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Discover how the GLOBE community is engaging in all things GLOBE through the community blog posts below.
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NASA GLOBE Clouds: Spring Cloud Observations Data Challenge
Audience : Students and teachers all grade levels, informal educators, and the general public
Dates : March 15, 2018 - April 15, 2018
The NASA GLOBE Clouds team at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA is excited to announce the NASA GLOBE Clouds: Spring Cloud Observations Data Challenge . Participants are invited to enter up to 10 cloud observations per day from March 15, 2018 to April 15, 2018 using the GLOBE Program’s data entry options or using GLOBE Observer app . GLOBE and ...
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Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
EDUCATION RESEARCH
SCIENCE AND MATH
TECHNOLOGY
Event Topics:
OTHER
COMPETITIONS
GLOBE Science Topics:
SCIENTIST SKILLS
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
GENERAL SCIENCE
BACKYARD SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
CLOUDS
News Topics:
COMPETITIONS
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
Teacher's Guide:
GRADE LEVELS
The GLOBE Clouds team at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA would like to highlight the top observers for the month of January! Thank you to all observers for submitting your observations and using the satellite matching of data.
Top 10 cloud observers for January 2018
Observer
School
Country
Total Observations
Ebtisam Nahhas
19th Secondary Girls School at Al-Madinah Al-Monawarah
Saudi Arabia
121
Helio Cabral ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
GENERAL SCIENCE
BACKYARD SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
News Topics:
COMPETITIONS
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
ALUMNI
Friday, February 2nd is Groundhog Day and some of us will be waiting to see if Punxsutawney Phil saw a shadow or not! Punxsutawney Phil and other groundhogs have been predicting the arrival of Spring for many years and has intrigued us all.
NASA Education Specialist
Dr. Anne Weiss
NASA Education specialist at NASA Langley Research Center, Dr. Anne Weiss, was gathering cloud and temperature data while visiting her nephews (3rd, 5th, and 8th grade) when they got talking about Punxsutawney Phil. Her nephews were questioning if Punxsutawney Phil’s forecast would affect ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
EDUCATION RESEARCH
SCIENCE AND MATH
GLOBE Science Topics:
GENERAL SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
BACKYARD SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
CLOUDS
Learning Activities:
ESTIMATING CLOUD COVER
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
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
...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
EDUCATION RESEARCH
Event Topics:
OTHER
GLOBE Science Topics:
SCIENTIST SKILLS
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
GENERAL SCIENCE
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
Investigation Areas:
CLOUDS
Learning Activities:
ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
Here at NASA Langley we've started the year with snow, and lots of it!
Has all this snow and weather gotten you hooked on the weather? Do you like to watch the weather reports on TV or on your phone? Dr. Yolanda Shea, a scientist at NASA Langley Research Center, used to do just that when she was younger. See what inspired her and how she became a NASA scientist! Comment and share how this video inspires you!
Also, with all this snow on the ground, be sure to submit your cloud reports! Enter your data through GLOBE or use the GLOBE Observer app and follow ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
GENERAL SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
BACKYARD SCIENCE
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
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
The journal Scientific American just published a blog about GLOBE. The post, titled " The GLOBE Program: Making the Case for K–12 Citizen Scientists " discusses several aspects of GLOBE, including our contributions and campaigns. As well, it helps explain our mission of providing the resources for students across the world to become citizen scientists.
"Contributing to global datasets not only gives students a chance to collect data that scientists can actually use, but allows them to compare their experiences and findings with other students around the world."
To read more ...
Posted in:
Event Topics:
CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (IOPS, ETC)
OTHER
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
SURFACE TEMPERATURE
GLOBE Science Topics:
SCIENTIST SKILLS
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
BACKYARD SCIENCE
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
In my previous blog post, I showed the results of my surface temperature experiment. It was a great way to highlight some of the practical ways to use science, and it was yet another way for me to talk about my puppy. My experiment and accompanying blog was straightforward enough. I identified a problem, I designed an experiment, collected data, and presented the results. This is how science is done, right?! With years of experiment experience behind me, this should have been a very fast and easy task, but I had one problem that I forgot to account for, my Attention Deficit Disorder. ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
SURFACE TEMPERATURE
These are the results from my surface temperature experiment that I discussed in my previous blog post (same title, part 1).
Results and Conclusion :
Figure 2: Graph of average surface temperatures of the three surfaces over three days including air temperature data lines.
My results show that my hypothesis was half right (remember, it’s ok if your data results do not match your hypothesis!). During the day, asphalt was the hottest, concrete was in the middle, and grass was the coolest. The surface temperatures of all three dropped at night, however, I was ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
DATA INCLUDED
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
Investigation Areas:
SURFACE TEMPERATURE
News Topics:
VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR
In case you missed it, last month, was all about the 2017 International Virtual Science Symposium . There were over 140 entries from all 6 GLOBE regions. Students submitted reports about their research on all of the “spheres” (hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, pedosphere, and earth as a system) and they were reviewed by a panel of scientists, teachers, and science enthusiasts to be rewarded with stars and badges.
I had the wonderful privilege of being able to read through and review several projects. I was blown away with the thought and hard work that went into these ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
DATA INCLUDED
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
SURFACE TEMPERATURE
News Topics:
VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR
Consider the rain gauge used in GLOBE, CoCoRaHS, and other citizen science programs. Just four pieces plus 2 mounting screws – an inner graduated cylinder, an outer cylinder, a cap/funnel, and a mounting bracket. The area of the outer tube is exactly 10 times the areas of the inner tube and the cap/funnel, so the graduations on the inner cylinder can be spaced ten times further apart. Thus, 0.2 mm of rain fills the inner tube to a depth of 2.0 mm, which one can read.
In addition, if heavy rainfall fills the inner cylinder, the rest of the rainfall overflows into the outer cylinder, ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
Field Campaigns:
EL NIÑO
GPM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
Primary Audience:
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
ALUMNI
In most scientific research an important test is whether the results of an experiment can be repeated, typically repeated by another lab and research group. A result that cannot be confirmed in this way is generally viewed as invalid. This is a great test for controlled experiments where virtually identical experimental conditions may be achieved.
In Earth science research involving observations of the natural world, experimental conditions cannot be reproduced. For environmental research the standard must switch for repeatable to intercomparable – capable of being compared. ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
GENERAL SCIENCE
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
BACKYARD SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
PEDOSPHERE (SOIL)
ATMOSPHERE
BIOSPHERE
Primary Audience:
TRAINERS
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
SCIENTISTS
ALUMNI
This week we welcome long-time friend of GLOBE, Dr. Margaret LeMone, Chief Scientist for the GLOBE Program from 2003-2009, as our guest blogger. Dr. LeMone is currently working in the field of weather and cloud formation at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
Originally posted at http://spark.ucar.edu/blog/measuring-rainfall on September 23, 2013.
Dr. Margaret LeMone,
Credit: UCAR
Dr. Margaret LeMone is an NCAR Senior Scientist who studies weather and cloud formation. For more information about her research, visit Dr. LeMone's home page .
A ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
PRECIPITATION
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 ...
Blog originally posted on the GLOBE Scientists' Blog at http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2012/08/28/full-circle-superior-part-ii-studying-streams/
We have a guest blogger this week. Mike Linke is posting his second blog in a series about his walk with his wife, Kate Crowley, around Lake Superior.
This is the second in a series about the science of Full Circle Superior; a walk around the world’s largest freshwater lake. You can read the first blog post here. My wife, Kate Crowley, and I determined that we would be the first couple to walk around this lake, trying ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
Learning Activities:
LAND COVER/BIOLOGY
HYDROLOGY
All over the United States, spring flowers such as daffodils and crocuses began blooming nearly a month ago due to an unseasonably warm winter. Some of my friends from many parts of the country have been mentioning how beautiful their gardens are and enjoying the warm weather. Even my family and friends from the Mid-Atlantic region have been sending photos showing off their beautiful home gardens.
Daffodils in bloom in late February
Many think it’s really nice to see green grass, budding trees, and flowers in bloom in late February, as it’s a spirit lift ...
I have always been passionate about the weather. When I realized that to fulfill this passion I had to have a career in atmospheric science, I started acquiring all sorts of books, charts, movies, and other weather related things. One of those books was a book from the early 1990’s called It’s Raining Frogs and Fishes by Jerry Dennis. It was really interesting to me because it discussed all of the different seasons and some different phenomena that different parts of the world experience during the seasons. As I continue to blog for The GLOBE Program, my mind ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
GENERAL SCIENCE
When you think about farms, you may think of the sounds you hear. Those sounds may include both natural and manmade sounds, such as the rustling of produce in the wind or machines working the fields. While these are expected sounds that can indicate farm health, scientists recently have been looking at another natural sound: songbirds.
Farmers are becoming more interested in looking at the key connections between ecological, economic, and social components to managing their farms, according to Quest science blog . It is then important to make sure that clear and ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
CLIMATE CHANGE
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
Investigation Areas:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
ARCTIC BIRD MIGRATION
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, ...
Posted in:
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 ...
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