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Our project for SEES 2024 was "Creating a Model to Identify High-Risk Areas for Flash Flooding in Houston, Texas." In this blog, I will discuss how we calculated which areas are "high-risk." There are many ways to identify the most at-risk points of flooding in a given region. Such points are commonly identified in a flood map, such as the one here: For our project, we decided to look at elevation data, which is perhaps the most intuitive: water flows downhill and will accumulate in the lowest regions. To get our elevation data, we used ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CHANGE EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM BIOSPHERE LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION   Primary Audience: SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


SEES 2024 Experience Getting the opportunity to participate in the NASA SEES Earth System Explorers program has positively impacted my educational and career journey in more ways than I could've imagined. Throughout this internship, I gained an immense amount of knowledge in Earth science, utilizing the GLOBE Observer app, ArcGIS, Collect Earth Online, Python, and many other tools to better understand the environment around us. During the last few weeks of the program, a team of seven other interns and I completed our own research project called "Harnessing ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


In this blog post, I will go through every step of the internship and outline my experience! Before I do that, first of all, I would like to say that I am so happy that I got to spend my summer with SEES! This program was so amazing and helped guide me a bit more on what I want to do in my future career and in college! I am very grateful for all of our mentors who guided us through the program and provided great knowledge and support to all of us! Thank you for this opportunity. Modules: Climate Science Background and Exploring the Earth To prepare for the ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION MOSQUITOES   Student Research Reports: MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


If you had asked me what “citizen science” was before this internship with the NASA SEES ( STEM Enhancement in Earth Science ) Earth System Explorers, I most likely would have conjured a description that involved studying the human body. Now, however, I feel confident in saying that citizen science is a dynamic, extraordinary meaningful process by which everyday citizens contribute to real-world scientific research. This internship allowed me to take on the roles of both a citizen scientist and a researcher, deeply engaging with my local community and environment while ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: DATA INCLUDED EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Primary Audience: PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


The wildfire data analysis journey began with a dataset comprising over 1200 points located in the California region. To uncover the correlation between land cover types and wildfire risk, we first needed to determine the wildfire risk for each point using the FEMA Wildfire Risk Map. This step involved entering coordinates into the software to obtain the wildfire risk index for each location. From this dataset, we categorized approximately 325 points as having a very low risk, 350 as moderate risk, and 578 as very high risk for wildfires. These categories served as the ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION   Primary Audience: SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


My group’s project focused on using land cover data and GLOBE Observer images to create a machine learning model that can predict land surface temperature - a measure of how hot the surface of the Earth feels in a given location. For context, GLOBE is short for “Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment”. It’s an app that lets volunteers across the world take observations of their local community (these could be of cloud cover, land cover, or mosquito habitats) and these observations help scientists track changes in the environment. It’s part of a wider ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Investigation Areas: HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM MOSQUITOES   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM LAND COVER/BIOLOGY   Primary Audience: PARTNERS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


Roboflow is an open-source dataset management platform, where users can import data, label it, and then have a model train on it. For my group's project, CS-FLARE, we used Roboflow to label brush, grass, trees, and leaf litter in our NESW Images as shown below.  When I initially began labeling images, I tried using bounding boxes for each picture like the leaf litter in the image above. This became a bit annoying as sometimes the bounding boxes would cut parts of objects like trees, but it was still faster than using the polygon tool to manually trace around objects. ...


Posted in: Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


My mosquito trap was definitely a rollercoaster, and with this being the last required update, I still plan on seeing how the traps do after the internship finishes since this has been really interesting. To give some background, I set out three traps around 30-40 yards away from each other around my AOI so I could get an idea of how different areas may yield different results. The first trap was in my backyard, the second trap was in a park close to my house, and the third was by a sidewalk (the pictures I use are from the third trap). The only trap I really had to refill with water was ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Investigation Areas: LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


Mosquito Trap Week 1 For the mosquito traps, I decided quite early on that my independent variable would be the container. I got 3 different containers; an old tire, a black bucket, and a gallon bottle/container while keeping all other factors the same. I used the same bait and the same amount of water and placed all 3 traps in my backyard behind the shade of the t ​​​​​​​ree. I   decided on using a timeframe of about 5 days to take my samples.  ​​​​ ​​     Week 1: Five days had passed, and it was time to sample the traps. Unfortunately, when I got ...


Posted in: Investigation Areas: BIOSPHERE LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


AOI Fieldwork At first, collecting land cover data for 37 points within my area of interest felt like a daunting task. However, after only a few "expeditions" in the past week, I was able to complete all 37 observations. To make my work easier and more accurate, I intentionally choose an AOI that would contain as many points as possible within a nearby park. This was to ensure that I could access as many points as possible. Despite my best efforts, many of the points still landed in residential properties. This activity actually reminded me how many neighborhoods there are in my ...


Posted in: Investigation Areas: HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


My fieldwork to map land via the Globe app led me to understand where I live better. Texas is the second-largest U.S. state by both area and population. There are only four deserts in North America, and Texas is home to the Chihuahuan Desert. Texas Land Conservancy [TLC] works to conserve natural areas, protect the physical and ecological integrity of their wildlife habitat and native plant communities, and provide essential endangered species habitat. Texas boasts nearly 300 native tree species and is also home to 85 species of mosquitoes. My areas of interest (AOIs) spanned Williamson ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: MOSQUITOES   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


When you start writing your GLOBE report for IVSS , it might be difficult because you might not sure where to start. We tend to start writing the Methods section first because it is something you did it yourselves, and it should be relatively easy and straightforward to write. Second, you should write the Results section, do graphs, tables and texts (think of a best way to present your cool data to the whole world). Third, you should start writing the Introduction stating your hypotheses and predictions. The next step would be the Discussion section. It is funny to say but as ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Investigation Areas: MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: PARTNERS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


On May 1, 2021, I did a lot of things. Most of them involved staying home, logging in to Microsoft Teams for virtual school, and doing my homework. Little did I know that my life would change that very evening. I logged off from school and opened Outlook to check my email, and I saw it immediately: “Congratulations on your NASA virtual internship!” For the next five months, I was immersed in the life of a scientist. The NASA SEES Internship pushed me to grow and improve my analytical thinking skills, from Ph.D.-level guest lectures to reading through several research papers to actually ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM MOSQUITOES   News Topics: NEWS BRIEFS   Primary Audience: ALUMNI PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


Hello! My name is Nikita A., and I am from Chicago, Illinois. I participated in the NASA SEES Internship Program during the summer of 2022 as part of the Earth System Explorers team. Our program kicked off in the first week of June with an introductory webinar that detailed the goals for the next eight weeks. For the Earth System Explorers project, our goal was to research the harm mosquitoes-borne diseases pose to public health. Every Wednesday, one of our mentors or a guest scientist would meet with us to enhance our learning. They would teach us about GLOBE Observer App data analysis ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: HYDROSPHERE MOSQUITOES   News Topics: NEWS BRIEFS   Primary Audience: ALUMNI PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


My experiment aims to test how two variables impact the likelihood of mosquitoes breeding. The first variable is the  water type , and I am testing with tap water, filtered water, and muddy water from a local pond. The second variable is the  food  in which mosquitos will breed. Therefore, I will add rice water and sugarcane juice to the three water types. So, I will end up with nine mosquito trap containers shown below. Below are what each contains: A1) filtered water mixed with rice water; A2) tap water mixed with rice water; A3) muddy water mixed with rice water. ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


In October, our SEES research team presented at the 2022 MIT Undergraduate Research Technology Conference (MIT URTC), becoming the first SEES team ever to be selected to present a paper at this competition. We wanted to share our experience with MIT URTC, from the starting point of our SEES research project to developing a publishable manuscript and presenting our paper at the conference. At the onset of our research, we were motivated by a story we read in the news that detailed how human populations worldwide were becoming increasingly susceptible to vector-borne diseases, with ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION MOSQUITOES   News Topics: NEWS BRIEFS   Primary Audience: PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


I have 5 identical buckets placed in shady areas around my yard. Two of these buckets (Buckets 1 and 2) are filled with equivalent amounts of water, grasses, leaves, and dirt, while another bucket (Bucket 3) contains everything but the dirt. I wanted to examine how dirtier water could attribute to a more habitable microenvironment for mosquitoes.  My two other buckets contain equivalent amounts of water and are both wrapped in black trash bags, where one (Bucket 5) contains only grasses and another (Bucket 4) contains only eucalyptus leaves. I wanted to test the effects of ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


First Post:  For my project, I wanted to see how CO2 emissions could affect mosquito activity. To do this, I set up 4 water bottle traps. 2 of the traps contained a solution of tap water (1 cup), sugar (1/4 cup), and yeast (1 gram). The yeast and the sugar react to release carbon dioxide. (Fermentation) The other two bottles contained a basic solution of tap water and grass. One bottle of each type was placed in two different AOI locations.  Brief hypothesis: If mosquitoes are naturally attracted to carbon dioxide, then the CO2 emitting trap will have greater mosquito ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


For my experiment, I decided to see which fruits or foods in general that mosquitos would be attracted to. From left to right, it was the cantaloupe, watermelon, control(which is nothing), and a pineapple in the last one. I wanted to test whether different fruits or foods affected the amount of larvae and mosquitos that are born. For the first week of testing, I did not spot anything or any mosquitoes. The biggest issue I had was the amount of ants attracted to the bottles. I also had many dead beetles and bugs dead in the trap, which did not surprise me. However, I saw some larvae but ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT


For my mosquito habitat experiment, I decided to approach it from the perspective of the size of containers. I had 5 different containers, each of which is a different size, from a small bottle to a soap bottle to the largest, a gallon jug. For the first week of testing, I was able to set up the traps in their selective locations, however, was not able to check them till week the end of week 2 as I was on vacation. When I returned, I was able to bring all of the containers to my house to examine the specimens in each bottle. However, when I went to retrieve the said containers from ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM MOSQUITOES   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT

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