Educator Guide: Earth’s Oceans Broke Heat Records in 2020

sea ice

In 2020, the world's oceans may have stored up to 20 sextillion more joules of heat energy than in 2019. Warmer water contributes to melting sea ice.

NASA/Saskia Madlener

About this guide

In this guide, students will learn about how the amount of heat energy that Earth’s upper oceans have absorbed has increased over time. Then, students will discuss strategies for interpreting, understanding and communicating data.

This Guide Includes:

In hot water

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Earth’s oceans are storing record-breaking amounts of heat,” which explores how the upper oceans’ heat storage capacity has changed over time. A version of the story, “Earth’s oceans broke heat records in 2020,” appears in the February 13, 2021 issue of Science News.

Communicating data

Students will discuss how graphs and quantitative analogies are useful for interpreting and understanding data. Then, students will analyze and compare how effective each strategy is at communicating a scientific claim. As an extension, students may propose an alternative method of displaying or explaining given data.