Earth Science
Looking under rocks or up at the sky, do you find yourself constantly searching for scientific adventures? Are you often observing, collecting data and testing? If so, you may be a citizen scientist, and boy, does NASA have some projects for you! Your desire to learn and to be involved in real science makes you an ideal participant in two Earth science-related programs: S'COOL, or Students' Cloud Observations On-Line, and MY NASA DATA, or Mentoring and inquirY using NASA Data for Atmospheric and Earth science for Teachers and Amateurs.
This week, October 8 to 14, is Earth Science Week, a program sponsored by the American Geological Institute. Earth Science Week promotes understanding and appreciation of the value of Earth Science research and its applications and relevance to our daily lives. What a perfect time to learn more about S'COOL and MY NASA DATA!
Image above: This week is Earth Science Week. Celebrate by finding your own scientific adventure! Credit: American Geological Institute
Since January 1997, NASA has helped thousands of students and citizen scientists around the world take part in actual scientific experiments through the S'COOL project. This unconventional collaboration between NASA scientists and students is remarkably beneficial to both groups -- the students are able to learn fundamental scientific principles, while the scientists are able to use the students' observations, or ground truth measurements, to assist in the validation of the NASA satellite instruments called CERES.
CERES, or Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System, is a high priority scientific experiment that includes five space-based instruments on three different satellites: the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft, the Terra spacecraft, and the Aqua spacecraft. Scientists are using measurements from each of these instruments to study the ways in which clouds may affect Earth's climate.
Clouds often occur in many layers that are hard to differentiate from space. Small, thin clouds, and clouds over bright surfaces, such as snow, are especially challenging to detect from space. To improve their ability to accurately identify and account for clouds, scientists use ground observations. The number of ground sites available limits these ground observations, or ground truth measurements. To increase the number of ground sites, NASA has engaged students from around the world in the S'COOL project, asking them to take a few minutes from their day, when available, to go outside and observe the sky above their school as the satellite flies overhead. The students then report their observations using an on-line form.
Image left: Through the S'COOL project, students and citizen scientists can submit their observations to NASA, and then compare their observations with those of the satellite instruments. Shown here is a visualization tool used to compare student observations (on the left) with satellite observations (on the right). The students observed a high percentage of low cloud cover, a small percentage of mid-level cloud cover, but could not see high-level clouds. The satellite, looking from the top, saw some high-level clouds, and a lot of mid-level clouds but very few low-level clouds.
Similar to S'COOL is MY NASA DATA, a project to enable K-12 teachers and students, as well as citizen scientists, to explore the large volumes of data that NASA collects about the Earth from space. Participants use scientific inquiry and math skills as they access and display microsets of the Earth System.
A main goal of the MY NASA DATA project is to remove the barriers (such as file size and format, and complicated computer tools) that prevent the use of authentic NASA Earth System Science data in the classroom or by the interested public. A microset is a small amount of data - perhaps a single parameter for the whole globe; or a time series for a single location - extracted from a much larger data file. It is in a simple format, such as plain text, or accessible through a user-friendly tool.
In addition to the microsets, the MY NASA DATA Web site offers a diverse collection of lesson plans to help you get started with data exploration. All lessons identify relevant national or state education standards. The MY NASA DATA team also has developed an Earth Science glossary to help explain many of the concepts and parameters used in the project. In addition, an e-Mentor network can provide assistance to those using the data. You can submit questions, whether scientific or pedagogical in nature, to this network through a simple form on the Web site. The network includes both scientists and educators who share the task of responding to inquiries.
Both S'COOL and MY NASA DATA are led by a team of researchers and education experts at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. MY NASA DATA microsets are primarily made from data holdings of the Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) also at NASA Langley, and other sources.
A computer with a Web browser and an Internet connection is the only thing you will need to participate in S'COOL and to explore the MY NASA DATA Web site. Data exploration and visualization tools used by the MY NASA DATA project are Web-based, and some of the lessons involve the use of spreadsheet software or graphing calculators.
What does it mean to be a citizen scientist? It means getting involved! NASA projects like S'COOL and MY NASA DATA show that you don't have to have a Ph.D. or even formal education in Earth science to be a citizen scientist, only an interest and desire to learn.
Learn More and Find a Scientific Adventure of your own:
+ http://www.earthsciweek.org/
+ http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/SCOOL/
+ http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/
NASA Langley Research Center