SMAP Resources - SMAP
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SMAP Resources
The GLOBE Community can learn about the SMAP Mission with the following activities and resources:
- Gravimetric and Volumetric Soil Moisture Protocols
- Students measure soil water content by mass and volume. Data are collected following the SMAP Block Pattern Field and Lab Guide and reported using the SMAP Block Pattern data sheet.
- Soil Characterization
- Students will identify horizons in a soil profile, observe the structure, color, consistence, texture, and the presence of rocks, roots, and carbonates of each horizon, and take samples for use in laboratory characterization protocols.
- Soil Temperature
- Students will measure near-surface soil temperature frequently near local solar noon and seasonally throughout two diurnal cycles.
- Soil Infiltration
- Students will use a dual ring infiltrometer that they can construct from large food container cans to measure the rate at which water soaks into the soil during a roughly 45-minute period.
- Just Passing Through - Beginners
- Beginning students are introduced to the basic concepts of how water passes through soil in an activity which illustrates the scientific method
- Just Passing Through
- More advanced students investigate the effects of soil characteristics on water infiltration and the chemistry of water that has passed through soil.
- From Mud Pies to Bricks
- Students make mud pies by adding water to the various soil components, letting them dry and observing the pie's characteristics.
- Soil and My Backyard
- Students collect, describe and compare soils from their own backyards.
- A Field View of Soil
- Students discover that soil properties such as moisture and temperature can vary considerably across a single landscape.
- Soil as Sponges
- Students explore soil moisture by weighing and drying sponges and then they explore their soil samples in the same way.