Plants need light to grow. They also require nutrients. For tiny marine plants, called phytoplankton, those nutrients are often brought up from the ocean’s cold, deep waters to the surface by mixing. But this normal circulation gets disrupted during El Niño years, when huge masses of warm water—equivalent to about half of the volume of the Mediterranean Sea—slosh east across the Pacific Ocean...
10. El Niño Student Campaign Refresher and Update - Wednesday, September 21st, 2016 8:00 pm EDT (12:00 am September 22nd UTC)
In this hour-long webinar, participants will get a refresher on this campaign, and will hear from several GLOBE teachers who have been involved with their classes from the start of the campaign. We will discuss the need for ongoing data collection and share the...
Water Availability can be defined as "The hydrologic capacity of a water source (surface water body, groundwater, municipal water) to sustain additional water demands after considering other current water uses and water conditions. (GEMI, 2012)
The Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission provides information on water availability and environmental stress for estimating plant productivity and...
The freezing and thawing of our planet's soil can make a big impact on our climate. Check out the blog below to see just how important this is.
SMAP’s focus also includes measurements of freeze/thaw, which tells us whether the land surface is frozen or thawed in areas north of 45-degree north latitude. This is very important to know, because when the vegetation is frozen there is minimal...
"The Atlanta Science Festival is an annual public celebration of local science and technology. From March 19-26, 2016, curious people of all ages will explore the science and technology in our region and see how science is connected to all parts of our lives in 100 engaging events, including hands-on activities, facility tours, presentations, and performances throughout the metro...
The SMAP Mission satellite launched on 31-January 2015 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Check out the video below to watch it take off!
How do SMAP Scientists Use GLOBE Data (Part II)?
Data Analysis and Blog by Dr. Erika Podest, SMAP Scientist
In order to start using GLOBE soil moisture data we need at least 15 measurements collected on days when SMAP flew overhead. The Varazdin School is an example of such and the chart below is a comparison between their data and SMAP soil moisture at 36 km2 spatial resolution.
Figure 2:...
How do SMAP Scientists Use GLOBE Data (Part I)?
Data Analysis and Blog by Dr. Erika Podest, SMAP Scientist
SMAP has been collecting soil moisture measurements since mid-April 2015, which are freely available, online through the National Snow and Ice Data Archive Center (NSIDC): https://nsidc.org/data/smap
Of utmost importance is to have an assessment of the quality of the data, which is why...
Fenómeno El Niño: 8 niños mueren en Piura por altas temperaturas
El Niño : 8 children die in Peru by high temperatures
It seems the effects of the El Niño phenomena has cause the death of eight children due to heat stroke.
Click HERE to see the original story, in Spanish.
Below is the entire article translated into English.
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The high temperatures in northern Peru...
Did you know that soil moisture plays a vital role in human health? Those nasty little critters called mosquitoes love warm, wet soil, and can carry extremely dangerous viruses and diseases. We also can use SMAP soil moisture data to assist famine early warning systems.
Improved seasonal soil moisture forecasts using SMAP data will directly benefit famine early warning systems particularly in...
