Students will investigate contrasting Lake Erie climate evidence, map preliminary relationships among Earth systems, and refine questions that can guide a rigorous geoscience-data investigation.

Students will transform puzzling Lake Erie climate patterns into focused investigation questions, evaluate potential evidence sources, compare quantitative methods, and produce a peer-reviewed methodology plan with traceable records, uncertainty checks, and safety considerations.

Students will collect, document, and quality-check historical Lake Erie observations, climate-model projections, and model-ready Earth-system evidence before advancing to quantitative analysis.

Students will quantify Lake Erie climate trends, compare observations with climate-model projections, test competing explanations, and revise Earth-system models and conclusions. Teams will use peer critique to strengthen their uncertainty analysis, regional forecast, investigation report, and public briefing before the Showcase.

Students will present and defend their Lake Erie climate investigations to an authentic audience, respond to questions, exchange peer feedback, make a final evidence-based revision, and reflect on the essential question.