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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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There are many application for SMAP soil moisture satellite data.
Understanding drought risk is vital to the health of the planet and to the lives of potentially billions of people around the world. Soil moisture strongly affects plant growth and hence agricultural productivity, especially during conditions of water shortage and drought. Currently, there is no global in situ network for soil moisture monitoring. Global estimates of soil moisture and plant water stress must be derived from models. These model predictions (and hence drought monitoring) can be greatly enhanced through ...
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Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
SMAP
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
SOIL MOISTURE - SMAP BLOCK PATTERN
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
Primary Audience:
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
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
Most trees obtain water through their massive root systems, but did you know that some trees can absorb water through their leaves as well? This ability is called foliar uptake. Scientists recently discovered that trees in cloud forests use foliar uptake to obtain water. A cloud forest is a forest that has persistent or seasonally persistent fog or low-level cloud cover. Cloud forests are usually in the tropics or subtropics, have evergreen trees (trees that don’t lose their leaves) and tend to have a lot of mosses and vegetation in the understory of the trees.
Cloud Forest ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
BIOSPHERE
GLOBE’s Earth as a System investigation area cultivates students’ awareness of an intricate web of global connections. Similar to real world scientists, students explore life science concepts, learning that “ organisms can only survive where their needs are met. ” The Earth as a System investigation area encourages students to observe patterns and connections, such as through phenology. Phenology is the study of how living organisms respond to seasonal changes in their environment. Only through observing and measuring can we notice if changes are occurring and how they occur. ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
From January 22 to 26, 2012, scientists from around the world gathered for the American Meteorological Society annual meeting, which was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Scientists from the GLOBE Program stayed next to the beautiful Mississippi River.
The Mississippi River in New Orleans (photo courtesy of Dr. Donna Charlevoix)
The Mississippi River is the lifeblood of New Orleans and has so impacted the city that the city was actually developed around it. The first buildings were constructed around the river edge, which has the highest ground, and now ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
Primary Audience:
STUDENTS
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