Adding GLOBE to the mix

The GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) program was the brainchild of Al Gore..conceived when he was Vice President. Gore envisioned school children from across the world making science measurements that scientists could use as part of their research on environment.

From the GLOBE website:

Announced in 1994, GLOBE began operations on Earth Day 1995. Today, the international GLOBE network has grown to include representatives from 109 participating countries and 135 U.S. Partners coordinating GLOBE activities that are integrated into their local and regional communities. Due to their efforts, there are more than 40000 GLOBE-trained teachers representing over 20000 schools around the world. GLOBE students have contributed more than 16 million measurements to the GLOBE database for use in their inquiry-based science projects.

I became involved in GLOBE several years into the project as the Co-Investigator on the GLOBE Soils Investigation. Later, when I started working with Aura EPO we partnered with the GLOBE Aerosols Investigation Co-I to have students take ground-based Aerosols and UV measurements for satellite validation. Check out "Enhancing Research and Education through Partnerships" to learn more about GLOBE and Aura.

On August 1st I will become a member of one of the new GLOBE Investigations: Seasons and Biomes.

I'm excited about working in GLOBE again, especially during this time that concern for our environment has become an important issue again.

Here's a summary of the project:
The Seasons and Biomes Project is an inquiry- and project- based initiative that monitors seasons, specifically their interannual variability, in order to increase K-12 students’ understanding of the Earth system. Seasons and Biomes connects GLOBE students, teachers, and communities, with educators andscientists from three Earth Systems Science Programs: International Arctic Research Center (IARC), NASA Landsat Data Continuity (LDCM), and Terra Satellite Missions.


How can studying seasonal change help students better understand Earth as a system?
Seasons connect all five spheres of the Earth system - atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere– and the interaction between these five spheres affect the timing and duration of seasons. By monitoring seasons, students will increase their understanding of how interactions within the Earth system affect their local seasons and how in turn variations in seasons affect their communities as well as regional and global environments.


What is a Global Learning Community (GLC)?
For the Seasons and Biomes Project our GLOBE Learning Community will be an international network of GLOBE schools organized by biomes. A biome is a large geographic area of distinctive plant and animal groups maintained under the climatic conditions of the region. Students in each GLC will monitor their seasons through field campaigns using GLOBE protocols that have been adapted specifically for their biomes. In addition, ice and mosquito phenology protocols will be adapted for Arctic/Subarctic and Tropical regions, respectively. The project will target two GLCs each year and focus on the Tundra and Taiga biomes initially.


What about satellite data?
Landsat and MODIS satellite data will be used to teach students what biomes are, how they are classified, and how to identify their region’s biome. In turn, the students’ field measurements collected during their field campaigns will validate the satellite data.

LRO Library Workshop in Arizona!

We received notice from two participants in our Tempe Lunar Librarians workshop that they are doing a series of programs on LRO this summer. The workshops will take place July and August in Tucson at the Valencia Branch Library.

Aura NO2 files on Google Earth

The tropospheric NO2 data that come from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard Aura is available in .kml files so that they can be viewed in Google Earth. An example of what the data look like is found on the right of this post. In order to get the data, go to the following url: http://hyperion.gsfc.nasa.gov/People/Wenig/OMINO2/NO2Trop.html

On this front page, you can choose monthly or daily NO2 .kml files. In order to select a particular month (for example, April 2007), click on the Google Earth icon. Your computer should give you a prompt to either open the file or save it. Save the file to your computer. Once the file is downloaded, open the .kml file in Google Earth. That’s all there is to it! Why do we care about tropospheric NO2, you might ask? In addition to being a cause of concern for your health, tropospheric NO2 is a precursor to ground level ozone. Ground level ozone is one of the major components of air pollution and causes respiratory problems in high concentrations. Around Goddard Space Flight Center in the summer, high concentrations of ground level ozone prompt “code” days. The EPA considers the 8-hour concentration of ozone and issues “Code Orange” or “Code Red” days when the concentrations exceed 101 or 151 ppm, respectively. Area public transit is free on Code Red days.

Just this week we had two code orange days in a row.

MESSENGER at the National Air and Space Museum

As part of the Venus 2 flyby activities a 1:5 scale model of the MESSENGER spacecraft built by carpenters at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., was hung in the Mercury exhibit in the Exploring the Planets Gallery of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C.

Artisans Ron Prietz, Sr., Bill Kulp, and Bob Harter, from APL's Technical Services Department-along with supervisor Ted Hartka-were there to see their handiwork displayed. Several members of the MESSENGER science and engineering teams were also in attendance, including Principal Investigator Sean Solomon, from the Carnegie Institution of
Washington, and Project Scientist Ralph McNutt, Mission Operations Manager Andy Calloway, and Missions Systems Engineer Eric Finnegan, all from APL.

NASM's Exploring the Planets Gallery was opened in 1979 to highlight the history and achievements of planetary exploration, both by Earth-based observations and by spacecraft. This upgrade to the Mercury exhibit is part of MESSENGER's Education and
Public Outreach effort and is being led by Tom Watters, a senior scientist at NASM and a MESSENGER Participating Scientist. MESSENGER Co-Investigator Mark Robinson, at Arizona State University, made available for the exhibit scores of Mercury
photographs from Mariner 10.

"This is a work in progress, but especially if you have not visited the museum for a while, it is worth a stop if you are in Washington," says McNutt. "As the MESSENGER mission progresses, the exhibit will be upgraded to reflect the mission and new Mercury results; so watch this space."