Global Learning And Observations To Benefit The Environment Research Articles

Do Citizen Science Intense Observation Periods Increase Data Usability? A Deep Dive of the NASA GLOBE Clouds Data Set With Satellite Comparisons

AbstractThe Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) citizen science program has recently conducted a series of month‐long intensive observation periods (IOPs), asking the public to submit daily reports on cloud and sky conditions from all regions of Earth. This provides a wealth of crowdsourced observations from the ground, which complements other conventional scientific cloud data. In addition, the GLOBE reports are matched in space and time with geostationary and low Earth orbit satellites, which allows for a straightforward comparison of cloud properties, and minimizes the biases associated with mismatched sampling between participants and satellites. The matched GLOBE data set is used to calculate the mean observed cloud cover by atmospheric level both worldwide and by region. The overall magnitudes of cloud cover between the GLOBE participants and the matched satellites agree within 10%, which is notable given the distinctly different natures of the data sources. The mean vertical cloud profiles show GLOBE reporting more low‐level clouds and fewer high‐level clouds than satellites. The low cloud disagreement is likely related to satellites missing low clouds when high clouds block their view. Conversely, the high cloud disagreement is related primarily to cloud opacity, as satellites may miss some optically thin clouds. Monte Carlo testing shows the results to be robust, and the tripled amount of IOP data reduces uncertainty by half. These findings also highlight ways in which citizen science IOP data may be used to support scientific research while accounting for their unique properties.

The potential of citizen science data to complement satellite and airborne lidar tree height measurements: lessons from The GLOBE Program

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is an international science, citizen science, and education program through which volunteers in participating countries collect environmental data in support of Earth system science. Using the program’s software application, GLOBE Observer (GO), volunteers measure tree height and optional tree circumference, which may support the interpretation of NASA and other space-based satellite data such as tree height data from the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) and Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation instrument. This paper describes tree heights data collected through the GO application and identifies sources of error in data collection. We also illustrate how the ground-based citizen science data collected in the GO application can be used in conjunction with ICESat-2 tree height observations from two locations in the United States: Grand Mesa, Colorado, and Greenbelt, Maryland. Initial analyses indicate that data location accuracy and the scientific relevance of data density should be considered in order to align GLOBE tree height data with satellite-based data collections. These recommendations are intended to inform the improved implementation of citizen science environmental data collection in scientific work and to document a use case of the GLOBE Trees data for the science research community.

Characterizing Student-Driven Research Investigations Contributed to the GLOBE Program Citizen Science Initiative in a Formal Education Context

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program offers citizen science opportunities to participants of all ages, with a focus on youth in formal classroom contexts. This study uses student investigation research reports and posters submitted to the 2018 International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS) and Student Research Symposium (SRS) as testbeds for characterizing student-driven Earth system citizen science investigations. Secondarily, this study aimed to capture GLOBE’s alignment to existing citizen science outcomes frameworks in the literature, which have primarily focused on adults and non-formal settings. Based on a literature review, the evaluation team identified 89 potential characteristics in 27 categories to typify investigations from both formal education and citizen science perspectives. We coded the artifacts from 207 student projects, conducted quantitative analysis of frequencies, and performed a semantic network analysis. By using this networking approach, we conceptually mapped several clusters of co-occurring characteristics, defining a descriptive framework for GLOBE projects. We identified three tiers of citizen science projects, increasing in the sophistication of participants’ demonstrated science practices. The framework includes additional components that reflect student citizen scientists’ thoughtfulness and connection to context as well as their projects’ reflection of their motivation and self-efficacy. Through these findings, we have identified areas where student citizen scientists would benefit from further support, and suggest here further research to incorporate the experiences of students into the broader understanding of citizen science outcomes.

Trend of environmental science project: A reflection of Thailand GLOBE student research competition

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) is an international science and education program that promote teaching and learning of science, enhance environmental literacy and awareness. The Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) acted as a country coordinator. IPST has implemented GLOBE throughout the country. One of the important approach is “GLOBE Student research competition (GLOBE SRC)”, this project aim to promote students to learn and share Earth System Science (ESS) research. The research focused on environmental science by using GLOBE measurement protocols. This study reflected outcome of the project such as the amount of ESS research, type of environmental science research and learning outcome of the project in 2009 - 2020. A total of 451 researches were analyzed in term of title and abstract. The result indicated that Survey research is 69%, Experimental research is 26%, and Invention research is 5%. The trend of the Experimental research increased and Invention research slightly increased in the last six years. The result indicated that this approach enabled students to improve their scientific inquiry, scientific thinking and scientific attitude. They received learning experiences that build 21st century competency to assist them in the future.

Using GLOBE as a simulation lab to prepare STEM ready pre-service environmental science teachers: a liberal arts university’s approach

To prepare Pre-service teachers to meet the demands of an increasingly technological society, a GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) simulation lab was infused into one of the pre-service teachers’ science courses. This course was designed to support and engage pre-service teachers in understanding how to incorporate meaningful STEM activities into their own learning experiences, and how ultimately to infuse this learning experience into their future classrooms. Organized as a research project, the course emphasizes integrating inquiry-based teaching approaches to the learning environment for pre-service teachers to develop a holistic understanding of basic Earth Science concepts. The GLOBE simulation laboratory is equipped with computers, interfaced LabQuest probes and traditional laboratory equipment that enhance interactive learning and hands-on experiences. A major component of the course is the ability to develop activities into long-term research projects. Data for a 12-months period is highlighted in this paper. Results from an end of course survey indicated that pre-service teachers valued their experiences in the simulation lab and were more confident in their ability to incorporate Geoscience ideas into the learning environment.

The GLOBE Spring Cloud Challenge: The power of citizen scientists

AbstractCitizen science is often recognized for its potential to directly engage the public in science, and is uniquely positioned to support and extend participants’ learning in science. In March 2018, the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, NASA’s largest and longest-lasting citizen science program about Earth, organized a month-long event that asked people around the world to contribute daily cloud observations and photographs of the sky (15 March–15 April 2018). What was considered a simple engagement activity turned into an unprecedented worldwide event that garnered major public interest and media recognition, collecting over 55,000 observations from 99 different countries, in more than 15,000 locations, on every continent including Antarctica. The event was called the “Spring Cloud Challenge” and was created to 1) engage the general public in the scientific process and promote the use of the GLOBE Observer app, 2) collect ground-based visual observations of varying cloud types during boreal spring, and 3) increase the number and locations of ground-based visual cloud observations collocated with cloud-observing satellites. The event resulted in roughly 3 times more observations than during the historic and highly publicized 2017 North American total solar eclipse. The dataset also includes observations over the Drake Passage in Antarctica and reports from intense Saharan dust events. This article describes how the challenge was crafted, outreach to volunteer scientists around the world, details of the data collected, and impact of the data.

GLOBE Observer Data: 2016-2019.

This technical report summarizes the GLOBE Observer data set from 1 April 2016 to 1 December 2019. GLOBE Observer is an ongoing NASA‐sponsored international citizen science project that is part of the larger Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, which has been in operation since 1995. GLOBE Observer has the greatest number of participants and geographic coverage of the citizen science projects in the Earth Science Division at NASA. Participants use the GLOBE Observer mobile app (launched in 2016) to collect atmospheric, hydrologic, and terrestrial observations. The app connects participants to satellite observations from Aqua, Terra, CALIPSO, GOES, Himawari, and Meteosat. Thirty‐eight thousand participants have contributed 320,000 observations worldwide, including 1,000,000 georeferenced photographs. It would take an individual more than 13 years to replicate this effort. The GLOBE Observer app has substantially increased the spatial extent and sampling density of GLOBE measurements and more than doubled the number of measurements collected through the GLOBE Program. GLOBE Observer data are publicly available (at observer.globe.gov).

Eclipse across America: Citizen Science Observations of the 21 August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

AbstractOn 21 August 2017, North America witnessed a total solar eclipse, with the path of totality passing across the United States from coast to coast. The major public interest in the event inspired the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Observer to organize a citizen science observing campaign to record the meteorological effects of the eclipse. Participants at 17 585 observing sites collected 68 620 temperature observations and 15 978 cloud observations. With 7194 sites positioned in the path of totality, participants provide a nearly unbroken record of the cloud and temperature effects of the eclipse across the contiguous United States. The collection of both temperature and cloud observations provides an opportunity to quantify the cloud–temperature relationship. The unique character of citizen science, which provides data from a large number of observations with limited quality control, requires a method that leverages the large number of observations. By grouping observing sites along the path of totality by 1° longitude bins, the errors from individual sites are averaged out and the meteorological effects of the eclipse can be determined robustly. The data reveal a distinct relationship between prevailing cloud cover and the eclipse-induced temperature depression, in which overcast conditions reduces the temperature depression by about one-half of the value from clear conditions. A comparison of the GLOBE results with mesonet data allows a test of the robustness of the citizen science results. The results also show the great benefit that research using citizen science data receives from increased numbers of participants and observations.

GLOBE: Connecting to Community of Observers Directly to NASA Satellites [Education

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program is an international science and education initiative that gives students and the public worldwide an opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process and to contribute meaningfully to our understanding of Earth and the global environment. GLOBE launched in 1995, with the vision of bringing a worldwide community of students, teachers, scientists, and citizens together to better understand, sustain, and improve Earth's environment at local, regional, and global scales (https://www.globe.gov/about/overview).

GLOBE Data Entry App Version 1.3 Now Available: Create and Edit Sites Without Active Internet Connection [Education

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program is a worldwide hands-on primary and secondary school-based science and education program. GLOBE’s vision promotes and supports collaboration among students, teachers, and scientists on inquiry-based investigations of the environment and the Earth system, working in close partnership with NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Earth System Science Projects for study and research about the dynamics of Earth’s environment.

Citizen Scientists: Bringing NASA to the school yard [Pipelining: Attractive Programs for Women

Where can teachers bring students for age-appropriate hands-on activities that will introduce them to the science that makes up our world? Since the launch of The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program 20 years ago, the answer, simply, is outside.

The Costa Rica GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Project as a Learning Science Environment

GLOBE is a global educational program for elementary and high school levels, and its main purpose in Costa Rica is to develop scientific thinking and interest for science in high school students through hydrology research projects that allow them to relate science with environmental issues in their communities. Youth between 12 and 17 years old from public schools participate in science clubs outside of their regular school schedule. A comparison study was performed between different groups, in order to assess GLOBE’s applicability as a learning science atmosphere and the motivation and interest it generates in students toward science. Internationally applied scales were used as tools for measuring such indicators, adapted to the Costa Rican context. The results provide evidence statistically significant that the students perceive the GLOBE atmosphere as an enriched environment for science learning in comparison with the traditional science class. Moreover, students feel more confident, motivated and interested in science than their peers who do not participate in the project. However, the results were not statistically significant in this last respect.

Ecoliteracy for ecology and ecologists: eroded underpinnings

Ecoliteracy for ecology and ecologists: eroded underpinnings

Assessing K–12 Teachers' Personal Environmental Education Teaching Efficacy and Outcome Expectancy

The purpose of this study was to determine change in environmental education teaching efficacy beliefs of K–12 teachers who participated in two weeks of an intensive summer earth systems science institute using the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) curriculum as the conceptual framework. Thirty-eight teachers participated daily in eight hours of Basic GLOBE activities the first week and Advanced GLOBE activities the second week. In addition, teachers participated in one orientation session, two follow-up seminars, and were required to develop an action implementation plan to implement GLOBE activities and protocols into their classrooms during the following fall semester. Teachers were given the Environmental Education Efficacy Belief Instrument (EEEBI) at the orientation session, on the last day of the summer activities, and a third time at the last follow-up seminar in the fall. These scores were analyzed for any significant change in personal environmental teaching efficacy (PETE) and environmental teaching outcome expectancy (ETOE). Results indicated that teachers reported significant gains in both PETE and ETOE immediately following the workshop. While mean scores on the two subscales increased slightly between the conclusion of the summer institute and the end of the fall semester, the increase was not significant.

Surface Ozone Measured at GLOBE Schools in the Czech Republic: A Demonstration of the Importance of Student Contribution to the Larger Science Picture

Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) is a worldwide, hands-on, primary and secondary school-based education and science program, which is developed to give students a chance to perform real science by making measurements, analyzing data, and participating in research through collaboration with scientists. As part of the GLOBE Surface Ozone Protocol, and with the assistance of the TEREZA Association in the Czech Republic, schools in the Czech Republic have been making and reporting daily measurements of surface ozone and surface meteorological data since 2001. Using a hand-held ozone monitor developed for GLOBE, students at several Czech schools have generated multiyear data records of surface ozone from 2001 to 2005. Analysis of the data shows that surface ozone levels were anomalously high during the summer of 2003 relative to other summers. These findings are consistent with the measurements of the European Environment Agency, which highlight the summer of 2003 as having exceptionally long-lasting and spatially extensive episodes of high surface ozone, especially during the first half of August. Further analysis of the summers prevailing meteorology shows not only that it was one of the hottest on record, a finding also seen in the student data, but the conditions for production of ozone were ideal. Findings such as these increase student, teacher, and scientist confidence in the utility of the GLOBE data for engaging budding scientists in the collection, analysis, and eventual interpretation of the data for inquiry-based education.

GLOBE students, teachers, and scientists demonstrate variable differences between urban and rural leaf phenology

AbstractThe urban heat island effect, classically associated with high impervious surface area (ISA), low vegetation fractional cover (Fr), and high land surface temperature (LST), has been linked to changing patterns of vegetation phenology, especially spring growth. In this study, a collaboration with the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program, we investigated the effect of the urban environment on the timing of leaf budburst of native deciduous trees in seven cities: Asia (Tokyo, Japan; Bangkok and Korat, Thailand), Europe (Jyväskylä, Finland; Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan), Africa (Dakar, Senegal), and North America (Fairbanks, Alaska). The cities differed not only in population size but also in climate and vegetation type. Using Landsat satellite imagery from each city, we calculated LST, Fr, and ISA, and classified sites within each study area as rural or urban. The timing of leaf flushing, measured by students using GLOBE budburst protocols, was statistically different within all cities, with absolute differences ranging from 1 to 23 days. We assessed the classic urban phenology paradigm, which proposes higher LST, lower Fr, and earlier budburst in urban areas of temperate cities. Of the four temperate cities, Tokyo followed the classic paradigm, but no other city demonstrated consistent support. Urban budburst was advanced in three of the four temperate cities, but in only one of the three tropical cities. Results suggest that while vegetation phenology is consistently different between urban and rural areas, a uniform paradigm based on the explanatory variables in this study did not emerge. Although not testable here, it is likely that alterations to chilling requirements in temperate climates and humidity in tropical climates may also influence observed budburst differences.

Inexpensive Near-IR Sun Photometer for Measuring Total Column Water Vapor

Abstract An inexpensive two-channel near-IR sun photometer for measuring total atmospheric column water vapor (precipitable water) has been developed for use by the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) environmental science and education program and other nonspecialists. This instrument detects sunlight in the 940-nm water vapor absorption band with a filtered photodiode and at 825 nm with a near-IR light-emitting diode (LED). The ratio of outputs of these two detectors is related to total column water vapor in the atmosphere. Reference instruments can be calibrated against column atmospheric water vapor data derived from delays in radio signals received at global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver sites and other independent sources. For additional instruments that are optically and physically identical to reference instruments, a single-parameter calibration can be determined by making simultaneous measurements with a reference instrument and forcing the derived precipitable water values to agree. Although the concept of near-IR detection of precipitable water is not new, this paper describes a first attempt at developing a protocol for calibrating large numbers of inexpensive instruments suitable for use by teachers, students, and other nonspecialists.

The 15th AMS Education Symposium

In final form 28 September 2006 ©2007 American Meteorological Society he 15th Education Symposium, held as part of the 86th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting, addressed the scope of education and outreach efforts within atmospheric and related sciences. The symposium was animated by the participants’ deep commitment to the goal of broadening the impact of science and contributing to the development of a literate scientific population. The goals of the symposium were to share the innovations and lessons learned, and to energize the participants to continue as change agents in atmospheric education. These goals were realized though formal presentations and posters, and, equally important, informal conversations. This year, the program focused on innovations in K–16 education, the growing opportunities in the arena of space weather, and the role of data in the classroom. The program consisted of 58 posters and 39 oral presentations. Posters were emphasized because the symposium organizers wanted to focus on a venue that encouraged greater interaction between the presenters and their audience. Three themes emerged from the symposium. The first theme was the notion that K–12 education, particularly in the atmospheric and related sciences, is a shared responsibility—that universities, government agencies, and even publishers can and should play an active role in supporting K–12 education, both nationally and internationally. A second crosscutting theme emphasized the need for students and citizens to experience science not only as observers, but also as participants. For example, two programs—Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) and the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS)—involve either students or citizens in collecting atmospheric data. A third, and related, crosscutting theme was centered around the development and use of tools, especially visualization tools, that can involve students in scientific exploration of atmospheric data. As one presenter noted, real learning occurs not from a textbook, but from real investigations driven by data. THE 15TH AMS EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM

Validation of MODIS aerosol observations over the Netherlands with GLOBE student measurements

We have established a network of secondary schools in the Netherlands with students routinely measuring aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at two wavelengths with hand‐held Sun photometers. Students have performed more than 400 measurements between January 2002 and October 2005 over more than 12 locations within the Netherlands as a contribution to Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE). We have developed an improved AOT retrieval algorithm that accounts for the effective wavelength of the broad‐band GLOBE detectors and for the spatiotemporal variation of ozone. Results from a theoretical error analysis indicate that GLOBE measurements achieve a precision better than 0.02 AOT for both channels. Comparisons with professional instruments generally give high correlations and low scatter and bias. From these tests, we conclude that student data are scientifically valid and may be used to validate MODIS AOT retrievals over the Netherlands. We find that over land, MODIS AOT is biased by +0.03 (470 nm) and −0.01 AOT (660 nm). Over coastal areas, MODIS overestimates AOT by 0.10 (470 nm) and 0.08 AOT (660 nm). Seasonally averaged MODIS observations over northwestern Europe show relatively highest AOT values over the region of Flanders and the Netherlands, with a seasonal cycle peaking in spring/summer. Our study shows the potential of secondary school‐based networks in addition to existing, professional networks that have much less spatial coverage.

Comparisons of measured stream flow with drainage and runoff simulated by a soil-vegetation-atmosphere transport model parameterized with GLOBE student data

Summary Predicting runoff and drainage from landscapes and correlating these with stream flow can be a powerful watershed management tool. We examined the feasibility of using runoff and drainage output of a simple soil-vegetation-atmosphere (SVAT) model as a predictor of monthly and daily changes in measured stream flow. Six watersheds in the eastern US were analyzed, located from approximately 35°N to 43°N. They ranged in area from 23 to 2463 km 2 and were 35–65% forested. The SVAT model was parameterized with weather, soils and phenological data largely obtained from a secondary school in each watershed that is participating in the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program. This program is a United States government science education effort promoting scientific inquiry in grades K-12 by providing protocols for collecting environmental data. Monthly measured stream flow and simulated runoff + drainage over a one year period were normalized to the largest value in that period and were compared using linear regression. Simulated monthly runoff + drainage explained between 37% and 76% of the variability in monthly stream flow. Changes in daily simulated runoff + drainage and measured stream flow depended on the simulated volumetric soil water content ( θ v ). At low θ v , large precipitation events (>20 mm) did not result in increased daily simulated runoff + drainage or measured stream flow. At high or saturating θ v , large precipitation events resulted in increased daily simulated runoff + drainage followed by increased measured stream flow within two days.