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My first empirical contact with the soil started almost 10 years ago when I was writing my B.Sc Dissertation on Grain Size Characteristics of Overbank Deposit on the Floodplains of Opa Reservoir Basin SW Nigeria . While undergoing this research I took 200 core bulk soil sediments along the three selected floodplains coupled with laboratory testing of samples, after a year the research was published by International Journal of Environmental Hydrology. http://www.hydroweb.com/journal-hydrology-2007-paper-22.html
The SMAP training at LA during the 20th GLOBE Annual and Partners ...
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Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
SMAP
GLOBE Working Groups:
SCIENCE WORKING GROUP
From Dr. Erika Podest, SMAP Scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
How do the measurements from different GLOBE protocols serve a mutual purpose better understanding our planet?
In previous blogs I’ve discussed the importance of soil moisture and how it plays a large role in weather prediction, flood and drought forecasting, plant growth, and even in pin pointing areas at risk for mosquito carrying diseases (such as malaria or yellow fever). Soil moisture also drives or is driven by other environmental variables such as air temperature, soil temperature, humidity, and ...
Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
SMAP
Investigation Areas:
SOIL MOISTURE - SMAP BLOCK PATTERN
Hello from Medford Memorial Middle School in Medford, New Jersey.
The quest to get an accurate soil sample continues at Medford Memorial Middle School, Medford NJ. Hello, we are the students of Memorial’s Citizen Science Education Program. We’re excited to be part of the SMAP campaign, but have not yet been able to enter any data. Here’s a brief overview of our journey.
First, we learned about SMAP as a satellite, and then we studied the protocol. We didn’t have any soil sample cans, so we settled on a sturdy coffee can, Ryan had brought in from home. Ashwin measured 5 cm from ...
Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
SMAP
Investigation Areas:
BULK DENSITY
SOIL MOISTURE - SMAP BLOCK PATTERN
SOIL MOISTURE - GRAVIMETRIC
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
Guest Blog by NASA SMAP Scientists Dr. Erika Podest and Dr. Narendra Das of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California USA.
SMAP scientists are using soil moisture in a number of ways, ways that allow all of us to better understand water’s role on Earth:
Weather Prediction : Water in the soil has the potential to evaporate (depending on atmospheric temperature and pressure) and when it does it plays a large role in cloud formation. Soil moisture also has a modulating effect on air temperature and humidity therefore having the ability to measure soil moisture ...
Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
SMAP
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
SCIENTIST SKILLS
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
GENERAL SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
Have you ever wondered how the SMAP satellite, with an altitude of 685 km (425 miles) above the Earth, can take measurements as precise as the amount of water in the Earth's soil?
The quick answer is that it requires precisely calibrated instruments, along with a technological marvel in satellite design.
SMAP was designed to use a combination of two precise instruments, one with high resolution, one with high accuracy.
THE INSTRUMENTS:
Active (High Resolution): SMAP’s radar was designed accurately measure the echoes of very short radio frequency (RF) pulses that bounce ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
SCIENCE AND MATH
TECHNOLOGY
Field Campaigns:
SMAP
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
The SMAP Mission is vital to understanding our planet. Water is an essential source for life. By understanding the amount of water in the soil, or soil moisture, we can apply this information to many things.
Monitoring Drought
SMAP monitors soil moisture and provides critical information for drought early warning. In fact, a deficit in the amount of moisture in the soil defines agricultural drought. SMAP's measurements will come into play because researchers forecast a threefold increase in drought frequency in many regions of the world by the end of the 21st Century. ...
Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
SMAP
GLOBE Science Topics:
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
Weekly Report 1: 10/1/15 - 10/15/15
This report contains two weeks of data collection due to the beginning of the campaign on October 1, 2015:
Volumetric Soil Moisture Measurements = 19
Participating Sites = 4
Schools Submitting Data:
Shumate Middle School - Michigan - 8 data counts
Ramey School - Puerto Rico -7 data counts
The University of Toledo -Ohio - 2 data counts
Thomas Edison Energy/Smart Charter School - New Jersey - 2 data counts
Congratulations to those schools for getting a great start. Let's get more schools participating!
Brian
Posted in:
Curriculum:
SCIENCE AND MATH
Field Campaigns:
SMAP
GLOBE Science Topics:
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
News Topics:
COMPETITIONS
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
COUNTRY COORDINATORS