Community Blogs

Community Blogs

Discover how the GLOBE community is engaging in all things GLOBE through the community blog posts below.

Learn how to create a GLOBE community blog post

 


 

Asset Publisher

Filter By:

Blogs List


We have all been dismayed to see the extent of the damage done during the recent landslides that occurred after forest fires had destroyed much of the vegetation, and then intense rain caused a horrific landslide to occur in Montecito. You can read more here about how NASA's Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 was able to acquire natural color imagery of the affected region both before and after the landslide occurred, which enables us to observe the impact of this natural disaster on the environment. NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM) measured the ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE CLIMATE CHANGE BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM SCIENTIST SKILLS GLOBE PROTOCOLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE LAND COVER/BIOLOGY HYDROLOGY SOIL   Primary Audience: PARTNERS SCIENTISTS COUNTRY COORDINATORS ALUMNI TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS


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 ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC) GLOBE LEARNING EXPEDITIONS   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE CHANGE CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM SCIENTIST SKILLS GLOBE PROTOCOLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE LAND COVER/BIOLOGY SOIL HYDROLOGY   Primary Audience: PARTNERS SCIENTISTS ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS   Teacher's Guide: DOCUMENT TYPES


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 8 th , 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 ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC) SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS   Field Campaigns: WATERSHEDS SEASONS AND BIOMES EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM SCIENTIST SKILLS GLOBE PROTOCOLS   GLOBE Working Groups: EDUCATION WORKING GROUP TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP SCIENCE WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   News Topics: VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR MEETINGS   Primary Audience: PARTNERS SCIENTISTS ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS


  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 ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE AND MATH   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE CLIMATE CHANGE BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE   News Topics: SCRC RESEARCH   Primary Audience: PARTNERS SCIENTISTS ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS


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 ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM SCIENCE AND MATH   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: WATERSHEDS EL NIÑO SMAP GPM   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE GENERAL SCIENCE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM SCIENTIST SKILLS GLOBE PROTOCOLS   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE LAND COVER/BIOLOGY HYDROLOGY SOIL   News Topics: CALENDAR TRAINING   Primary Audience: PARTNERS SCIENTISTS ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS   Teacher's Guide: INVESTIGATION AREA DOCUMENTS


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 ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC) SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE EARTH AS A SYSTEM SCIENTIST SKILLS GLOBE PROTOCOLS   GLOBE Working Groups: EDUCATION WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE LAND COVER/BIOLOGY HYDROLOGY SOIL   News Topics: VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR REGIONS TRAINING   Primary Audience: PARTNERS SCIENTISTS ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS


Learning science involves learning important concepts, conducting experiments to see first-hand how researchers discovered and confirmed some elements of science concepts, and learning how to think scientifically. With this complete approach to learning science, students are well-prepared to deal with the natural world around them and to make wise decisions when confronted with various choices. The ability to think scientifically is a valuable skill in almost all aspects of life and doing science teaches scientific habits of mind. Students can do science through research projects ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM SCIENCE AND MATH   GLOBE Science Topics: SCIENTIST SKILLS GENERAL SCIENCE BACKYARD SCIENCE   GLOBE Working Groups: SCIENCE WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   News Topics: VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR COMPETITIONS   Primary Audience: TEACHERS STUDENTS PARTNERS COUNTRY COORDINATORS


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 ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM LANGUAGE CULTURE AND ARTS SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO WATERSHEDS   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM SCIENTIST SKILLS EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE CLIMATE CHANGE DATA INCLUDED CLIMATE   GLOBE Working Groups: EDUCATION WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE LAND COVER/BIOLOGY HYDROLOGY   Primary Audience: TEACHERS STUDENTS SCIENTISTS


Currently, Science education has transitioned away from textbooks to more hands on learning. This is an amazing opportunity for teachers to move away from the normal lecturing and explaining in class to reshaping the process of learning. I think that the GLOBE Program is a fantastic organization and empowered program that promises to give an essential change in education.  One example is teaching and learning from directs activities in the field. An excellent activity is to share data from school to school through collaboration.  Students can share what  they are ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM   Event Topics: OTHER SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE GLOBE PROTOCOLS   GLOBE Working Groups: EDUCATION WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   News Topics: VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR   Primary Audience: TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS PARTNERS ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS


In anticipation of another CERES instrument launched onboard JPSS-1  (now scheduled for 4:47 am EST on November 15), I thought I’d share a little about CERES and why it’s so important to understanding our Earth – and how GLOBE observations fit into this science. NASA’s CERES instrument, which stands for Cloud and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System , measures reflected sunlight and thermal infrared radiation emitted by the Earth.  It measures the amount of energy leaving the Earth so we can compare this to the amount of energy entering the Earth .  You may have ...


Posted in: Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE


Greetings ENSO Participants, Last night, we had an amazing ENSO Short Observation & Data Analysis (SODA) webinar featuring Shumate Middle School teacher, Mr. Jeff Bouwman . Jeff shared how his students have been taking GLOBE ENSO protocol measurements and exploring the campaign's three "Guiding Investigative Questions."  Please visit the ENSO Phase III Webinar Page to view this archived webinar and to learn more about the SODA events and upcoming webinars. You will also see archived and future ENSO Phase III Monthly Science and Research webinar information. Brian ...


Posted in: Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM BIOSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)


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?  ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM SCIENCE AND MATH   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC) SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO WATERSHEDS   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM CLIMATE CHANGE BACKYARD SCIENCE CLIMATE   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   News Topics: SCRC RESEARCH


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 ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM SCIENCE AND MATH   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC) SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS COMPETITIONS   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO WATERSHEDS GPM   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE GLOBE PROTOCOLS CLIMATE CHANGE CLIMATE   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE   News Topics: COMPETITIONS   Primary Audience: TEACHERS STUDENTS


Observations of daily precipitation have been a part of GLOBE from the beginning. At the start, GLOBE’s participation model was that schools would take measurement following all of the original 17 protocols. Atmosphere temperature, precipitation, cloud, and soil moisture measurements were to be collected daily at a site easily accessible to the school. A permanent installation of an instrument shelter containing a max/min thermometer mounted to a post along with a rain gauge was the expected norm with other measurements taken nearby. Daily temperature and precipitation measurements were ...


Posted in: Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO GPM   GLOBE Science Topics: GLOBE PROTOCOLS   GLOBE Working Groups: SCIENCE WORKING GROUP EDUCATION WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE   Primary Audience: TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS PARTNERS COUNTRY COORDINATORS   Teacher's Guide: DOCUMENT TYPES


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 ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM TECHNOLOGY   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH AS A SYSTEM EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE GLOBE PROTOCOLS CLIMATE CHANGE CLIMATE   GLOBE Working Groups: SCIENCE WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE   Primary Audience: TEACHERS TRAINERS STUDENTS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS


Quaking aspens can grow in a wide range of environmental conditions. They can tolerate a wide variety of variations in climate and environmental conditions including slope, moisture, surrounding vegetation, and soil ( https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/aspen/ecology.shtml ). I found this information with a simple web search. But, before there was access to infinite articles, websites, and papers all a click away, scientists had to figure out growth trends using data. So, before I decided to do a web search about the environmental conditions of aspen habitats (my memorized aspen ...


Posted in: Event Topics: SCIENCE SYMPOSIA AND FAIRS   GLOBE Science Topics: SCIENTIST SKILLS   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) ATMOSPHERE BIOSPHERE   News Topics: VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR   Primary Audience: TEACHERS STUDENTS


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


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY   Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   GLOBE Science Topics: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE SCIENTIST SKILLS CLIMATE CHANGE CLIMATE   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM   Primary Audience: TRAINERS TEACHERS SCIENTISTS


Mr. Jeff Bouwman and his Shumate Middle School students are NASA GLOBE ENSO Student Research Campaign superstars.  Check out what they have been doing in the video below!   Shumate Middle School was the first location for a new WeatherSTEM program, including a weather station, cloud camera, and an agricultural station. Learn more in the video below!


Posted in: Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Primary Audience: TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS PARTNERS SCIENTISTS ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS


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


Posted in: Event Topics: CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO SMAP   GLOBE Science Topics: CLIMATE   GLOBE Working Groups: SCIENCE WORKING GROUP   Investigation Areas: EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) ATMOSPHERE BIOSPHERE


Scientists rely on research, statistical models, and climate forecast models to help them determine upcoming natural events. Currently, scientists are have a difficult time deciding if and when the potential big El Niño event will happen. It will happen in 2017, but will it be the Summer or Fall? "Right now, many climate forecast models do predict the development of a full-fledged El Niño during this summer or fall. It’s likely that these models are acting on the much warmer-than-average waters near the coast of South America—the “Coastal El Niño" says Anthony Barson in his NOAA ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION EDUCATION RESEARCH LANGUAGE CULTURE AND ARTS SCIENCE AND MATH TECHNOLOGY   Field Campaigns: EL NIÑO SMAP   Investigation Areas: ATMOSPHERE EARTH AS A SYSTEM HYDROSPHERE PEDOSPHERE (SOIL) BIOSPHERE   Learning Activities: EARTH AS A SYSTEM ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE LAND COVER/BIOLOGY HYDROLOGY SOIL   Primary Audience: PARTNERS SCIENTISTS ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS