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The Heat is On!: Climate Change and Coral Reef Ecosystems

This Web Seminar took place on April 30, 2009, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. Presenting was Dr. C. Mark Eakin who serves as an Oceanographer in NOAA’s NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research. In this Seminar, Dr. Eakin focused the discussion on coral bleaching and the global climate changes that our causing the issue.

• See this Web Seminar's Archive
• PowerPoint Presentation (4.17 MB)
• Presentation - PDF version (2.53 MB)
• Add this Web Seminar Archive to your NSTA Learning Center Library

This is the second of two Web Seminars scheduled as a follow-up to The Heat is On! Climate Change an Coral Reef Ecosystems Symposium that took place at the NSTA National Conference on Science Education in New Orleans, LA. In this program, Dr. Mark Eakin talked about coral bleaching and the death of large areas of corals reefs that have been associated with this phenomenon. He also presented data that showed global climate change as the cause of the problem and mentioned specific behaviors that all individuals can engage in to help slow the destruction of this critical resource.

Fifty-one (51) participants were present at the live Web Seminar in addition to the presenter and NSTA staff. Participating educators represented the states of California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming. Two participants attended the Web Seminar from countries outside the United States: South Korea, and Belize.

Seminar participants received one of the NSTA SciGuides. A certificate of attendance was deposited into participants My PD Record and Certificates area in the NSTA Learning Center for completing the evaluation form at the end of the program.

Here are some comments provided by the participants at the end of the Web Seminar:

• “I teach marine ecology to high school students and I'm always looking for ways to use real-time data and get the students to use any available technology/online tools.”



• “Very good information presented with plenty of resources that can be used in the classroom.”



• “During our discussion factors that decrease biodiversity, I feel much more confident in teaching them about coral bleaching.”



• “Excellent background info and resources.”

Thanks to the participants and the presenters for the learning opportunity, the interactions, and a job well done!

Websites

• NOAA Homepage
  http://www.noaa.gov
• NOAA Coral Reef Watch
  http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/oa/index.html
• NOAA Office of Education
  http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/
• NOAA Google Earth Applications, Demos, and Discussions
  http://www.epic.noaa.gov/talks/nns/forums/google.html
• Ocean Explorer/Explorations
  http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/deepeast01/background/fire/fire.html
• NOAA Symposium, The Heat is On! Climate Change and Coral Reef Ecosystems, NSTA National Conference on Science Education, New Orleans, LA
  http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars
  NewOrleans09/NOAA/symposium_post.aspx
• Additional Resources available at NSTA:
• Coral Ecosystems (SciGuide)
• Coral Reef Ecosystems (SciPack)
• Coral Reef Ecosystems: Ecosystems in Crisis (Science Object)
• Coral Reef Ecosystems: The Abiotic Setting (Science Object)
• Coral Reef Ecosystems: The Living Reef (Science Object)
• Coral Reef Ecosystems: Interdependence (Science Object)

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For more information contact webseminars@nsta.org

Underwritten in part by: NOAA