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It’s a Small World: How Oceans and Climates Can Affect Wildland Fires Thousands of Miles Away
The scientists in this study were interested in three common periodic changes in sea surface temperatures, called oscillations. In particular, the scientists wanted to see how wildfires over the past 400 years aligned with the oscillations.
It’s a Small World: How Oceans and Climates Can Affect Wildland Fires Thousands of Miles Away
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The question you will answer in this FACTivity is: How do yearly weather conditions affect the way a tree’s growth rings look? The objective of this FACTivity is to learn...FACTivity – It’s a Small World
The question you will answer in this FACTivity is: How do yearly weather conditions affect the way a tree’s growth rings look? The objective of this FACTivity is to learn...
Glossary
View All Glossaryarchaeology
(är kē ä lə jē): The scientific study of material remains (such as tools, pottery, jewelry, stone walls, and monuments) of past human life and activities.
climate
(klī mǝt): The average weather conditions of a particular place or region over a period of years.
database
(dā tə bās): A usually large collection of data organized especially for rapid search and retrieval (as by a computer).
dendrochronologist
(den drō krə nä lə jist): A scientist who studies dating events and variations in the environment in former periods by comparing growth rings in trees and aged wood.
drought
(drau̇t): A long period of dry weather.
forest manager
(fȯr ǝst ma ni jǝr): A person who manages a forest; in the Forest Service, forest managers focus on managing vegetation, restoring ecosystems, reducing hazards, and maintaining forest health (definition from USDA Forest Service).
nutrient
(nü trē ǝnt): A substance or ingredient that promotes growth, provides energy, and maintains life.
oscillation
(ä sə lā shən): Variation or fluctuation.
periodic
(pir ē ä dik): Occurring at regular intervals.
sample
(sam pəl): A small subset group, representative of the entire group.
sustainable
(sǝ stā nǝ bǝl): Of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not used up or permanently damaged.
weather
(we thǝr): The state of the atmosphere in regard to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness.
wildland fire
(wī(-ə)l(d) land fī(-e)r): A fire that occurs in an area of land that is uncultivated or undeveloped by humans.
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Peter Brown
Biological Science | Dendrochronologist
My favorite science experience was certainly the earliest I can remember. I grew up on the Navajo Indian Reservation in northern Arizona. When I was in second grade, I rode...View Profile -
Emily Heyerdahl
Biological Science | Dendrochronologist
My favorite science experience is solving ecological puzzles about past wildland fires using tree rings. Just as when I was a young woman, I like being outside all summer collecting...View Profile -
Thomas Kitzberger
Biogeographer
My favorite science experience is scouting large unexplored areas in search of evidence of past fires from old trees. It is like time traveling to find an old tree with...View Profile -
Thomas Veblen
Physical Geographer
My favorite science experience is learning what tree rings can tell us about the history of insect outbreaks on trees.View Profile
Standards addressed in this Article:
Social Studies Standards
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Time, Continuity, and Change
Note To Educators
The Forest Service's Mission
The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.
What Is the Natural Inquirer?
Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.
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Meet the Scientists
Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
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What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?
Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
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Thinking About Science
Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
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Thinking About the Environment
Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
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Introduction
Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
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Method
Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
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Findings & Discussion
Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
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Reflection Section
Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.
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Number Crunches
Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
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Glossary
Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
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Citation
Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
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FACTivity
Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.
Science Education Standards
You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.
We Welcome Feedback
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Contact
Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program -
Email
Lessons
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Give each student or group a copy of the THIEVES chart reproduced at the end of the lesson plan PDF. You may either write the questions on the board, or...Lesson Plan – THIEVES Chart Guided Reading
Give each student or group a copy of the THIEVES chart reproduced at the end of the lesson plan PDF. You may either write the questions on the board, or...Part Of
Natural Inquirer - Vol. 14 No. 1
Education Files
Additional Resources
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NOAA's El Niño Animations & Graphics
Visit WebsiteEl Niño and La Niña are the warm and cool phases of a recurring climate pattern across the tropical Pacific—the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or “ENSO” for short. The pattern shifts back and forth irregularly every two to seven years, bringing predictable shifts in ocean surface temperature and disrupting the wind and rainfall patterns across the tropics. These changes have a cascade of global side effects.
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What is El Niño? - NASA Space Place
Visit WebsiteEl Niño is a weather pattern. In El Niño years, ocean waters along South America and California warm above normal temperatures. Many rain clouds form over this warm part of the ocean and move inland, dumping more rain than usual in South and Central America and in the United States.