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Community Blogs
Discover how the GLOBE community is engaging in all things GLOBE through the community blog posts below.
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It turns out that we are most likely entering another mild La Niña winter across the globe. This article, “ La Nina Makes a Quiet Return ”, describes how scientists are able to use data on sea surface temperatures from were made by altimeters on the Jason-2 and Jason-3 satellites, and show averaged sea surface height anomalies. Climatologists are predicting that this La Niña should last through the 2017-2018 winter period in the northern hemisphere, and then should change back to neutral conditions by late spring.
Be sure to become a ...
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Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
TECHNOLOGY
SCIENCE AND MATH
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
CLIMATE CHANGE
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
SCIENTIST SKILLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
Learning Activities:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
News Topics:
SCRC RESEARCH
Primary Audience:
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
Too much water can have devastating consequences when it falls too quickly on Earth's surface. On January 9th, the " Water in Our Environment " webinar will spotlight the experiences of our GLOBE community in Asia and the Pacific.
Earlier this week in the Philippines, tropical cyclone Kai-Tak wrecked havoc on this region as it caused extreme flooding and landslides .
On December 4th and 5th, tropical cyclone Ockhi was the strongest cyclone to develop in the Arabian Sea since 2015, and it brought intense rainfall to the western part of India.
A recent CNN report stated ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
SCIENCE AND MATH
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
Field Campaigns:
WATERSHEDS
EL NIÑO
SMAP
GPM
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
GENERAL SCIENCE
CLIMATE CHANGE
DATA INCLUDED
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
SCIENTIST SKILLS
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
Learning Activities:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
LAND COVER/BIOLOGY
HYDROLOGY
SOIL
News Topics:
CALENDAR
TRAINING
Primary Audience:
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
Teacher's Guide:
INVESTIGATION AREA DOCUMENTS
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a hearing entitled " Gravity Never Sleeps: Landslide Risk Across the Country "at the Rayburn House Office Building that was intended to inform our lawmakers and government officials about the impacts of landslides in many parts of the United States. As the topic is related to our guiding investigative question for the ENSO Student Research Campaign - " What impacts does water, above and below ground, have on our environment? ", I thought I would share some of the things that I learned.
Jonathan Godt, the Landslide Hazard Programs Coordinator ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
SCIENCE AND MATH
TECHNOLOGY
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
CLIMATE CHANGE
DATA INCLUDED
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
SCIENTIST SKILLS
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
GLOBE Working Groups:
EDUCATION WORKING GROUP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
Learning Activities:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
LAND COVER/BIOLOGY
HYDROLOGY
SOIL
News Topics:
VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR
REGIONS
TRAINING
Primary Audience:
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
Learning science involves learning important concepts, conducting experiments to see first-hand how researchers discovered and confirmed some elements of science concepts, and learning how to think scientifically. With this complete approach to learning science, students are well-prepared to deal with the natural world around them and to make wise decisions when confronted with various choices. The ability to think scientifically is a valuable skill in almost all aspects of life and doing science teaches scientific habits of mind.
Students can do science through research projects ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
SCIENCE AND MATH
GLOBE Science Topics:
SCIENTIST SKILLS
GENERAL SCIENCE
BACKYARD SCIENCE
GLOBE Working Groups:
SCIENCE WORKING GROUP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
News Topics:
VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR
COMPETITIONS
Primary Audience:
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
Sometimes, actually most of the time, I forget to be grateful for the fact that I have easy access to clean freshwater. When Thanksgiving rolls around each year, I try to step back and consider the many things I have to be thankful for. Day after day I work with the amazing science team behind the Global Precipitation Measurement mission, and I never cease to be completely amazed at how technology has enabled us to monitor our home planet.
During our last ENSO Phase III webinar, we learned about water quality in Europe from several GLOBE scientists, teachers, and students ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
LANGUAGE CULTURE AND ARTS
SCIENCE AND MATH
TECHNOLOGY
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
WATERSHEDS
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
SCIENTIST SKILLS
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
CLIMATE CHANGE
DATA INCLUDED
CLIMATE
GLOBE Working Groups:
EDUCATION WORKING GROUP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
BIOSPHERE
Learning Activities:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
LAND COVER/BIOLOGY
HYDROLOGY
Primary Audience:
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
SCIENTISTS
Currently, Science education has transitioned away from textbooks to more hands on learning. This is an amazing opportunity for teachers to move away from the normal lecturing and explaining in class to reshaping the process of learning.
I think that the GLOBE Program is a fantastic organization and empowered program that promises to give an essential change in education. One example is teaching and learning from directs activities in the field.
An excellent activity is to share data from school to school through collaboration. Students can share what they are ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
Event Topics:
OTHER
SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
GLOBE Working Groups:
EDUCATION WORKING GROUP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
News Topics:
VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
Greetings ENSO Participants,
Last night, we had an amazing ENSO Short Observation & Data Analysis (SODA) webinar featuring Shumate Middle School teacher, Mr. Jeff Bouwman . Jeff shared how his students have been taking GLOBE ENSO protocol measurements and exploring the campaign's three "Guiding Investigative Questions."
Please visit the ENSO Phase III Webinar Page to view this archived webinar and to learn more about the SODA events and upcoming webinars. You will also see archived and future ENSO Phase III Monthly Science and Research webinar information.
Brian ...
Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
HYDROSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
BIOSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
What are the impacts of extreme events, like Hurricane Harvey, on the water quality? This article from the Smithsonian magazine describes multiple ways in which public health officials are responding to several threats facing residents of Houston and surrounding locations. These threats include the impact of mold, the potential of an increase in vector-borne diseases such as Zika and West Nile virus, and the problems of contaminants left behind in the public water supply.
Have you experienced severe flooding in your region that resulted in problems with water quality? ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
SCIENCE AND MATH
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
WATERSHEDS
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
CLIMATE CHANGE
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
News Topics:
SCRC RESEARCH
One way to teach students about water quality and/or how scientists go about their work is to share articles with them. Here is a great article entitled " Study Maps Hidden Water Pollution in U.S. Coastal Areas ". This research shows a great example of the use of both NASA satellite data and ground-based data. In this study, the researchers used U.S. topographic data as well as NASA climate models to "identify key inland regions that contribute groundwater and contaminants to the coast. They examined rainfall, evaporation rates and the amount of known surface runoff to ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
SCIENCE AND MATH
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
CLIMATE CHANGE
DATA INCLUDED
CLIMATE
Investigation Areas:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
Learning Activities:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
HYDROLOGY
Quaking aspens can grow in a wide range of environmental conditions. They can tolerate a wide variety of variations in climate and environmental conditions including slope, moisture, surrounding vegetation, and soil ( https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/aspen/ecology.shtml ). I found this information with a simple web search. But, before there was access to infinite articles, websites, and papers all a click away, scientists had to figure out growth trends using data. So, before I decided to do a web search about the environmental conditions of aspen habitats (my memorized aspen ...
Posted in:
Event Topics:
SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS
GLOBE Science Topics:
SCIENTIST SKILLS
Investigation Areas:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
ATMOSPHERE
BIOSPHERE
News Topics:
VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR
Primary Audience:
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3kwd0hHXG--39z2ADxi7-blg11wAx1RUG42GVHgsG12BP6g/viewform?c=0&w=1 Did you know that mosquito-borne diseases are impacted by both the El Nino and the La Nina weather patterns? Tonight during the ENSO Student Research Campaign Webinar #10 (at 8 pm EST) Dr. Assaf Anyamba will share the results of his research on the impact of these different patterns on the onset of Rift Valley fever in parts of Africa. As we know, these changing weather patterns alter the normal climatic conditions for regions around the world. In some places, this results in ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
EDUCATION RESEARCH
SCIENCE AND MATH
TECHNOLOGY
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
Learning Activities:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
SCIENTISTS
As Earth science has a single uncontrolled object of study, the first rule is to take today’s data today. While ice and sediment cores and fossils can reveal past conditions, the observations that can be made right now cannot be replaced by ones taken later. This goes well with the Native American adage, “You can’t step in the same river twice.” The environment is constantly changing and doing so on a wide range of time and space scales.
In a recent video post, Neil deGrasse Tyson said,
“One of the great things about science is that it is an entire exercise finding what is true. You ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
SCIENCE AND MATH
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
GLOBE LEARNING EXPEDITIONS
SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
SMAP
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
GENERAL SCIENCE
CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE
Investigation Areas:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
Primary Audience:
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
ALUMNI
GLOBE is a useful resource for educators in both the formal and informal sector. Below is a guest blog post from GLOBE trained educator Jane Amiotte who is the 4H Youth Program Advisor in Pennington County here in South Dakota. One of the things that I think Jane does well is to use GLOBE with other resources and in various settings. GLOBE mixes and matches well!
How do you use GLOBE in your setting?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Earth Systems
I presented the Elementary GLOBE Earth Science Systems program “We Are All Connected” to the classrooms ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
Investigation Areas:
SOIL CHARACTERIZATION
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
FRESHWATER MACROINVERTEBRATES
BIOMETRY (INCLUDING TREE HEIGHT)
AEROSOLS
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
Teacher's Guide:
UPPER PRIMARY: 3-5
LOWER PRIMARY: K-2
Mr. Jeff Bouwman and his Shumate Middle School students are NASA GLOBE ENSO Student Research Campaign superstars. Check out what they have been doing in the video below!
Shumate Middle School was the first location for a new WeatherSTEM program, including a weather station, cloud camera, and an agricultural station. Learn more in the video below!
Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
Heavy rains, floods and thunderstorms have affected thousands of families in Perú since January 14 th , 2017. Apparently, Peruvians were not prepared to face this strong natural events as well as their later consequences: Overpopulation of mosquitos that spread dengue and other diseases as chikungunya virus, reduction of some important crops (rice, banana, yucca, yellow corn, avocado, cotton, asparagus, sugar cane, mango, grapes, alfalfa and lemon) (El Comercio, 2017 a ) and damages in many public facilities (bridges and roads) and private property (houses) - 100000 victims, 157000 houses ...
Posted in:
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
SMAP
GLOBE Science Topics:
CLIMATE
GLOBE Working Groups:
SCIENCE WORKING GROUP
Investigation Areas:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
ATMOSPHERE
BIOSPHERE
Scientists rely on research, statistical models, and climate forecast models to help them determine upcoming natural events.
Currently, scientists are have a difficult time deciding if and when the potential big El Niño event will happen. It will happen in 2017, but will it be the Summer or Fall?
"Right now, many climate forecast models do predict the development of a full-fledged El Niño during this summer or fall. It’s likely that these models are acting on the much warmer-than-average waters near the coast of South America—the “Coastal El Niño" says Anthony Barson in his NOAA ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION
EDUCATION RESEARCH
LANGUAGE CULTURE AND ARTS
SCIENCE AND MATH
TECHNOLOGY
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
SMAP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
Learning Activities:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
LAND COVER/BIOLOGY
HYDROLOGY
SOIL
Primary Audience:
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
Just when you think that perhaps the weather systems are settling down- our amazing scientific instruments are able to detect a potential change! I never cease to be amazed at what we are able to learn about Earth's systems- both from the ground and from space!
This article from the New York Times just came across my newsfeed- " It's Like it Never Left: Another El Nino May be on the Way ".
In the article, it states that " Among the potential effects are wetter conditions across the southern United States, including Southern California; a drier Midwest; and drought in ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
EDUCATION RESEARCH
SCIENCE AND MATH
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
CLIMATE CHANGE
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
SCIENTIST SKILLS
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
GLOBE Working Groups:
EDUCATION WORKING GROUP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
News Topics:
VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR
Primary Audience:
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
How do you ENSO?
Did you know that students from around the world are taking measurements as part of the NASA GLOBE ENSO Student Research Campaign?
Check out what's happening at the Medford Memorial Middle School in New Jersey, USA!
We are looking for YOUR videos, showcasing your students taking measurements that are part of the NASA GLOBE ENSO Student Research Campaign. (Note, you will need to have GLOBE photo releases for each of the students shown in your video. They can be found HERE .
Please contact Brian Campbell for more details and/or ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
SMAP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
Currently, we are in an ENSO-neutral period called "La Nada." La Nada is the midpoint between an El Niño and La Niña. This occurs when the ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean are near average.
The "in-between" ocean state can be frustrating for long-range forecasters. "It's like driving without a decent road map — it makes forecasting difficult," said climatologist Bill Patzert of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
With this said, scientists are now saying that we currently have a 50% chance of a return of El Niño in approximately 6 months. This would coincide with the Atlantic ...
Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
One of the important aspects of a scientist's job is to look at the data that was collected and try to make sense of it in order to better understand natural phenomena. With the ENSO Student Research Campaign, we have a unique opportunity to analyze data and use the analysis to help us better understand the impact of the ENSO cycles on weather and climate in locations all around the world.
I was looking at some of the data that many of our wonderful GLOBE teachers have sent during the ENSO campaign, and I noticed that we had data analyses sent to us from different ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
SCIENCE AND MATH
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
SCIENTIST SKILLS
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
HYDROSPHERE
News Topics:
SCRC RESEARCH
Primary Audience:
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
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