Indiana was particularly changed by glacial movement and formation.
State Parks are great places to see remnants of the Ice Age in land formations such as kettle hole lakes (when chunks of glaciers melted into giant puddles), kettle depressions, glacial kames, eskers, and glacial erratics. Check out this activity including maps of each state park and keys to where you can find some awesome evidence of Ice Age glaciers!
Keep reading to learn more about our Earth’s climate and how humans are changing things up in big ways!
The seasons of the year: spring, summer, fall and winter, are all important in their own ways. They help our food to grow, our plants and animals to feel nourished and in rhythm with nature and even help us (hello, snow days and summer break!). The yearly changes we experience here in Indiana and globally make up our Earth’s climate. And we are lucky indeed that our Earth has a pretty human-friendly one.
However, you may have heard that our planet’s climate is in trouble. The good news? You are a smart kid reading this e-zine and you can do something about it. But first we need to learn why climate is important and what it means when scientists use the term “climate change.”
Climate refers to weather patterns over an extended period. Climate usually remains very steady for hundreds of years or more. Here in Indiana, some characteristics of our climate include snow during the winter, hot sunny summer days, and soaking rains in spring. In other places, such as Florida, however, the climate is different, with warmth almost all year round. Climate varies all over the globe and depends on many factors.
Climate change refers to the rising in our Earth’s average temperature. It is only rising by a few degrees, which may lead you to wonder what all the fuss is about. But that measly 1.8 degrees F over the past hundred years is leading to some big problems for many of our plant, animal, and human friends, not to mention the planet itself.
Think of all the little things you do in a day that include using our Earth’s resources: plugging in your phone or iPad, riding in the car or bus to school, eating meals that include food that had to be packaged somewhere far away...that’s a lot of energy we are using powered by coal and other fossil fuels!
All of us are contributing to global warming through our use of these fossil fuels that power our electricity, heat and automobiles and cause a release of CO2 into the atmosphere. This, along with other greenhouse gases such as methane, traps warmth at the Earth’s surface so that it can’t escape. Thus, creating the warming of the planet.
When the Earth’s temperature warms, it causes the ice at the north and south poles to melt. The melting of these landmasses goes far beyond taking homes and food away from our polar bear and penguin friends. All the water that was trapped in the glaciers will be headed back out into the ocean ... and that’s a lot of water! In fact, it’s enough to raise the ocean’s levels and destroy some coastal areas. It can also destroy things like forests, which provide us fresh oxygen. A decrease in our air quality could mean more diseases for us and our animal friends.
A change in the Earth’s temperature will wreak havoc on our weather patterns. Stronger storms such as hurricanes and tornadoes, harsher droughts and shifting wind and ocean patterns are just some of the things that have scientists worried. Here in Indiana, because of our milder climate, we might not be as heavily impacted in the near future as those who live in more at-risk places on our planet, such as coastal areas, but that doesn’t mean we should do our part to help!
Here is the best news ... kids can do quite a bit to change the world! In fact, here are some things you can do to start helping today:
1. Reduce your consumption and reuse items you already have as much as possible.
2. Unplug appliances such as TVs, lamps, and electronics chargers when not in use.
3. When you visit a hotel, hang your towel back on the rack to signal to the cleaning staff that you don’t need it cleaned every time you shower.
4. Dress appropriately for the weather so you can turn your heat down in the winter and the A/C down in the summer.
5. Eat more veggies and less meat (raising livestock causes the release of methane into the atmosphere).
6. Walk or bike instead of driving when you can.
7. Consume local and in season produce when you can.
8. Hang your clothes to dry when it is nice outside instead of using the dryer.
9. Learn as much as you can and spread the word to friends and family!
You can be a climate warrior, just by doing these simple things. Best of all? What is good for our planet and our climate is also good for YOU!
If you want more information about climate change and how you can help the Earth, check out The Climate Reality Project: Kids!
Right now, we are experiencing a lovely Midwest spring, full of blooming flowers and the return of that warmer sunshine you may have been missing all winter. But that doesn’t mean that every day is sunny and that temps keep getting warmer. In fact, spring can feel downright confusing sometimes, with cold and warm days all mixed up together.
Knowing the difference between weather and climate can help you understand more about what you can expect right here in Indiana throughout the year.
What in the heck does that mean? Well, weather is the way the atmosphere is behaving (and affecting us humans) during a short time frame. If you know that it is going to rain today, for instance, that is the weather. However, climate describes what the weather is like over a long period of time in a certain location. How much rain we get in Indiana every summer, for instance, is a description of our climate. In other words ...
Still confused? Check out our chart to get a grasp on the difference between these important terms.
Since the climate of a place is made up of the weather patterns measured over time, climate tends to stay relatively stable. Until now. Scientists are seeing trends of climates warming up. So even though places like the arctic are still getting snow and are still cold many days, the weather is averaging warmer temps, therefore changing the climate. This means it also changes the way all living things interact within the many ecosystems and climates of our planet. A warmer climate, for instance, means less ice for the polar bears to live on and less of a chance for them to find the food they need.
Keep reading this issue of Boomerang to learn more about climate change and what you can do to help our planet!
The atmospheric conditions at a certain place and time.
"Today it is raining and humid. "
Atmospheric conditions measured over time that characterize a place.
"In general, Indiana springs bring rain and humidity."
Changes every day.
Tells you what to wear today to school.
Stays consistent over centuries.
Tells you what clothes to have in your closet for the season.
Hooray for Earth Day (April 22)! Our planet is very important to us because it provides all the things we need to survive. Earth is also home to billions of other animals who all count on the same fresh air, water and food to survive. That is a lot of living things!
Let’s celebrate the bounty we can find right here on our home planet by whipping up some fun Earth Day snacks!
This is a fun dessert to make AND to eat. You can follow this recipe or ask your adult to help you with the following steps:
1. Make a box of instant chocolate pudding using regular or dairy-free milk
2. Crumble up some chocolate sandwich cookies by filling a plastic ziploc bag and smashing the cooking around inside of it with your hands.
3. Fill clear, reusable cups or jars halfway to three quarters with chocolate pudding. Then add a thick layer of crumbled cookies and top with plenty of sour gummy worms.
Getting plenty of healthy food is a great way to fuel your body so you can become a superhero! This smoothie recipe makes a great breakfast, snack, or even dessert!
You will need:
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• ½ cup coconut water
• 2 bananas
• 1 cup frozen mango
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 2 cups kale
Add all your ingredients into a blender, sip and save the Earth!
Want to do something even better for planet earth? If you are having an Earth Day gathering, make sure to serve snacks and drinks in reusable or compostable containers. You can even use cloth napkins and fold them into fun shapes! And tell your adult to buy organic produce when possible so we can take care of our Earth AND our bodies by eliminating unhealthy toxins.
Want to know about climate change? As a kid in today’s modern world, you have probably heard about problems with “greenhouse gases,” but what the heck are they, and how does it make the climate here on Earth change? We are here to answer your burning questions and even give you a chance to see it for yourself in action.
Carbon dioxide (or CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted from us humans here on planet Earth. CO2 and other greenhouse gases, such as methane, nitrous oxide and more, are gases that trap the Earth’s heat inside its atmosphere.
When the sun shines its beautiful rays down to us here on Earth, only some of that heat is supposed to hang out before getting mostly released at nighttime. Greenhouse gases are dangerous because they trap more heat than what is supposed to remain, causing temperatures here on Earth to rise. That is why you hear about the ice caps melting in the Arctic and polar bears being in danger. It is because of these temperature increases that our climate is beginning to change.
The short answer is human activity. We are the main cause of the overabundance of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels for heat, electricity and to power our cars is the biggest cause because these activities emit CO2 into the atmosphere.
We are going to see climate change in action with this experiment. All you need is a glass or clear plastic container and two thermometers. Here is what you do:
• Place one thermometer in a sunny spot (like a windowsill)
• Place the other thermometer right next to it, but inside of the container
• Leave the thermometers for 20 minutes
When you went back, what did you see? Did they both have the same temperature reading? What you may have found was that the thermometer in the container had a higher temperature than the one that was just sitting in the sun. That is because you used the container to trap the heat, much like greenhouse gases trap heat here on Earth. The climate inside of your container was much hotter, right? Now you know how climate change works!
Read through the rest of this issue of Boomerang for more information on how you can help the planet!
I C U X T A R D I R T A G H
E O O H E A T P S N O M T E
M R X N H N O C E A N R C T
R E U Y S P O A G L A E E A
O T R T G E O N L E M I A M
F E T A A E R L R N E C C I
D R I H T R N V L A N A T L
N R E H T A E W A U R L O C
A A N R I D Y P E T T G T N
L E A M T R T A M R I I C T
T H G U O R D I T E T O O D
I C E L P D O R N A T E N N
E R N I W G A S G G D I O T
G R E E N H O U S E W O L N
WEATHER | DROUGHT | DIRT | EARTH | WIND
AIR | OXYGEN | ICE | CLIMATE | POLLUTION | GAS
LANDFORM | CONSERVATION | GLACIER | HEAT
GREENHOUSE | OCEAN | TEMERATURE
When you know more about your health and how to take care of it, you can be more, do more and have more fun — starting now!
