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For teachers

8 stations on this tour

1. Great Barrier Reef — Bleaching

   The Great Barrier Reef (2,300 km, visible from space) has experienced 7 mass bleaching events since 1998 — with 2024 being the worst on record. When ocean temperatures rise 1–2°C above normal for 4+ weeks, corals expel their symbiotic algae and turn white. If stress persists, they die. NASA's sea surface temperature data (toggle SST…

2. Svalbard — Arctic Amplification

   Svalbard, Norway (78°N) is warming 3–5× faster than the global average — a phenomenon called "Arctic amplification." Since 1970, average temperatures have risen by 4°C. Glaciers that took millennia to form are retreating at 50–100 meters per year. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, built to protect humanity's crop diversity, was flooded in…

3. Amazon — The Lungs Under Threat

   The Amazon rainforest produces 6% of Earth's oxygen and stores 150–200 billion tons of carbon. But deforestation and drought are pushing it toward a "tipping point" — the moment the forest can no longer sustain itself and begins converting to savanna. NASA FIRMS fire data (toggle Wildfires) shows the scale of burning. Since 1970, ~17% of…

4. Aral Sea — The Vanished Lake

   The Aral Sea was once the world's 4th largest lake (68,000 km²). Soviet-era irrigation projects diverted its feeder rivers for cotton farming. By 2014, the eastern basin had completely dried up. Fishing villages now sit 100+ km from water. The exposed seabed creates toxic dust storms carrying pesticides across Central Asia. NASA…

5. Alpine Glaciers — Disappearing Ice

   The European Alps have lost over 60% of their glacier volume since 1850. Switzerland's glaciers alone shrank by 6.2% in the single year 2022–2023 — the worst loss ever recorded. The Aletsch Glacier, Europe's largest, has retreated 3.5 km. Glacier loss threatens freshwater supply for 100+ million Europeans, hydroelectric power generation,…

6. Tuvalu — Drowning Nation

   Tuvalu (population 11,000) is one of the first nations facing extinction from sea-level rise. The highest point on most atolls is just 4.6 meters above sea level. With seas rising 3.3 mm/year (accelerating), Tuvalu could become uninhabitable by 2050–2100. In 2023, Tuvalu signed a treaty with Australia to accept climate refugees. The…

7. Greenland — Ice Sheet Collapse

   Greenland's ice sheet contains enough water to raise global sea levels by 7.2 meters. It is losing ~270 billion tons of ice per year — a rate that has tripled since the 1990s. Meltwater lubricates the base of glaciers, accelerating their flow to the ocean. Jakobshavn Glacier alone calves enough ice daily to supply New York City's water…

8. Antarctica — The Doomsday Glacier

   The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica (nicknamed the "Doomsday Glacier") is 120 km wide and holds enough ice to raise seas by 65 cm alone. Its grounding line is retreating, and warm ocean water is melting it from below. If Thwaites collapses, it could destabilize the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet — raising seas by 3.3 meters and…

Worksheet — Climate Crisis — Evidence From Space