GISN & STEM Professional's Blog - GLOBE International STEM Network
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GISN & STEM Professional's Blog
The GLOBE International STEM Network (GISN) and STEM Professional's Blog is an online collaborative effort where scientists associated with GLOBE post their thoughts, comments, and philosophies about a variety of science topics.
GLOBE strongly encourages positive and productive discussions to further advance the scientific understanding of all involved with The GLOBE Program.
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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 ...
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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
Concerns regarding the impact of global warming on vector-borne diseases have intensified interest in the relationship between atmospheric factors and dengue fever incidence. Global climate change poses the threat of serious social upheaval, population displacement, economic hardships, and environmental degradation. Changes in temperature, rainfall and relative humidity have potential to enhance vector development, reproductive and biting rates, shorten pathogen incubation period and encourage adult longevity. In addition, changes in wind direction, velocity and frequency will have an ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
CLIMATE CHANGE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
Learning Activities:
HYDROLOGY
Primary Audience:
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
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. ...
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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’s blog post comes to us from Dr. Janis Steele and Dr. Brooks McCutchen. Drs. Steele and McCutchen, along with their three sons, have been aboard Research Vessel Llyr since April 24, 2013. Read about their adventure in the Intertropical Convergence Zone here .
When people think of life in the seas, it is often the majestic that comes to mind, such aswhales, sharks, rays and coral reefs, or our own sustenance in the form of the fish that feed billions of us around the world. Rarely do we think of plankton, the tiny organisms found across the world's oceans. Plankton ...
Blog originally posted on The GLOBE Scientists' Blog: http://blog.globe.gov/sciblog/2013/03/13/from-lake-superior-to-the-mississippi-river-a-renewed-commitment-to-fresh-water/
This week we are beginning our Full Length Mississippi series, and we will team back up with Mike Link and Kate Crawley. Link and Crawley highlighted pieces of their Full Circle Superior journey with the GLOBE Scientists’ Blog last year through a series of posts, the first of which you can read here . They are starting on a new adventure and commitment to the issue of fresh water: a ...
Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
WATERSHEDS
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
Lane Community College will be embarking on a comprehensive water quality study for Russel Creek Watershed. It owns property near the headwaters of the creek and it passes through sensitive wetlands that LCC also owns. We will monitor water quality monthly upstream and downstream from the campus as instruments are acquired. Russel Creek is an ephemeral stream. First measurements 12-07-12 at the upstream sampling site near the LCC Learning Garden (our SWS-06 site).
Posted in:
Field Campaigns:
WATERSHEDS
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
Learning Activities:
HYDROLOGY
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 ...
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GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
Learning Activities:
LAND COVER/BIOLOGY
HYDROLOGY
From January 22 to 26, 2012, scientists from around the world gathered for the American Meteorological Society annual meeting, which was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Scientists from the GLOBE Program stayed next to the beautiful Mississippi River.
The Mississippi River in New Orleans (photo courtesy of Dr. Donna Charlevoix)
The Mississippi River is the lifeblood of New Orleans and has so impacted the city that the city was actually developed around it. The first buildings were constructed around the river edge, which has the highest ground, and now ...
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GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
Primary Audience:
STUDENTS
Nitrogen is an important molecule that makes up nearly 78 percent of the atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels and using fertilizers for agriculture are two ways that this number can increase. But the atmosphere isn’t the only place that nitrogen is found – it is also found in bodies of water. Of the nitrogen that is spread in fertilizers, only 25-30 percent is absorbed by plants, so that leaves a lot of nitrogen left to either be absorbed by the atmosphere or into water. Figure 1 shows the intricacies of the nitrogen cycle, from Physical Geography.net’s Fundamentals ...
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, ...
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GLOBE Science Topics:
GENERAL SCIENCE
BACKYARD SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
Late last week, Pacific Ocean visitors near San Diego, California, USA were able to see an amazing sight that doesn’t happen very often… glowing waves!
So what exactly is the process that causes the glowing waves?
Algae! This particular type of algae, Lingulodinium polyedrum , began blooming in late August. During the day, the waters off the coast of California turn a brownish-red color, according to The University of California – San Diego scientists. Take a look at what this microorganism looks like under a microscope:
Image from The Smithsonian ...
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GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
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