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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 ...


Posted in: Curriculum: SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY STEM   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM   News Topics: SCRC RESEARCH   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


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: SCIENCE AND MATH STEM   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: WATERSHEDS SMAP EL NIÑO GPM   GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED GENERAL SCIENCE GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROLOGY LAND COVER/BIOLOGY SOIL   News Topics: CALENDAR TRAINING   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS   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: SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY STEM   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC) SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   GLOBE Working Groups: EDUCATION WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROLOGY LAND COVER/BIOLOGY SOIL   News Topics: REGIONS TRAINING VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


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: LANGUAGE CULTURE AND ARTS SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY STEM   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: WATERSHEDS EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   GLOBE Working Groups: EDUCATION WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROLOGY LAND COVER/BIOLOGY   Primary Audience: SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS


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: GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   GLOBE Working Groups: EDUCATION WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   News Topics: VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


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: SCIENCE AND MATH STEM   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC) SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROLOGY


The  UCAR Center for Science Education  (UCAR SciEd) and BSCS  are developing GLOBE Weather , an innovative, NGSS -based middle school science unit that combines activities, data analysis, and scientific protocols from the  GLOBE Program . This project is funded by NASA and in coordination with the GLOBE Implementation Office. The final curriculum unit will be available (and free!) in 2019. In the 5-week GLOBE Weather curriculum, students will engage with weather data to make sense of interesting real-world phenomena through the BSCS 5E instructional approach ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE MEETINGS/CONFERENCES   Primary Audience: TEACHERS   Teacher's Guide: NGSS MIDDLE: 6-8


It is pretty neat when you can get two for the price of one- as most teachers can attest to with regard to trying to get everything into their curriculum. Did you know that this year, the FIRST LEGO League's challenge is focused on water. And what could be better, as that water is also the theme of this year's ENSO Student Research Campaign !  The LEGO Challenge Project states: "People use water every day, but they don’t think much about how and why they use water. Whether it’s directly (drinking or washing) or indirectly (manufacturing the products they use or producing food ...


Posted in: Curriculum: SCIENCE AND MATH STEM   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC) SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS COMPETITIONS   Field Campaigns: WATERSHEDS EL NIÑO GPM   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM   News Topics: COMPETITIONS   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS


From the start, the measurement of daily maximum and minimum air temperature within one hour of local solar noon has been a key GLOBE protocol. The low cost approach was to use a U-tube thermometer housed in a wooden instrument shelter facing away from the equator. The U-shaped tube contained mercury with pins on either side of the mercury. As the air temperature warmed the pin on one side would move while the other pin stayed in place; when the air cooled, the pin on the other side would be pushed up. The pins were held in place by magnetized strips behind the thermometer tube so that ...


Posted in: Curriculum: TECHNOLOGY STEM   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   GLOBE Working Groups: SCIENCE WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


 I was selected as a National Geographic  2017 Grosvenor Teacher Fellow  which is a professional development opportunity that provides educators a rich, immersive experience exploring the world to bring back to their teaching and communities. I and two other educators traveled with Lindblad Expeditions around Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland on the ship the National Geographic Explorer, making stops for excursions along the way. I decided to do field work on my Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship because 1) that is what one does on an expedition according ...


Posted in: Curriculum: SCIENCE AND MATH   GLOBE Science Topics: GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


In my previous blog post, I showed the results of my surface temperature experiment. It was a great way to highlight some of the practical ways to use science, and it was yet another way for me to talk about my puppy. My experiment and accompanying blog was straightforward enough. I identified a problem, I designed an experiment, collected data, and presented the results. This is how science is done, right?! With years of experiment experience behind me, this should have been a very fast and easy task, but I had one problem that I forgot to account for, my Attention Deficit Disorder. ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: SURFACE TEMPERATURE


These are the results from my surface temperature experiment that I discussed in my previous blog post (same title, part 1). Results and Conclusion : Figure 2: Graph of average surface temperatures of the three surfaces over three days including air temperature data lines. My results show that my hypothesis was half right (remember, it’s ok if your data results do not match your hypothesis!). During the day, asphalt was the hottest, concrete was in the middle, and grass was the coolest. The surface temperatures of all three dropped at night, however, I was ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE DATA INCLUDED GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: SURFACE TEMPERATURE   News Topics: VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR


In case you missed it, last month, was all about the 2017 International Virtual Science Symposium . There were over 140 entries from all 6 GLOBE regions. Students submitted reports about their research on all of the “spheres” (hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, pedosphere, and earth as a system) and they were reviewed by a panel of scientists, teachers, and science enthusiasts to be rewarded with stars and badges. I had the wonderful privilege of being able to read through and review several projects. I was blown away with the thought and hard work that went into these ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE DATA INCLUDED GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: SURFACE TEMPERATURE   News Topics: VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR


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: EDUCATION RESEARCH SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY STEM   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Primary Audience: SCIENTISTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


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: SMAP EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE GENERAL SCIENCE EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Primary Audience: ALUMNI STUDENTS TEACHERS


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: EDUCATION RESEARCH SCIENCE AND MATH STEM   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   GLOBE Working Groups: EDUCATION WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   News Topics: VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


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: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM   News Topics: SCRC RESEARCH   Primary Audience: ALUMNI SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS


There will be a special Google hangout for GLOBE teachers and scientists on Feb 15 at 7pm (ET ).  During this event, we will learn about the results of the research from several scientists who were onboard the research vessel, and will have a chance to ask questions about this work and results.   http://bit.ly/2lL4Kgd No registration required- open to any GLOBE teacher and/or scientist! Please share this! GLOBE Educator Webinar - Feb 15, 7pm ET Agenda below: Overview (~45 min program) Learn about an ongoing Earth science expedition with NASA scientists ...


Posted in: Curriculum: SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE GENERAL SCIENCE EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROLOGY   News Topics: SCRC RESEARCH   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


ENSO Student Research Campaign Students in the United States, here is where you take your GLOBE date to the next level! The US Student Research Symposium is ready to learn all about the data that you have taken! https://www.globe.gov/web/united-states-of-america/student-research-symposia Teachers, if you are interested in attending with a group of students, please indicate your interest and apply for funding through this Google Form  by February 27th, 2017 .  Funding decisions will be made by March 27th, 2017. 


Posted in: Field Campaigns: SMAP EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Primary Audience: STUDENTS TEACHERS


GLOBE Partner the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Center for Science Education developed 9 classroom activities to help students learn how to analyze GLOBE environmental data while also learning atmospheric science concepts and geography. These new activities have been reviewed by science educators and staff at the GLOBE Implementation Office and, of course, they have been field tested by teachers. I have gathered them up and linked them here. If you are going to the 2017 South Dakota Math and Science Teachers conference in Huron, this is what we will be ...


Posted in: Curriculum: SCIENCE AND MATH   Event Topics: WORKSHOPS   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Primary Audience: TEACHERS