Fall2025CloudUpdate - Clouds Protocol

Welcome to our NASA GLOBE Clouds Quarterly Update! It was great to participate in the GLOBE annual meeting. There was so much to share and to learn. We reconnected with GLOBE community members and we also met new friends. A special highlight for the NASA GLOBE Clouds team was the recognition of Jessica Taylor, the Principal Investigator for GLOBE Clouds. Jessica received a GLOBE award for Technological Advancement. This award recognized those who have expanded the use and knowledge of technology to support the GLOBE community.

This update shares exciting news about a great partnership with Civil Air Patrol (CAP). Discover what CAP cadets and senior members have worked on as part of the Aviation Weather Mission. Learn about hurricanes in our science section, see how science data helps people, and find out how you can become a NASA Response Mapper. Also, check out GLOBE Peru’s Spanish translation of NUBE card game materials! Please keep reading, vote for your favorite cloud picture, ask us anything, and keep making GLOBE Clouds observations.

Civil Air Patrol (CAP): Aviation Weather Mission

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the NASA GLOBE Clouds team, and the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative (NESEC) worked together on an exciting project called the 2025 Aviation Weather Mission. They had already worked together successfully during the solar eclipses in 2023 and 2024. This new national project involved over 3,000 young people (ages 12–20) and adults from all over the United States.

CAP is a volunteer organization and the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. They are dedicated to emergency services, cadet development, and aerospace education. With missions ranging from search and rescue to youth leadership programs, CAP serves communities across the country. They also provide unique opportunities for both adults and cadets to learn, lead, and serve.

During the 2025 Aviation Weather Mission, CAP cadets and senior members were on a mission to gather crucial aviation data. They collected information about airport conditions, cloud observations, aircraft tracking info (such as airplane registration numbers and altitude), and awesome photos of contrails. They took on roles like weather monitoring, flight tracking, orienteering, photography, and data management. Everyone went through special training before diving into action on four scheduled observation dates.

The observations from CAP's ground stations are being compared with images from NASA GEO and NOAA-20 satellites! Why? To investigate how humidity affects contrails, aircraft icing, and overall weather. This research is going to help make flying even safer! In addition to contributing directly to NASA’s research, this mission provided students with hands-on STEM experience and promoted aerospace education. And to top it all off, the cadets even designed a special mission patch to celebrate their incredible dedication to real-world science!

Favorite Cloud and Ask Us Anything

Look at the beautiful GLOBE Clouds photos we are featuring this time, representing each of the six GLOBE regions! These photos were submitted by Ghana GLOBE v-school(Africa), Thailand Citizen Science (Asia and Pacific), Netherlands Citizen Science (Europe and Eurasia), Escuela No. 88 Alfredo B. Nobel (Latin America and Caribbean), Alqaqa Intermediate Scool At Sabya (Near East and North Africa), and SciStarter Citizen Scientists (North America).

Vote for your favorite photo using this GLOBE Clouds: Favorite Cloud and Ask Us Anything form!

And now, are you ready to see last quarter’s winning photos? Based on your votes, the first place went to the Latin America region (photo submitted by Colegio de la Asunción)

The Europe and Eurasia region was a close second place with the following photo (submitted by Germany Citizen Science)

Ask Us Anything Question, Answered

The question selected for this update ties well with the work that CAP’s cadets and senior members did during the Aviation Weather Mission! A GLOBE Community member asked: Why do some contrails disappear quickly (short-lived) and others stay (persistent)?

Thank you for submitting this great question!

Contrails are a type of ice cloud that forms when aircraft fly through the air. They form when water vapor in the air condenses around tiny particles, which are mostly soot from the plane's engines. This causes the water vapor to freeze and create the visible cloud. Contrails can also form when water vapor from the plane's engines mixes with water vapor already in the air.

The duration of contrails depends on the atmospheric conditions. Short-lived contrails, which vanish within minutes, form in dry air with limited water vapor. In contrast, persistent contrails (both non-spreading and spreading) can last up to an hour. They form in wet, humid atmospheres rich in water vapor and nuclei. Persistent spreading contrails also spread out due to unstable or turbulent air.

Short-lived contrail

Persistent contrail (non-spreading)

Persistent contrail (spreading)

If you would like to learn more about contrails, please read The Science of Contrails, explore the Contrail Identification Chart and Formation Guide, and/or examine this Contrail Simulation!

Meet an Expert: Capt. Shannon Babb

Question: Where are you from?
Answer: Utah, USA

Question: Can you share with us a bit about your background?
Answer: I am an interdisciplinary earth scientist and professional educator. My background in science emphasizes hydrology (water), geology (rocks) and pedology (soils). After several years working as a scientist, I discovered a passion for science communication, I went back to school and got a masters degree in education.

Question: What is your current job?
Answer: I am an Instructional Design Faculty at Western Governor’s University where I get to help develop new STEM classes and courses.

Question: What is your role at CAP?
Answer: I am the Aviation Weather Mission Director. I also serve as the Rocky Mountain Region Deputy Chief of Staff for Aerospace Education (aka the lead AE volunteer for the part of the United States where I live).

Question: What interested you about the Aviation Weather Mission?
Answer: As the mission director I loved seeing the interactive design process in action. This mission had four observation dates where volunteers across the continental United States and Puerto Rico worked together to collect a unified data set. We learned something new, each and every observation date, and we were able to work with the members in the field and the scientists in the lab to keep improving the processes we used to collect data.

Question: What was your favorite part about the collaboration between CAP and NASA
Answer: I love how the collaboration between Civil Air Patrol and NASA tapped the strengths of both organizations. NASA is a government agency that has always excelled at asking big questions and pushing the limits of human understanding. Civil Air Patrol is an organization that excels as teamwork and problem solving. By collaborating together, both organizations were able to find new ways to harness the capabilities of the GLOBE Observer App in new ways and allow thousands of volunteers to contribute to something so much bigger than ourselves.

Question: Anything else you would like to share with the GLOBE community?
Answer: Science is not static. There are still so many discoveries to be made about our planet and the universe as a whole. By participating in GLOBE you are helping humanity unlock some of those discoveries. I know that helps keep me motivated to contribute readings, and I hope that it also inspires you to continue to be citizen scientists!

Science Topic: Hurricanes

Hurricanes, also known as typhoons or cyclones, are violent storms scientifically termed "tropical cyclones." They form over warm ocean waters near the tropics acting like giant engines fueled by warm, moist air. This air rises, creating a low-pressure area that draws in surrounding air, which then warms and rises, forming clouds as it cools. The rotating system of clouds and wind is fed by the ocean's heat and evaporation. Storms spin counterclockwise north of the equator and clockwise south of it, due to Earth's rotation. As the storm spins faster, an eye forms at its center, characterized by calm, clear conditions and very low air pressure.

Diagram of the structure of a tropical cyclone. Credit: NASA Space Place

A storm is called a "tropical storm" at 39 mph winds and a "tropical cyclone" or hurricane at 74 mph. Tropical cyclones weaken over land as their ocean fuel source is cut off. However, they often cause significant rainfall and wind damage inland before dissipating.

NASA plays a big part in helping us get ready for and deal with big storms like hurricanes. Satellites take pictures of Earth to make better storm models. This helps communities know what to expect and how to stay safe. For example, in 2024, when hurricanes Helene and Milton hit, NASA’s Disasters Response Coordination System quickly shared flood maps and power outage information with emergency workers. Scientists at NASA help us understand, predict, and respond to these storms even though they do not issue official forecasts or warnings.

NASA also helps with landslides, especially after hurricanes. NASA uses information about rainfall, ground steepness, soil wetness, and other conditions to create tools like the Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA) model. These tools help predict where landslides might happen and support disaster response efforts.

In addition, NASA Langley Research Center plays a unique role in hurricane science by testing new technologies from airplanes. Recently, scientists from Langley flew a special 3-D laser system on an airplane through Hurricane Helene. This system is designed to get very detailed wind data, which is important for predicting fast-moving storms. Think of it like doctors using different kinds of scans to see what's happening inside a patient's body. Each NASA system, including those developed and tested by Langley, gives scientists a different view of a storm's inside, helping them make better predictions for everyone.

NASA Response Mappers: How GLOBE Citizen Scientists Can Help

As hurricane season peaks, emergency responders lack crucial local observations. NASA Response Mappers, a collaboration between NASA's Disasters Program and GLOBE, invites Southeastern U.S. residents to submit pre/post-hurricane land cover photos via smartphone. This citizen science effort helps fill vital information gaps, aiding emergency managers and strengthening community disaster response. Learn more about becoming a NASA Response Mapper!

GLOBE Clouds by the Numbers

NUBE Card Game in Spanish

Special thanks to GLOBE Peru’s Country Coordinator, Mg. José Martín Cárdenas Silva, who translated all the NUBE Card Game materials to Spanish and who even made a video tutorial on how to play the game! Here you can find the Spanish version of NUBE. ¡Gracias!

Thank You

Thank you for reading, voting for your favorite clouds, asking questions, and continuing submitting your GLOBE Clouds observations!