Blog originally posted on the GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2012/10/24/as-the-last-leaf-falls/
This was my first year doing the Green-Down Protocol with GLOBE. I am trained as an atmospheric scientist, so I have taken many atmospheric measurements over the course of my career. I had not ventured into the world of phenology until I joined GLOBE. More so, I am intrigued by this field of Earth Science, since it is closely connected to climate and can be a very good indicator of a climate change.
This year, as part of the GLOBE Phenology and Climate Project,...
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GLOBE Science Topics:
GLOBE Protocols
Communities in the Sahel region of Africa depend on trees for firewood, food, building materials, and even medicine. Anecdotal observations in this savannah climate, a transition region to the south of the Sahara Desert, have suggested the number of trees is decreasing. A recent study by a group of researchers at the University of California at Berkeley has provided scientific support indicating that trees are indeed dying and the decline is being attributed to climate change. Scientists looked at aerial photos dating back to 1954, satellite images, climate change...
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Field Campaigns:
SCRC
GLOBE Science Topics:
Climate Change
GLOBE Protocols
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 gives the city a...
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GLOBE Science Topics:
Earth System Science
GLOBE Protocols
Investigation Areas:
Hydrosphere
Primary Audience:
Students
Sometimes in a rapidly changing world, it is difficult to see the effects that small changes in human lifestyle can have on not only climate, but on ecosystems. Various countries and international organizations are working to pass legislation to ensure change. One such case of legislation working is being observed in the San Francisco Bay – the return of harbor porpoises. This was recently reported in the QUEST biology blog.
The map below shows the location of the San Francisco Bay, marked by the bubble with an A, from Google.
In 1972, the Clean...
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GLOBE Science Topics:
General Science
Backyard Science
GLOBE Protocols
Investigation Areas:
Hydrosphere
A few weeks ago, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) wrote about a report claiming that some of the fruit from native trees in Britain are ripening anywhere from 13 to 18 days earlier than they did a decade ago. The report was from Nature’s Calendar, a data collection network in the United Kingdom. While the cause isn’t specifically known, many believe it’s due to a change in climate.
What does a change like this mean to the earth as a system?
Scientists are interested in studying the connections between the different Earth processes – from how greenhouse gases are...
