Community Blogs

Community Blogs

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

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  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


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


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


Just when you think that perhaps the weather systems are settling down- our amazing scientific instruments are able to detect a potential change! I never cease to be amazed at what we are able to learn about Earth's systems- both from the ground and from space!  This article from the New York Times just came across my newsfeed- " It's Like it Never Left: Another El Nino May be on the Way ". In the article, it states that " Among the potential effects are wetter conditions across the southern United States, including Southern California; a drier Midwest; and drought in ...


Posted in: Curriculum: STEM EDUCATION RESEARCH 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 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: PARTNERS SCIENTISTS ALUMNI COUNTRY COORDINATORS TRAINERS TEACHERS STUDENTS


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