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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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Discover the Wonders of the World’s Forests! Greetings, middle and high school educators! Are you ready to bring the wonders of forests into your classroom? Dive into this blog series that bridges the resources of Natural Inquirer and the GLOBE Program, designed to inspire curiosity, scientific exploration, and environmental stewardship among your students. GLOBE and Natural Inquirer Crosswalk This series is part of the  GLOBE and Natural Inquirer Crosswalk Project , which connects the hands-on science of the GLOBE Program with the captivating research found ...


Posted in: Curriculum: SCIENCE AND MATH   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM PRECIPITATION AIR TEMPERATURE SURFACE TEMPERATURE BIOMETRY (INCLUDING TREE HEIGHT) LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION CARBON CYCLE   Primary Audience: TEACHERS   Teacher's Guide: MIDDLE: 6-8 SECONDARY: 9-12


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


Desde ayer 05-09-2024, se han registrado enormes incendios  desde Brasil hasta la Argentina, observables por satélite,  de no tomarse los correctivos  con el pulmón de la Amazonas corre el riesgo de desaparecer, poniendo en peligro la poca naturaleza que le queda al planeta. Estudios citados por el medio MetSul de metereología de Brasil,  indican que el humo puede influir en la formación de descargas eléctricas y hay que tomar en cuenta, para estudios avanzados que los eventos se presentan en zonas de la Anomalía del Atlántico Sur,  que sin duda juega un papel en el tiempo ...


Posted in: Curriculum: EDUCATION RESEARCH SCIENCE AND MATH   GLOBE International STEM Network (GISN): GLOBE INTERNATIONAL STEM NETWORK (GISN)   GLOBE Mission Earth News: TEACHER STORIES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDENT RESEARCH & ACTIVITIES   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   GLOBE Working Groups: SCIENCE WORKING GROUP EDUCATION WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROLOGY   News Topics: GLOBE MISSION EARTH   Primary Audience: SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: STANDARD RESEARCH REPORT   Teacher's Guide: INVESTIGATION AREA DOCUMENTS


Background I received my formal training on GLOBE Atmosphere protocols, particularly cloud observation, in the summer of 2011. In 2016, the GLOBE Program launched the GLOBE Observer (GO) app, designed for volunteer science. The GO app is more user-friendly and focuses on specific observations anyone with a smartphone can make. The GLOBE Program is structured and education-focused, targeting students and educators, while the GO app is intuitive and accessible to the general public. Both contribute valuable data to the scientific community and enhance public understanding of ...


Posted in: Curriculum: SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY STEM   GLOBE Mission Earth News: TEACHER STORIES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDENT RESEARCH & ACTIVITIES GENERAL ACTIVITIES   GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE GENERAL SCIENCE GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH AS A SYSTEM SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE CLOUDS EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM OBSERVING, DESCRIBING, AND IDENTIFYING CLOUDS ESTIMATING CLOUD COVER OBSERVING VISIBILITY AND SKY COLOR CLOUD WATCH LEARNING TO USE VISUALIZATIONS CLOUD FUN CLOUDSCAPE TO SPREAD OR NOT TO SPREAD WE'RE ALL CONNECTED: EARTH SYSTEM INTERACTIONS RESEARCH: INQUIRE & DISCOVER DATA COLLECTION: OBSERVE & MEASURE DATA EXPLORATION: ANALYZE & CHART SIMULATIONS: PLAY & LEARN OUTDOOR: EXPLORE & CONNECT   News Topics: TRAINING NEWS BRIEFS TEACHER STORIES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GENERAL ACTIVITIES   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS   Teacher's Guide: GRADE LEVELS MISCELLANEOUS PROTOCOL INSTRUCTIONS INTRODUCTION ATMOSPHERE SUPPORTING CLOUDS EARTH AS A SYSTEM


The GLOBE Clouds team is delighted to announce this new section that showcases sky and cloud photographs from around the world! We’ve also been receiving some amazing questions from students. The featured question was asked by students from  Corpus Christi Catholic School : Question: Why can we see clouds but not evaporation? Answer: Water vapor is invisible. However, the water in clouds is in liquid or solid state, not gas. Do you have a favorite cloud photo or a question for the team?  Use the linked form  to cast your vote and ask us any question ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM   GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE GENERAL SCIENCE GENERAL SCIENCE @ES EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM   News Topics: NEWS BRIEFS   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


Waleska works with in-service teachers in the teacher training programs of the Galileo University and the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. She is the founder and coordinator of the STEAM program Question: Where are you from? Answer:  I was born in the city of the eternal Spring, Guatemala City, in Central America, several eclipses, comets, and moons ago. Question: What inspired you to work in this field? Answer:  Since I was little I had a fascination with natural phenomena, the reason why stars shine led me to be a Physicist, and fireflies and ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM   GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED GENERAL SCIENCE GENERAL SCIENCE @ES SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


  Brad Hegyi is a research scientist for the NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project team at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, USA. Brad develops metrics and statistics for POWER from model estimates of future climate to help support planning for future energy use by heating and cooling systems in buildings. Brad also helps create interactive data products to better visualize changes occurring in the climate data. The energy that comes from the Sun is the basic source of energy for everything on Earth. Solar energy drives Earth’s weather and ...


Posted in: Curriculum: TECHNOLOGY STEM   GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED GENERAL SCIENCE EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Primary Audience: ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS


The Sun drives many processes in Earth’s atmosphere. As the Sun rises and sets, it warms the Earth’s surface at different intensities. These changes in heat lead to changes in the clouds, especially the types of clouds. To study these changes, we need observations at different times over the course of hours, days, weeks, months, and years from around the globe. It can be tricky to capture the extent of these interactions with satellites alone, which is why we need observations from your perspective on the ground as part of the  GLOBE Eclipse Challenge: Clouds and Our ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM   GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED GENERAL SCIENCE GLOBE PROTOCOLS EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM


On April 8, 2024 many of us in North America will have the opportunity to experience a solar eclipse. Whether you’re in the path of totality, or will be experiencing a partial eclipse, it’s sure to be all the buzz. This is a great opportunity to turn the excitement about the solar eclipse into curiosity about other fields of science. During the eclipse, as the moon comes between us and the Sun, we will experience a sudden change in the amount of Sun’s energy reaching our surface. This can cause changes in our atmosphere including changes in air temperature, surface temperature, clouds, ...


Posted in: Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM   News Topics: IOPS   Primary Audience: PARTNERS TEACHERS TRAINERS   Student Research Reports: STANDARD RESEARCH REPORT INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT U.S. STUDENT RESEARCH SYMPOSIA (SRS) MISSION EARTH REPORT


Desde hace un mes, Enero del 2024 , el transporte atmosférico ,  sobre el Atlántico proveniente desde África , a ido aumentando el flujo de partículas nocivas para la salud humana ,  en las corrientes de chorro ,  como caso  particular las PM ₂.₅ ,  han ido aumenta entre Enero y Febrero desde Oriente Medio pasando por África y llegando al continente Suramericano . Para el día 07 -03-2024 una masa considerable de partículas provenientes de PM ₂.₅  , estará tocando atmósfera sobre Surinam . Una formación ciclónica  extratropical , se formará a ...


Posted in: Curriculum: EDUCATION RESEARCH SCIENCE AND MATH   Field Campaigns: SEASONS AND BIOMES CARBON CYCLE EL NIÑO SURFACE TEMPERATURE   GLOBE International STEM Network (GISN): GLOBE INTERNATIONAL STEM NETWORK (GISN)   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE   GLOBE Working Groups: SCIENCE WORKING GROUP EDUCATION WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)   Learning Activities: ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM   News Topics: REGIONS   Primary Audience: SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS   Student Research Reports: MISSION EARTH REPORT   Teacher's Guide: INVESTIGATION AREA DOCUMENTS


Energy from the Sun warms our planet, and changes in sunlight can also cause changes in temperature, clouds, and wind. Clouds are ever changing and give you clues and information on what is happening in the atmosphere. Eclipses provide a natural experiment, in which the Sun’s light is blocked from Earth for a brief period in time, allowing us to observe the effects of that sudden change. Read the newly released blog post explaining in depth cloud formation and which ones would be impacted by the upcoming total solar eclipse over North America and how the data will be used.  ...


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


Results (continued) Wood-chip temperatures On 10 October, by myself this time, I had another surprise:  how hot that wood chips, often used in landscaping are, with temperatures reaching 60-65°C at 13:00 MST, when the air temperature was 26.1°C. Seeing this, I decided to take several more measurements of wood-chip skin temperature.  I chose to focus on the wood chips at the west end of the top of the mesa we live on, since on cloudless days they were exposed to full sun from noontime onwards. Table 3a shows the environmental conditions for each observing session, ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM


Introduction The temperature of a surface – the grass, the sidewalk, or your skin – is called the “skin” temperature. Satellites monitor Earth’s skin temperature every day.  Skin temperature is an important addition to several other variables – like soil type, plant cover, etc. – to estimate how the land surface is affecting the weather. Ocean skin temperature is also an important parameter in estimating near-surface air temperature over the oceans because there are few direct observations.  Since the oceans cover such a large part of Earth, these temperatures are ...


Posted in: GLOBE Science Topics: BACKYARD SCIENCE   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM


For the past three years, the GLOBE Mission Earth (GME) Team at the University of Toledo, Ohio has been teaching and mentoring NASA-SEES high school students across the United States in the study of the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE) and Air Quality. In 2023, the NASA-SEES High School Virtual Internship Program had 20 interns for both the UHIE and Air Quality Groups. During the 6-week virtual training, interns conducted research on the topics of their choice and met virtually three times a week to complete their projects. They also completed weekly assignments. For the UHIE ...


Posted in: Curriculum: EDUCATION RESEARCH STEM   GLOBE Working Groups: EVALUATION WORKING GROUP SCIENCE WORKING GROUP EDUCATION WORKING GROUP TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Primary Audience: COUNTRY COORDINATORS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS STUDENTS TEACHERS TRAINERS   Student Research Reports: U.S. STUDENT RESEARCH SYMPOSIA (SRS) MISSION EARTH REPORT