NASA Earth Science Week: Resources and Programs
10.13.08
- Subscribe to the Earth and Space Science Education E-News by sending an email to: esenewsletter@hq.nasa.gov or go to http://science.hq.nasa.gov/education/edreports. This free monthly email newsletter includes upcoming educational programs, events, opportunities and resources.
- NASA Earth and Space Science Explorers series introduces you to people of all ages and backgrounds who embody the spirit of discovery, and who use NASA science and technology to explore our home planet. Most articles are written in three different versions, one for each of three reading levels: grades K-4, grades 5-8, and grades 9-12 and up. They are available online at: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/educators/the-earth-explorers-series and http://nasascience.nasa.gov/educators/space-science-explorers.
- Visit NASA’s Earth Observatory at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov to read feature articles on wide-ranging Earth system science topics, download datasets and images for analysis, read breaking news, learn about current and planned Earth missions, search an online library for reference materials, track natural hazards around the world in near-real time, and access interactive experiments and classroom activities.
Student Earth Observation Programs
- GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, http://www.globe.gov) is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program. GLOBE observations and measurements include atmosphere and climate, hydrology, land cover and phenology, and soils. GLOBE students, teachers and scientists collaborate on inquiry-based investigations of the environment and the Earth system, working in close partnership with NASA and NSF Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs), on research topics related to the carbon cycle, watersheds, seasons and biomes and extreme environments. Understanding Earth as an interconnected system is at the core of the GLOBE program.
GLOBE student research includes collaboration with internationally initiated projects in study about the dynamics of Earth's environment. GLOBE brings together students, teachers and scientists through the GLOBE Schools Network in support of student learning and research. Parents, GLOBE Alumni and other community members often work with teachers to help students obtain data on days when schools are not open.
Announced in 1994, GLOBE began operations on Earth Day 1995. Today, the international GLOBE network has grown to include representatives from 110 participating countries and over 140 U.S. Partners coordinating GLOBE activities that are integrated into their local and regional communities. Due to their efforts, there are more than 40,000 GLOBE-trained teachers representing over 20,000 schools around the world. GLOBE students have contributed more than 18 million measurements to the GLOBE database for use in their inquiry-based science projects.
GLOBE is an interagency program funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), supported by the U.S. Department of State, and implemented through a cooperative agreement between NASA and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado.
The idea that Earth is a system of interconnected parts is at the root of the program.
- Measuring Vegetation Health (http://mvh.sr.unh.edu). Before modern detection technologies were available, canaries were often used in coal mines to detect the presence of poisonous carbon monoxide gas.
Plants are like "green canaries” — if they die, then other organisms will likely follow. By measuring the health of plants, we are measuring the environmental conditions that affect all nearby organisms, including humans.
Today’s technologies, including satellite and digital images, let us monitor plant health using the proportions of light reflected from leaves. Combining this data with our understanding and observations of plant behavior and physiology helps us to quickly assess the quality of the local environment.
Measuring Vegetation Health brings together biology, physics, chemistry, technology, art, engineering, and math in a project that predominantly supports field studies for middle to high school and self-guided education in environmental science. Many tools such as free software and ideas for activities and student challenge questions are provided on the project Web site. These resources can be used as stand-alone learning activities, as semester or year-long curriculum, or as activities and exhibit components for use by museums, science centers, arboretums and botanical gardens.
The project is a collaboration by: Boston Museum of Science, Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley, University of New Hampshire, Indiana State University, Blue Hill Observatory, and University of Southern Maine.
- MY NASA DATA (http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov) is an effort to make NASA Earth science data accessible to K–12 and citizen scientist communities. Datasets can be used with existing curriculum and enable students to practice science inquiry and math or technology skills using real measurements of Earth system variables and processes. MY NASA DATA microsets provide information on the atmosphere, ocean and land surface. New data types continue to be added to the collection. Data are available online along with lesson plans, teacher-friendly documentation, computer tools and an Earth science glossary. Science project starter ideas are also available.
- Ozone Biomonitoring Gardens (http://ozonegarden.larc.nasa.gov or http://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov/outreach/ozonegarden.html). Investigating ozone in your own neighborhood can be as simple as growing a few carefully selected plants. Teams of scientists and educators at NASA are showing how this can be done. They have installed ozone-monitoring gardens at several NASA centers.
Ozone, a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms, can be both good and bad, depending on its location. It’s good to have ozone high up in the atmosphere -- in the stratosphere -- where it occurs naturally and protects humans and other living things from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. It’s bad to have ozone in the lower atmosphere -- in the troposphere – where it forms when pollution from cars, trucks, factories and other manmade sources interacts with intense sunlight.
Too much tropospheric ozone makes air unhealthy for people to breathe. Some plants are also sensitive to ozone, which enters plants through tiny pores in a leaf's outer layer. When exposed to high levels of the gas for extended periods of time, leaves on these sensitive plants develop tiny colored, evenly-spaced spots and may also turn yellow, and reduced photosynthesis may hinder overall plant growth.
Students can monitor local ozone by looking in their neighborhoods for ozone-injured plants or plant similar gardens outside their school or in their backyards.
- The Permafrost Health Program (http://www.uaf.edu/permafrost) is conducted in conjunction with research on permafrost at University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Long-term permafrost monitoring systems have been installed adjacent to participating schools located in the Alaska Circumpolar Region. Permafrost conditions will be one of the important indicators for future climatic change. It strongly affects local ecosystems, hydrologic regimes and the impact of natural disasters.
This long-term permafrost observation program is designed to fulfill science objectives and to involve students and teachers at schools located in remote, predominantly Alaska Native Villages. Visit the site for educational resources on permafrost, including classroom lessons and background information. Sponsored by the University of Alaska EPSCoR program, NASA, National Science Foundation, and the International Permafrost Association-Thermal State of Permafrost project.
- Project 3D-VIEW (Virtual Interactive Environmental Worlds) (http://www.3dview.org) engages grades 5–6 students in a comprehensive Earth system science program with teacher professional development. The program combines NASA mission data with 3D technologies in five units: lithosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), biosphere (life), atmosphere (air), and Earth systems. Simple interfaces enable students to explore, manipulate and navigate 3D stereo views and animations through hard copy, computer and immersive environments. The project is designed to increase student achievement in science (and includes literacy and mathematics components) by using 3D technologies to help students understand abstract concepts.
- In Signals of Spring (http://www.signalsofspring.net) middle and high school students investigate migration patterns of land and marine animals. Animal location data relayed from small satellite transmitters is overlaid onto maps of topography, vegetation, sea surface temperature and other NASA Earth data, prompting students to pose, research and analyze questions about the many factors affecting the migration and health of different species. Students use online journals, which are then read and commented on by Earth scientists and wildlife biologists. The program provides teacher training, which can be conducted onsite or by live, interactive Webcasts.
- Students’ Cloud Observations On-Line (S’COOL) (http://scool.larc.nasa.gov) is a component of NASA’s CERES (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System). The CERES instrument measures the amount of energy reflected and emitted by the Earth system. It focuses on understanding how clouds affect these energy transfers. Participating students make basic weather observations and record the type and features of clouds in the sky at the time the satellite passes over their location. The data is then submitted to NASA (by Web, email, fax or mail) for entry into an online database. Students can access their results as well as those from other participating schools using the S’COOL Web site (which is available in seven languages). Satellite observations for matching times are also posted so that students can compare their observations to those of the satellite, and scientists can evaluate CERES’ performance. Participants receive instructional materials and information necessary for reporting results.
Related Links:
> Videos from Earth Science Week
