Community Blogs

Satellites can detect and collect a lot of observations in very short amount of time. It is simple to think that anything that is white in an image is a cloud. Well, not always.  Look at these beautiful images taken by the GOES 16 satellite of the recent "Winter Weather Bomb" that left a blanket of snow from South Georgia to New England on January 4, 2018. Click here and watch a loop of images from the GOES 16 satellite for January 4, 2018. GOES 16 Image taken on January 4, 2018 at 171720Z GOES 16 Image taken on January 4, 2018 at 201720Z       ...

As many of us have seen on the news recently, a great many people in southern California were impacted by mudslides last night. We know these dangerous natural disasters occur all over the world. Scientists globally are working hard to be able to better predict these devastating events. You can learn more about the use of NASA's satellite data to detect potential landslides here.  I recently attended a hearing for government officials that focused on the increasing danger we face from landslides and mudslides and wrote this blog that summarized many of the reports from...

The ENSO Phase III Field Measurement Campaign is focusing on “Water in Our Environment” during the 2017-2018 school year. Each month we have a webinar using Zoom, and we like to spotlight a different region each time. Our Feb. 8th spotlight will shine on the Near East and Africa. On February 8th, we would like to shine this spotlight on the wonderful GLOBE scientists, teachers, and students from all 13 GLOBE countries in this region. We would therefore like to reach out and invite anyone within the GLOBE Program to consider participating in this webinar. Everyone is invited to participate...

  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 member of the ENSO...

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 that the rate of...

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 for the...

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 from many...

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?   

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...

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 or...

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 they...

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3kwd0hHXG--39z2ADxi7-blg11wAx1RUG42GVHgsG12BP6g/viewform?c=0&w=1Did 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 too...

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 have...

Heavy rains, floods and thunderstorms have affected thousands of families in Perú since January 14th, 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, 2017a) and damages in many public facilities (bridges and roads) and private property (houses) - 100000 victims, 157000 houses...

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 parts of Africa,...

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...

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 studying microscopic...

I just came across an article from NASA's Earth Observatory that was released yesterday entitled "A Dry Start to South America’s Wet Season". The article describes the current lack of precipitation in South America, and includes the map below. In this map, we are seeing the accumulated deficit of rainfall that is both flowing onto the surface and accumulating under the ground as of this October.   This got me wondering how South America might be impacted by the La Nina conditions in the near future. I did a little research, and found this article, also from NASA's Earth Observatory,...

One of NASA's scientists, Dr. Stephanie Uz, has been working closely with the GLOBE ENSO Campaign throughout its beginning. She is an oceanographer who studies the response of ocean biology to physical forcing through remotely sensed satellite data, in situ measurements, model output and statistical reconstructions using proxies. Her research focuses on variability in global ocean color or chlorophyll concentrations, the pigment in microscopic phytoplankton, and the physical mechanisms causing those changes. Dr. Uz coordinates communication for the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem...

A version of this blog was originally posted on November 14, 2012.  If you have been listening to the news or following along with weather and climate web pages, you have probably heard the term "ENSO."  ENSO, or El Niño-Southern Oscillation, is a quasi-periodic climate pattern that occurs in the tropical Pacific Ocean.  When the conditions change, the atmosphere responds in many different ways.  In certain locations, it is cloudier and it rains more, while in others it’s clear and dry.  Scientists are forecasting El Niño conditions to start later in 2014. ...

Blog originally posted on The GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2013/03/06/connecting-pollutants-and-air-temperature-in-the-maldives/ With climate change, there are many relationships that are understood, and many others that are not.  Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan from The Scripps Institute in San Diego has spent the last fifteen years in the Maldives, a nation south of India that is comprised of over 1,200 islands, studying the relationship between air pollutants, cloud formation and air temperature. The Maldives are a great location for such an...

A couple of years ago, I attended a seminar sponsored by the Climate and Global Dynamics Division (CGD) of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) on how climate change is threatening the survival of wolverines (Gulo gulo).  This scientist, Synte Peacock from CGD, painted a gloomy outlook for this ferocious creature after using a climate model to examine changes in spring snow cover and summer air temperatures.    However, recent legislative proposals may make the future a little brighter.   A wolverine. Photo Credit: Steve...

Blog originally posted on The GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2013/01/30/an-interesting-relationship-soil-temperature-and-climate-change/ It seems common place that warmer air temperature leads to warmer soil temperature. And while this relationship seems intuitive, the effect isn’t always studied, especially with respect to the response from microorganisms. That is why researchers are investigating what happens when the soil temperature increases. An intricate network of soil microorganisms From: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research...

Blog originally posted on the GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2013/01/23/trees-in-trouble-what-affect-does-tree-mortality-have-on-climate-change/ Through our trees in trouble series, we’ve examined trees in the Sahel zone in Africa and the United States.  This problem, climate change and dying trees, has been seen on every continent, the only exception being Antarctica, due to the lack of vegetation on the frozen continent.  Scientists have recently found that there is an alarming loss rate of big, old trees, whose ages range from 100-300+ years, in...

Blog previously posted on The GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2013/01/16/a-tale-of-two-extremes/ Weather extremes have become a common theme in the news headlines the past few weeks. For example, nearly every part of the United States has been experiencing one of two extremes – either frigid cold or record-breaking high temperatures. Places like Arizona and California experienced below-freezing temperatures, which can have potential impacts on the crops grown in these typically balmy regions. In contrast, cities in the Southeast U.S., such as Atlanta, Georgia,...

Blog originally posted on the GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2012/12/19/the-chicken-and-egg-story-of-global-warming-and-extreme-droughts-a-lesson-on-climate-feedbacks/ I recently read that the extreme drought in western North America during 2000-2004 actually resulted in more carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. In the article in Nature Geoscience, it explained that such droughts can further enhance global warming. When a drought occurs, the plants wither and die and no longer uptake carbon dioxide (normally living plants serve as a carbon sink...

Blog originally posted on The GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2012/11/14/esno-basics-what-is-it/ Through many posts here on the Scientists’ Blog, we, in one way or another, discuss ENSO.  ENSO, or El Niño-Southern Oscillation, is a quasi-periodic climate pattern that occurs in the tropical Pacific Ocean.  When the conditions change, the atmosphere responds in many different ways.  In certain locations, it is cloudier and it rains more, while in others it’s clear and dry.  Through our “ENSO Basics” series, we’ll take a look at ENSO in many...

Blog originally posted on The GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2012/11/08/non-stationarity-new-vocabulary-for-a-changing-climate/ A few years ago I attended a workshop for early career scientists to discuss frontiers in integrated water-climate-society vulnerability and adaptation science. This interdisciplinary area of science focuses on the need for using scientific information to not only identify communities that are vulnerable to climate change, but to also help create effective approaches for communities to adapt to climate change. Since every society...

Blog originally posted on the GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2012/11/01/full-circle-superior-part-iv-changing-superior-changing-industry/ This week we pick back up on our Full Circle Superior Series.  In 2010 Mike Link and Kate Crowley chose to walk around the largest fresh water lake in the world – Lake Superior which has shoreline in both Canada and the United States. This 1555 mile/145 day walk was the first ever by a couple and the first to attempt to stay on the shoreline. Because Mike and Kate are educators in their sixties they wanted to deliver...

Blog originally posted on the GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2012/10/19/supercomputing-and-climate-research-high-resolution-long-time-simulations-to-improve-our-understanding/ Have you ever watched a newscast and the on-air meteorologist mentions “according to our weather models, our best chances for rain will occur between the hours of 6 and 9 pm”? Have you wondered what exactly are those models they’re talking about? A weather model is a series of equations that take a look at an initial state of the atmosphere (such as the temperature, pressure, and...