NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

Heat related illnesses and death are largely preventable with proper planning, education, and action. Heat.gov serves as the premier source of heat and health information for the nation to reduce the health, economic, and infrastructural impacts of extreme heat. Heat.gov is the web portal for the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS). This website includes data, forecasts, safety information, and much more.

SOS Explorer® (SOSx) is a flat screen version of the widely popular Science On a Sphere® (SOS). The revolutionary software takes SOS datasets, usually only seen on a 6-foot sphere in large museum spaces, and makes them more accessible. The visualizations show information provided by satellites, ground observations and computer models.

The jellyfish often encountered in the Chesapeake Bay in the summer is the sea nettle (Chrysaora chesapeakei). Knowing where and when to expect this biotic nuisance may help to alleviate an unpleasant encounter. These maps are experimental and depict the probability of encountering sea nettles (not their abundance or density) in the Chesapeake Bay area. The density of sea nettles that you may encounter is not reflected here because it can vary greatly from year to year at a given location and would be a much less reliable prediction.

This dataset shows the paths of the 2023 and 2024 eclipses and the percentage of the sun in the eclipse that will occur. The paths are layers that can be turned on and off. To add some language arts themes, try out these associated poetry activities, some of which are available in Spanish. 

A quick simulation of the path of the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse showing the path of totality and cities that the eclipse passed through.

The 6+ miles wide asteroid that hit Earth 66 million years ago, widely accepted to have wiped out nearly all the dinosaurs and roughly three-quarters of the planet’s plant and animal species, also triggered a megatsunami with mile-high waves. Recent historical tsunamis pale in comparison with this globally catastrophic event, thought to be 30,000 times more initial energy than any recorded events. Watch this visualization of this tsunami as it spans the entire ocean.

A spherical projection is the best way to view Earth data, simply because Earth is a sphere! When you attempt to make a map of the world flat, certain locations become distorted, appearing bigger or smaller than they actually are. This hands-on activity allows you to explore the idea of Earth data and the difficulty associated with flat maps, and to enjoy the process of making a little globe. Several of Science On a Sphere’s most popular and important datasets are available for printing.

These "tiny tutorials" are designed to break the ice and get you started. These simple animations walk you through our data visualizations step by step. From there, each data portal offers many variables and dimensions to explore. So roll up your sleeves, fire up your browser or phone, and start exploring the ocean and atmosphere. Explore tiny tutorials on auroras, historical climate, magnetic fields, environmental response, fire weather, and hurricane data products from NOAA.

The geographic, or spatial extent, over which a species is found to occur, is its distribution. Understanding how species are distributed in space and time and the factors that drive spatial patterns in distribution and abundance are central questions in ecology and important for species conservation and management. The Distribution Mapping and Analysis Portal (DisMAP) brings species distribution data into one user-friendly and interactive map with data models. Explore changes in marine fish and invertebrate distributions over time. Learn more with this introduction from the project's lead.

Explore this interactive map of global tsunamis and their sources. By clicking on any tsunami event, you can access more information, including an overview of the tsunami, more information about the source, and the number of deaths. Get started with a helpful teacher guide.