GPM Satellite Mission

Global Connections and Intergenerational Relationships

2023-05-11T19:53:11Z

One of the things that I find the most inspiring about The GLOBE Program, is the rich collaboration that it enables us to have with each other. Speaking for myself, I now have friends literally all around the globe, because of my engagement and interaction with GLOBE. I thought I would take a little time to write about a very inspiring intergenerational collaboration that I have found particularly enriching.

During the virtual GLOBE Annual Meeting in 2021, I was asked by a participant if we could meet up in a virtual room and chat. I was astonished to meet the extremely vibrant and enthusiastic young engineer and new GLOBE member, Yashraj Patil. He was about to go on an amazing research expedition and was interested in finding out how he might incorporate GLOBE protocols into his work while he was there. Learn more about his incredible research trip here!

Over the past two years, we have kept in touch and formed a warm friendship, even though we are from such different cultures and generations. We send each other Facebook messages daily to keep in touch and share various cultural and family holidays. Sometimes we even meet up in “real time” using technology, and I have had the pleasure of talking to his mom, dad, brother, cousins, and his grandparents. I love learning about the music, foods, and cultural customs that Yashraj and his family celebrate. Likewise, he sees my family photos showing him how my grandchildren are dressed for Halloween and other holidays.

Not long ago, Yashraj was telling me that his grandfather was ill and had to be taken to the hospital. He explained that it was his grandfather, Shri Sudhakar Patil who had encouraged him throughout his life. "My grandfather has a wealth of life experiences that gave me valuable guidance and advice on a variety of aspects ranging from careers to personal development. He always made sure that I was in touch with science and geography (for international exposure) since my childhood, and he accompanied me consistently while watching Discovery, National Geographic channel, and even watching Star Movies, which made it easier for me to pick up the English more fluently.”

I had the pleasure of meeting his grandfather virtually several times during our live chats and knew that he had visited the United States and that he spoke English very well. I made sure to touch base with Yashraj each day to check on the status of his beloved grandfather. When his grandfather came home from the hospital, we had a live chat and I told his grandfather myself just how much he meant to his grandson- and as a grandmother myself, how much he inspired me as I strive to also have this kind of a close and influential relationship with my grandchildren.

I am sorry to say that Yashraj lost his beloved grandfather, Shri Sudhakar Patil, two weeks after he had returned from the hospital. Having met this wise man, I could not only sympathize with his loss but also reassure him that his grandfather knew how much he had influenced and guided him, and that Yashraj will spread his grandfather’s wisdom and energy onto so many others.

Yashraj agreed and told me “It is commonly said in India that "a lake/sea is formed drop by drop," and in the same way, my grandfather took the same approach and began seeding every drop of multidimensional knowledge while I was growing up, and today, he has witnessed so many of my international achievements and fulfilled his dream of getting into Science, Research, and Diplomacy. When my Himalayan Expedition work was featured in NASA Science Activation Nugget, he burst into tears and told me he never imagined witnessing such a day.

Despite his confidence in my abilities, witnessing this was a pleasant surprise and a fantastic reward for his efforts. Later, when I received the United Nations Global Diplomacy Fellowship Spring 2023 and got the opportunity to be on a panel for the UN General Assembly Science Summit 2023, he was overjoyed and appreciated my efforts to consider international relations alongside my scientific research, and he said he has witnessed everything and wonders what my grandson will look like when he touches those international dimensions with his great work.

Given the fact that I will always miss his physical presence in my newer accomplishments, my work will always be done in memory of his great efforts and to respect him with my new triumphs."

I thought this was worth sharing as a blog here because it offers a glimpse into the friendships that are being formed, day in and day out, through our connections with The GLOBE Program. It also illustrates that fact that we are all connected, and that our participation with The GLOBE Program enables us to not only share our science with each other, but to also form rich relationships that cross cultures and generations.

NASA SEES Internship 2022: A Memorable Experience

2022-09-01T21:51:25Z

The Summer 2022 NASA SEES Internship program was a memorable one for the GLOBE Mission EARTH (GME) Team! The 6-week period of hard work, commitment, and dedication by all members led to creative and outstanding research projects from both the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE) and the Air Quality Initiative (AQI) Teams. The wide geographical spread of the NASA SEES students allows them to take observations using different GLOBE protocols across the United States.

The AQI Team led by GLOBE Mission EARTH Research Assistant Sara Mierzwiak and GME Teacher Janene Smith mentored a group of 7 high school students in exploring the science of Air Quality using different educational resources (Purple Air, Center for Disease Control, EPA, GLOBE, etc.). Students were mentored and inspired in several areas of conducting independent research. Students were invited to the University of Toledo’s ArcGIS Online account, through which they created ArcGIS Online Storymaps of their research projects. The last two weeks of the internship were in-person in Austin, Texas at the Center for Space Research (CSR). A photo album of their on-site activities can be viewed here: https://utexas.box.com/s/6str15tfkfzwgisxxlm1qqq8h7gw9b9b

Figure 1: AQI Team at Austin, Texas

For the UHIE Team led by Dr. Yitong and Femi, eight students selected from the NASA SEES internship program (and one student from the University of Toledo intern program) were mentored and guided to investigate the UHIE in both their local environments and globally by conducting individual and group GLOBE-related projects.

Figure 2: UHIE Team. Screenshot of one of their virtual meetings.

It is interesting to know that most of these students will be presenting at AGU 2022 Conference under the Bright Star theme, and I look forward to their presentations at the Chicago conference in Dec. 2022.

SEES Internship 2022: Connecting High School Students to Scientists

2022-05-02T22:28:40Z

My involvement in the Stem Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) program started sometime around early spring 2021. The involvement was preceded by a strong recommendation from Dr. Kevin Czajkowski, PI, GLOBE Mission Earth, The University of Toledo.

Indeed, to me as a member of the GLOBE International STEM Network (GISN), my participation in SEES became an opportunity to invoke the GISN mandate which includes to mentor and inspiring students. During the SEES 2021 Internship Program, my task as SEES mentor gave me an opportunity to interact weekly with selected talented students in Urban Heat Island (UHI) Group. The students had a wide geographical spread from Montana to Texas, and from California to DC.

This year, 2022 SEES Program will afford me and my colleague-Sara, and a Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr. Yitong at GLOBE Mission Earth, University of Toledo the privilege to once again, mentor and inspire SEES 2022 NASA Internship students on two projects: Urban Heat Island and Air Quality.

In Sara’s comment “As part of the GLOBE Mission EARTH Team, I am honored to begin another summer working with such talented students as those in the NASA SEES Internship Program. It is simultaneously humbling and inspiring to see high school students conduct research and analyses that I only learned about as a graduate student myself!"

“I thoroughly enjoyed working with high school interns from the SEES program last summer. It was the highlight of the year. The students are ambitious, passionate, and hard-working in the Urban Heat Island group. They not only had hands-on experience in scientific research, but also were challenged, humbled, inspired, and changed during the short period of time. I'm also encouraged to see that two students reached out to us after the internship and continued their research with us this year” This was Dr. Yitong’s personal comment after 2021 SEES internship experience.

Indeed, I look forward to a memorable and intellectual journey in the summer that will birth students’ hands-on and real-world projects in UHI and Air quality studies.

Exploring Engineering Solutions for a Changing Climate

2021-10-05T14:52:07Z

Did you know that NASA's Earth-observing satellites gather data that is being used by people all over the world to help respond to a variety of challenges? The 2022 GLOBE International Virtual Science Symposium is focusing on "Engineering Solutions for a Changing Climate". In this blog, I will share some information about the ways that Faisal Hossain, a Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor at the University of Washington, is using engineering and solving environmental issues through engineering solutions.

Faisal Hossain grew up in Bangladesh where he observed that sometimes there was too much water, such as during the monsoon season, and other times there was not enough water to meet people's needs. Seeing these extreme conditions first hand made him wonder how he might find some solutions to the problems. You can watch a short video of him discussing this here.

Hossain uses NASA Earth observation data ranging from precipitation to water levels, land cover, soil moisture, and land/water temperature to take a pulse of the earth we live in and how it is changing. These data are used in many decision support systems to tell us what might be the future state, for example, of flooding, or how much food a region may expect to grow, or even how much drinking water may be available in a region. Predicting the future helps us make decisions on how to prepare, whether that is for the next day, next week, next month / season or even next year. Hossain also works with a project that uses precipitation data and weather forecast data to tell farmers when and how much to irrigate and even inform them if they can save water by not irrigating. This results in a lot of saving of water and increased food production. Hossain also uses NASA data to monitor how warm or cold river waters are below a dam to understand if that dam is causing damage to the ecosystem.

Watch a video titled "Guiding Farmers with NASA Satellites" to learn more about his work and see the engineering solutions that were developed using NASA data here. Read this article that describes the problem and the PANI model which was developed to help farmers make effective decisions to save water and make agriculture a more sustainable practice in India.

Any teachers out there looking for a way to teach students this content? NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement outreach team has developed a suite of four lesson plans, complete with Teacher Guides, Presentations, Student Capture Sheets, and more! These are titled "Water for Wheaties" and use a project-based learning and universal design for learning approach. You will find these lessons plans on the "Precipitation Education" website under the "Who Uses GPM Data?" tab.

Find Your Place with NASA!

2020-12-11T17:37:50Z

Ever wonder what it might be like to work for NASA? This year at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Meeting (kind of like a huge IVSS as it is virtual this year), NASA shared a wealth of resources to help anyone interested in working with or for NASA to "find their place"! Take a look at this site and explore the myriad of amazing opportunities and programs that exist for a wide variety of different audiences. These programs range from research and learning opportunities to being engaged by being a part of The GLOBE Program! So check out the "Find Your Place" website here and start dreaming and working toward meeting your dreams!

Getting excited about the launch of NASA's next Earth-observing mission!

2020-11-20T23:03:44Z

The newest satellite to monitor global sea level is ready for its journey into space. Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, the latest in a series of spacecraft designed to monitor the global ocean, is scheduled to launch on Saturday, Nov. 21. Will you be watching?

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, the latest in a series of spacecraft designed to monitor our oceans, is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. The satellite will be followed in 2025 by its twin, Sentinel-6B. Together, the pair is tasked with extending our nearly 30-year-long record of global sea surface height measurements. Instruments aboard the satellites will also provide atmospheric data that will improve weather forecasts, climate models, and hurricane tracking.

Named after former NASA Earth Science Division Director Michael Freilich, the U.S.-European satellite will be carried into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with liftoff targeted for 12:17 p.m. EST from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Tune in live for pre launch and launch broadcasts, kicking off on Friday, Nov., 20 at 3:30 p.m. EST with an update all about the science of this historic mission. Live coverage and countdown commentary will begin on Nov. 21 at 11:45 a.m. EST on NASA Television and the agency’s website, as well as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, Daily Motion, and Theta.TV.

You can watch the most recent NASA Science Live show and learn more about sea level rise and this mission here. Visit NASA's new "Rising Waters" interactive website to learn about sea level rise, how this mission will help us better understand and respond to this threat, and find many educational resources that can help you share information about this topic with others. Take a little time to delve into this IQuest as you learn more about sea level rise and how NASA satellite data is helping us better monitor these changes.

The satellite is named after Michael Freilich, the former director of NASA's Earth Science division. Freilich’s career as an oceanographer spanned nearly four decades and integrated research on Earth’s oceans, leading satellite mission development, and helping to train and inspire the next generation of scientific leaders. His training was in ocean physics, but his vision encompasses the full spectrum of Earth’s dynamics. Learn more about him and the satellite which was inspired by his legacy here.

Meet six "Super Heroes" behind the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Satellite and hear their amazing stories as well as how they are supporting the science and engineering behind this mission here.

Learn about NASA's next upcoming Earth-observing satellite: Sentinel-6

2020-10-28T23:56:20Z

Did you know that very soon, a new Earth-observing satellite will join the fleet of satellites that are monitoring the health of our home planet? The launch of the joint U.S.- European Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is set for November 10! Right now it is undergoing final testing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and will be sent aloft on a Falcon 9 rocket. Once it is in orbit, about 1,336 km/830 miles above Earth's surface, its task will be to collect sea level measurements with an accuracy of a few centimeters (for a single measurement) for more than 90% of the world's oceans. And it will be making those measurements while repeatedly flying through an area of intense radiation known as the South Atlantic Anomaly, which can scramble electronics.

This ambitious satellite is named after an incredibly renowned NASA researcher, Dr. Michael Freilich, who served as the former director of NASA's Earth Science Division. Learn more about the man behind the mission in this short tribute video.

As we get nearer to launch, I will write another blog giving more information about sea level rise and sharing many valuable teaching resources which might be helpful to our community as we work together to understand and respond to our changing planet. I will also share more information about the scientists and engineers who are working with this mission.

The Next 25 Years

2020-09-11T17:09:58Z

The Next 25 Years

“To Observe the Earth and Visualize the Future”

GLOBE Satellites in Education Team (G-SET)

Over five decades of satellite and remote sensing data and technical infrastructure focused on observing the Earth continues to provide critical data and information for decision-makers daily. In fact, it plays a role in many of our daily lives and business practices.

Precollege students can now utilize the Space to Earth: Earth to Space (SEES) Model where observations and measurements can include both satellite and remote sensing imagery and data, and traditional investigations from the field, in other words, from the top-down, and the bottom-up. Using GPS and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the SEES Model can create layers of various data.

With a focus on the Geosciences (Earth-Atmosphere-Oceans-Space), because of its very interdisciplinary nature, approach to investigating the Earth as a System, and the advanced use of multiple technologies, the supporting engineering, and accompanying mathematics, makes this an authentic approach to STEM education initiatives.

“To Observe the Earth and Visualize the Future” provides a wide-range of innovative and transformative opportunities to develop proficiencies, gain experience, and explore career pathways that are not readily available to them as part of the precollege community.

Therefore, the GLOBE Satellites and Education Team seeks to:

Create a community-driven clearing house focused on the coordination of the educational resources, efforts, and student opportunities among and between current, past, and future satellite missions and space exploration to support the use of satellite imagery, remote sensing, data, and computer visualizations in the K-12 Classroom
Provide authentic STEM and/or CTE Student Pathways that contribute to our national security and economy through using real-world applications from satellites and satellite data creating a diverse future workforce for both precollege and undergraduate students
Broaden Participation in the Geosciences and GeoSTEM
Identify and Engage the Next Generation of Earth SySTEM Professionals
Promote Data Literacy
Engage in the Space to Earth: Earth to Space (SEES): An Earth SySTEM Approach in Investigating the Earth System
Encourage GLOBE students to use satellite derived data and information in establishing research projects for GLOBE, SRS, IVSS submissions
Utilize the Acquire- Analyze- Apply (A³⁾Strategy
Develop Earth Monitoring Stations – the study of Earth as a system
Develop an organization that supports and provides opportunities for earth observations and space exploration supported by Industry, Government, and Education
Recognizes the 25^th Anniversary of the GLOBE Program and on-going support of NASA, NOAA, NSF and Department of State, builds on the numerous accomplishments of the GLOBE Community, and sets a pathway towards the future.

Using NASA and GLOBE data to Predict Outbreaks of Disease!

2020-07-22T15:19:49Z

Did you know that NASA satellite data is being used to predict,monitor, and respond to vector-borne and water-related disease around the world? Imagine the value of using both GLOBE ground-based data; such as precipitation, vegetation, soil moisture, surface temperature, and humidity; to help us better understand disease! As you think about what you might like to research for the next school year, consider using NASA satellite data along with your GLOBE data to investigate various aspects of water-related and vector-borne disease. You can learn about the research conducted by several NASA scientists in this recent article from NASA's Earth Observatory, entitled "Of Mosquitoes and Models: Tracking Disease by Satellite". As you read this, think about how you might use existing GLOBE data along with freely available NASA data sets to try to determine the impact of various environmental parameters (precipitation, temperature, etc..) on an outbreak of a water-related or vector borne disease. You can see the "mosquito bundle" here and learn more about the GLOBE protocols that will help you study mosquitoes here.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Using NASA Data to Predict Where and When it will Rain!

2020-06-29T18:36:40Z

A new study using NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission data entitled "Water vapor and soil moisture can predict afternoon rainfall" was recently published in the Geophysical Research Letters journal. Many of us who use GLOBE protocols have wondered if we could use our data to help us answer some of the most challenging questions related to weather. This study might give some great ideas to students, teachers, and citizen scientists around the world to see if they can find similar results.

This article explains that the effect that water vapor has on weather is very complex and has not been well understood previously. The authors of this study look more closely at the possible relationship and came up with some rather surprising findings. One of the things that is so fascinating about science is that we can use emerging technologies and ground-based measurements to help us get a clearer understanding of what it taking place in Earth's systems.

For example, the lead author of this study, Josh Welty from the University of Arizona, states that the "prevailing wisdom on the relationship between soil moisture and rainfall is that if you have wetter soil in the morning, you’ll have a greater occurrence of rainfall in afternoon, but it’s more complicated than that.” One of the really interesting conclusions this study determined was that on days when the wind blows in only a little atmospheric moisture, we are more likely to get afternoon rains over wetter soils or where there is higher relative humidity. They found that when the wind blows in a lot of atmospheric moisture, you would be more likely to see rain over drier soils or in places with lower relative humidity.

The researchers state that this relationship between afternoon rainfall, atmospheric moisture, and soil moisture does not apply to the entire northern hemisphere. Wouldn't it be a neat study for GLOBE members all around the world to see what relationships they might find between soil moisture, water vapor, and afternoon rainfall? You could use both GLOBE protocol data as well as NASA satellite data to help you in this research.

If you are interested in seeing how much precipitation GPM measured over your location- or any location around the globe- check out this online interactive activity- "From Satellites to Your Backyard". You can also see how to compare and contrast your GLOBE precipitation data with that of GPM's data here. Finally, check out the last week of precipitation data which was observed around the world by the GPM mission here. How incredible that we have so much data to work with that is freely available, and we still have so many questions to ask and try to figure out! What are you waiting for- let's start investigating!

My Pathways to GLOBE Mission Earth

2020-05-18T04:07:56Z

Writing this blog does not mark a complete severance of my link with GLOBE Nigeria and GLOBE Africa as a whole, a country, and a continent, I espoused and loved right from my primary school about 25 years ago. As observed by many Nigerians, I am qualified to be described as a passionate GLOBE Man.

These successes can be traced back to the travel grant that I received in 2013 from the National Science Foundation through The University of Toledo, Ohio to attend the 18th GLOBE Annual Partners Meeting in Maryland. Since then, GLOBE has impacted my life tremendously and improved my contributions to environmental education and science. In January 2020, the knowledge that has acquired through GLOBE provided an opportunity to be admitted and funded for a Ph.D. program in Spatially Integrated Social Science (SISS) at The University of Toledo, Ohio. This allowed me to join GLOBE Mission Earth (GME) as a Research Assistant to Dr. Kevin Czajkowski on NASA funded project that fuses GLOBE projects with NASA assets. It is interesting to know how “The GLOBE Program” has prepared me for the task at GLOBE Mission Earth, University of Toledo. Lastly, special thanks to Dr. Kevin Czajkowski, Janet Struble, Sara Mierzwiak, and Shari Grayczyk for providing a platform to soar.

Here is the picture with the GME UT Team, and GLOBE Teachers in a training session at the University of Toledo early this year.

GLOBE Satellites and Education Team

2020-05-14T17:28:41Z

Greetings,

On April 22, 2020, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and the 25th anniversary of GLOBE and me as a GLOBE Teacher, I introduced the GLOBE Satellites and Education Team (G-SET). For me, and from the beginning of GLOBE in 1995, one of the best opportunities for GLOBE was to introduce and integrate the use of satellite imagery and remotes sensing to the K12 community. In a small way it did through in its early years providing a LandSat image/dataset of each schools area. For the many new GLOBE teachers being trained, it was their first experience with image interpretation/analysis. For those of you who are recent new comers to GLOBE, this is why the study site is 90 meters, a LandSat "pixel". I had been working with a new community of satellite educators gathering, at West Chester University in PA, for a conference since 1987. Our focus back then was to focus of ways to get satellite imagery, mostly looking at building antennas, availability of dishes, and software to run the computers. We will gather again this year for the 33rd annual Satellites and Education Conference (via Zoom). I have worked on this concept while teaching in a CTE HS since 1985. Even in a CTE setting, this course of study attracted numerous females and a very diverse group of students. As "just a HS teacher" I never had funding from NASA, NOAA, NSF to complete a "formal" study … but I lived it and can tell you it works and document the great accomplishments of my students over the years.

I thought about the many NASA/GLOBE colleagues that share my passion for using satellites and remote sensing. I sent out a call. I was both humbled and overjoyed to see an amazing quick response to join G-SET. Within 48 hrs. G-SET was populated with , what I feels, are the best STEM professional regarding satellites in the USA. There are several form Africa as well, as we had been talking about this for many years and the interest is strong. I refer to them as the Africa Coalition! As we move into the next 25 years of GLOBE, I hope that this very experiences team can make a huge difference in the integration of satellites and remote sensing into the program, and develop strategies for widespread introduction into the K12 schools in the USA and around the world, and I would be happy to explain why it is the definitive application of STEM.

Big Data and Mosquitoes

2020-03-17T18:17:45Z

I bet you would be surprised to learn that since we began to collect "Mosquito Habitat Mapper" data (5/29/2017), we have had over 20,915 observations submitted! Think about how significant that number is for a tool that has only been available for less than three years!

As many of us who live in the northern hemisphere begin to see signs of spring arriving- robins, crocuses, leaf buds on the trees, and warmer weather- we know that we will also see adult mosquitoes before too long. While there are over 3,500 species of mosquitoes, only about 100 of those species are actually dangerous to humans. When we are bit by a mosquito, it is the adult female with eggs who bites us. Both male and female mosquitoes get their food from pollen, but the female needs a blood meal to supply her eggs with protein so they will be viable.

When we get bit by mosquitoes, that is when we can contract a disease. With the "Mosquito Habitat Mapper", you are helping to reduce the threat of mosquito-transmitted disease across the globe! There are four easy steps in this tool, and you do not have to do them all for you to be helping.

The first step is to become aware of standing water- as that is the most likely place a mosquito will lay her eggs. If you see standing water, take a picture of the container- an old tire, a plastic cup, a gutter or ditch, and so on. Just by getting in the habit of taking pictures and being aware of these potential mosquito breeding habitats is one of the most important steps we can take to reduce the threat of mosquito-transmitted disease.

The second step, if you see any larvae in the standing water, is to dip a cup or ladle into the water and take out a "sample" You can take this sample inside, away from the hot weather and possibly adult mosquitoes looking for a blood meal! Now count how many larvae you see in your cup or container. If you see any eggs- they are pretty hard to see but you might see some- count how many eggs, how many larvae, and also see if you see any pupae.

The third step is pretty neat. To do this step, you will need an inexpensive cell phone magnifier which helps you magnify the mosquito larvae to see if it has key features of the "vector" species that we are looking for. We are interested in knowing where these genera are found: Albopictus, Aedes, and Culex. While it can take a few minutes to identify the larva, it is really a fascinating process- and mosquito larvae can't hurt you at all. I do this step inside as well, and sometimes have to work with a couple of different larvae to get a good picture of the larvae and the main characteristics that we are looking for in the dichotomous key.

Finally, the last step is to empty the water- eliminate the potential mosquito breeding habitat. Remember you do not have to do all four steps to be an active participant. Just recognizing and eliminating potential mosquito breeding habitats is a huge step in making a really big difference around the world.

AMS 2020

2020-01-02T14:17:30Z

This year is the 100th Anniversary of the American Meteorological Society, and 26th presentation at the Symposium on Education. This year it will be held in Boston and the K12 Initiatives are on Monday January 13th. I will be sharing our recent work with GLOBE Mission Earth and focusing in on the GLOBE Observer Clouds App. With the recent collaboration with NASA S'COOL Clouds Observations, it is a prime example of the Space to Earth:Earth to Space (SEES) Model, i.e. giving students and citizen scientists the ability to gather imagery from earth observing satellites and from the ground up. When you view this data along with the HoloGLOBE app developed here at the Institute for Earth Observations, you can also add the global cloud cover (in real time) and GPM data. By the way, my first presentation in 1994 was "Applications of Satellite Imagery and Remote Sensing in K12 Education". Seems to have worked out OK.

Spotlight on Using the Mosquito Habitat Mapper for IVSS Reports

2019-12-02T20:28:49Z

High school students in GLOBE teacher Mercy Molina's 11th grade class are working in five small research groups to investigate various aspects of mosquitoes in their region. Even though there will not be active mosquitoes during the time frame they will be doing their investigation (November through January), there are still many aspects of mosquitoes that they decided to learn more about.

The International School at Largo is a unique high school as it focuses on working with students for whom English is a second language, and who have come to the United States within the past four years. Mercy Molina, a phenomenal science teacher, heard about The GLOBE Program late last year when a member of the Global Precipitation Measurement science team visited her school. She reached out to me to see if there were authentic investigations related to NASA that her students could become involved in, and I got her started learning about GLOBE and GLOBE Observer. She was so excited that she worked with her principal and myself to develop an elective course that would GLOBE protocols.

After learning about The GLOBE Program and GLOBE Observer, her students decided they would like to focus on learning more about mosquitoes and mosquito-transmitted disease. One student in the class had contracted chikungunya in his home country, and another had experienced being sick with dengue fever. After learning some of the basics about mosquitoes, they came up with the following questions to investigate. Each group will focus on researching one of these questions for their IVSS reports.

What species and genera of mosquitoes that transmit disease are found in Maryland?
What kinds of mosquito-transmitted diseases have been reported to health officials in Maryland?
When is active mosquito season in Maryland?
Is the length of active mosquito in Maryland changing over the past 20 years?
What are the best practices for protection and prevention of mosquito-transmitted disease for people in Maryland?

The class has been collecting air temperature, precipitation, humidity, barometric pressure, and cloud data on a regular basis. The students have downloaded the GLOBE Observer app and are collecting tree height and land cover data on a monthly basis. They are using home-made mosquito traps both inside and outside their homes and taking observations with the mosquito habitat mapper regularly. Using these data, they hope to explore relationships between these environmental parameters and their investigative question. They are also hoping to collaborate with a few other GLOBE schools and learn about mosquitoes and mosquito-transmitted disease in other locations.

If you are thinking about using the mosquito habitat mapper as a part of the IVSS investigations, please complete this Google Form so I can reach out to you and see if I can offer any assistance or resources.

IVSS Projects and the Mosquito Habitat Mapper

2019-11-18T17:50:09Z

Did you know that the mosquito is the world's most dangerous animal? What could be a better topic for students to research than this common insect that can cause so much damage?

We are looking for teachers and students who are interested in using the GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper as a part of their IVSS science project investigation. You do not need to have active mosquitoes to do this research. There are so many ways that this can be done! Students can collect data using the Mosquito Habitat Mapper and find out:

- Where in their community they find potential mosquito breeding habitats?

- When mosquitoes are active in their community and is the active time period changing?

- What kinds of mosquitoes are found in their region?

- What kinds of mosquito-transmitted diseases have been reported in their regions?

- What are some protection and prevention measures that can be taken by their community to reduce the threat of mosquito-transmitted disease?

As students collect other GLOBE data; such as air temperature, precipitation, humidity, vegetation, land cover, and other environmental data; they can use this data to help them find correlations that help them answer the questions above. They could also use data from NASA satellites, such as the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission to find out what conditions were like when mosquitoes are active in their region. They can use past data to predict when they anticipate seeing active mosquitoes.

I am happy to work with teachers and students who are considering doing an IVSS or other type of science project using the Mosquito Habitat Mapper. Feel free to reach out to me at dorian.w.janney@nasa.gov with any questions or suggestions you might have.

From Satellites to Your Backyard

2019-10-21T13:52:34Z

Water- the world's most precious resource. All around the world, NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement mission is collected data on how much precipitation is falling to Earth. NASA has just released its newest and most comprehensive estimate of rain and snow covering nearly 20 years. Version 6 of NASA's IMERG -- the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) -- combines information from a constellation of satellites are operating in Earth orbit, at a given time, to estimate precipitation over the majority of the Earth's surface. This algorithm is particularly valuable over the majority of the Earth's surface that lacks precipitation-measuring instruments on the ground. What is new in Version 6 IMERG is that the algorithm can now fuse the early precipitation estimates collected in 2000-2014 during the operation of the TRMM satellite with more recent precipitation estimates collected during operation of the GPM satellite. The longer the record, the more valuable it is, as researchers and application developers will attest. TRMM and GPM are two satellites specially designed to provide the most reliable space-based estimates of precipitation, and both satellites are joint missions between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Watch this short video, "NASA Remasters Nearly 20 Years of Global Rain", to learn more about the importance of this data to communities around the globe.

You can freely and easily access the GPM precipitation data for your location by following these directions. If you want to compare and contrast your GLOBE precipitation measurement data to that of the GPM satellite, follow these directions. This data would be a wonderful addition to your IVSS or other science investigations. Feel free to contact Dorian Janney at dorian.w.janney@nasa.gov if you need help with this data for your science investigations.

From Satellites to Your Backyard

2019-10-04T17:10:48Z

Water is essential to life as we know it. Too much or too little water can mean the difference between life and death. While we live on a "water planet" and almost three-quarters of our planet is covered with water, less than 2.5% of that water is actually freshwater. You can read more about Earth's freshwater resources in this article, "Precious Freshness", and watch the video "Show Me the Water". See the "Freshwater Availability Toolkit" here for even more great resources.

NASA's "Global Precipitation Measurement" (GPM) mission is measuring how much precipitation is falling from the clouds to Earth- and it gets nearly global coverage with updates every half hour! You can see the latest Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals (IMERG) for the past 7 days here. Find out how to view and interact with IMERG data here. You can also read about the evolution of this data product in the article entitled "From TRMM to GPM- The Evolution of NASA Precipitation Data".

The GPM mission is celebrating an important milestone as they have recently released the latest version of this data product which allows anyone to view and download precipitation data for the past two decades. We have developed a special activity for The GLOBE Program to guide GLOBE members through comparing and contrasting their precipitation data with that of the GPM mission. You can access this activity here. We will send a digital certificate of appreciation to any GLOBE members who submit their comparison data with us!

In addition to this activity, we will be releasing several new short video features to look at the stories behind the long record of global precipitation data. There will be a free webinar training to learn more about the IMERG data and how to access and use it on October 15th from 10 to 12 PM (ET) and repeated from 3 to 5 PM (ET).

The next time you take a sip of water or enjoy a nice fresh apple, remember that precipitation is largely to thank for our having access to freshwater resources. Find out how much precipitation GPM measured for your location, and send us your data! We are delighted to share our newest data product with you, and always appreciate the hard work you and the rest of the members of our GLOBE community are doing to ensure we better understand and protect our home planet.

GPM's Fall IMERG Campaign

2019-09-24T19:39:40Z

Have you ever wondered if you could compare the precipitation data you are collecting to NASA satellite data? The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission is celebrating the fact that we have just released the latest version of our IMERG data which includes nearly global precipitation estimates for the past two decades!

You can follow the directions here to find out how to compare and contrast your precipitation data with that of the GPM mission for your location. If you haven't been collecting precipitation data, you can do this alternative activity to find out how much the international satellite constellation measured in your location.

You will receive a digital certificate of appreciation from GPM's Communications team for submitting your data to us during our Fall IMERG campaign. We will be developing a variety of resources to highlight the release of this latest data product, including NASA news stories, short videos and LiveShots, and an IMERG introductory training.

Learning how to access and use this data might also be very useful to your IVSS science investigations. Imagine being able to look at the past two decades of precipitation that fell in your location and use that information to help find cause and effect relationships!

GLOBE Mission Mosquito related IVSS Projects

2019-06-05T20:32:13Z

The GLOBE Mission Mosquito campaign was delighted to have 23 IVSS projects submitted that used the Mosquito Habitat Mapper tool in their research. These projects came from students in elementary school through graduate students in college and were submitted from 15 different countries. You can view an interactive map of these projects here.

During the GLOBE Mission Mosquito Education webinar, we invited three of these students and their teachers to share their projects and some "Best Practices" with us. You can view the archived webinar here.

Ines Mauad from the Escola Minas Gerais middle school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil led her students in an investigation to try to determine which type of water appeared most likely to attract adult female mosquitoes to lay their eggs. You can see a video of their work here. I asked her students some questions about their research and what suggestions they might have for other students who wanted to use the Mosquito Habitat Mapper for research. You can watch their answers here.

Jeff Bouwman had a team of students from Shumate middle school in Gibraltar, Michigan who looked into the humidity, precipitation, and temperature conditions that were associated with active mosquito season in their area. Take a look at their poster and hear the students' responses to questions about their findings.

Patchara Pongmanawut and her students from Princess Chulabhorn Science High School- Trang in Thailand did research to learn more about the species and number of mosquitoes that were found in various tourist locations in a beach resort area near their school. Watch this video to hear them tell about their investigation.

Are you interested in having your students use the mosquito habitat mapper to do an investigation? Feel free to reach out to me (dorian.w.janney@nasa.gov) with any questions you might have or support you would like. The GLOBE Mission Mosquito team will be happy to assist you and your students!

Be sure to sign up to be on the GLOBE Mission Mosquito mailing list.

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