August 2020 GLOBE News Brief
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NASA and Australia Sign GLOBE Agreement
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NASA and the Australian Space Agency have signed an agreement to cooperate on The GLOBE Program. The new agreement enables the Australian Space Agency to re-launch GLOBE activities in Australia, building upon the foundation it created in 1995 when Australia first joined GLOBE.
“We're excited to see our partners in Australia re-engage in the GLOBE program,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “Global observations are a critical component of this program and participation from observers across Australia will help ensure we have the best data possible to help students, teachers, scientists, and citizens promote science and learning about the environment. It also strengthens our partnership with a key international ally who will help us in our efforts to send the first woman and next man to the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program.”
Head of the Australian Space Agency Dr. Megan Clark AC shared the excitement of getting students engaged in STEM education. “Inspiring young Australians in space is a really important priority for the Australian Space Agency.”
The Australian Space Agency will serve as the government lead for The GLOBE Program in Australia, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIRO) will reassume its role as the Country Coordinator.
“NASA is very pleased to have Australia as a GLOBE partner as we celebrate the program’s 25
th
Anniversary this year,” said Allison Leidner, NASA GLOBE Program Manager. “We look forward to collaborating with the Australian Space Agency and CSIRO and welcoming the Australian education and science communities in our efforts to broaden our understanding of Earth’s environment.”
The GLOBE Implementation Office welcomes the
Australian Space Agency and CSIRO to GLOBE!
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GLOBE Thanks Participants of Historic 2020 GLOBE Virtual Meeting
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The GLOBE Implementation Office (GIO) would like to thank everyone who participated in the 2020 GLOBE Virtual Meeting. "This was the first interactive virtual annual meeting that the GIO organized and hosted,” GIO Director Dr. Tony Murphy said. “Over the four days, you all heard updates from GIO, the technology team at SSAI, and the program sponsors. There was also time for reports from the GLOBE Working Groups and for the U.S. Partners and Country Coordinators to meet about possible collaboration. Students from the International Virtual Science Symposium also had the opportunity to present their research.”
“This was not how we expected to host the annual meeting this year, especially for the 25th anniversary,” Dr. Murphy said. “However, due to the pandemic, we had to pivot to a virtual meeting from our regular in person event. I want to thank you all for attending all or some of the virtual sessions, and I hope you found them useful. I heard that some of you were up either very early or very late, depending on your time zone, to view the live broadcasts of the sessions...this was quite dedicated of you.”
“Your level of interest and engagement as a community in the program was clearly visible in that this was the largest annual meeting, with 429 registrants from 72 countries. I commend you for your commitment to the program and, again, I want to thank you for being part of this virtual GLOBE meeting.”
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Unable to Attend? Check out the Archived Version!
If you weren’t able to attend the meeting, there’s good news! It has been archived.
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GLOBE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce Presents Initial
Action Plan at 2020 GLOBE Virtual Meeting
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During the 2020 GLOBE Virtual Meeting, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force presented the proposed GLOBE definitions for DEI; the “Mission” and “Vision” of these efforts; and, an initial Action Plan. A community-wide survey will be sent out soon to gather additional feedback on these statements and plans.
The DEI presentation built upon previous efforts. In February 2020, GIO hosted the first community DEI Task Force meeting in Boulder, Colorado, USA. Community members from Argentina, Columbia, Croatia, Ghana, the Philippines, and the United States attended the event.
Event participants included 18 community members, three GIO staff members (Dr. Tony Murphy, Dr. Julie Malmberg, and Katie Chapman), and two facilitators from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the American Geophysical Union (Dr. Carolyn Brinkworth and Dr. Jill Karsten). In addition, for part of the meeting, four UCAR/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Equity and InclusION (UNEION) Lead Learners participated (A.J. Lauer, Dr. Jeremiah Sjoberg, Josh Young, and Kristen Aponte).
The goal of this ongoing effort is to ensure that the variety of voices of GLOBE community members are heard and valued.
To see the Virtual Meeting session recording,
click here
.
To see the draft version of these DEI statements,
click here
.
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GLOBE Implementation Office (Boulder, Colorado, USA)
Seeks Assistant Director
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GIO has posted a new position, that of Assistant Director. Over the last number of years, the growth in The GLOBE Program has increased the number of tasks for the director. In order to re-organize the work, and allow future developments to occur, it was decided that a new position of assistant director should be created.
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and various UCAR Cooperative Programs (UCP), including The GLOBE Program – all in service of advancing knowledge, providing community-based resources, and building human capacity in atmospheric and related sciences.
UCAR/NCAR will not sponsor a work visa (e.g., J-1, H1-B, etc.) for this position. This position will allow for initial remote work, but will require relocation to Boulder, Colorado, USA, in the near future.
Application Deadline: This position will be posted until Monday, 10 August 2020. Thereafter, applications will be reviewed on an as-needed basis. The anticipated start date is 05 October 2020.
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Need to Contact the GLOBE Community Support Team?
Take Note of New Email Address
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Are you in need of support as you journey through The GLOBE Program’s website? Then please take note: GLOBE’s Community Support (CST/Help Desk) contact email has changed from “
help@globe.gov
”
to “
globehelp@ucar.edu
.”
GIO is located at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, USA. The CST staff who work to assist community members with questions regarding The GLOBE Program are located at UCAR, which is why “ucar.edu” is being used as the new email address for CST.
GLOBE’s CST can continue to meet your ongoing needs!
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“2020 Community Cloud Challenge: Science is Better Together” is On!
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The “2020 Community Cloud Challenge: Science is Better Together” is in full-swing! There are many ways to participate in the challenge, which began on 15 July and concludes on 15 August, including learning about clouds with NASA scientists and educators, doing at-home activities, and taking cloud and sky observations.
The August schedule of presentations by NASA scientists and activities (which will take place on Thursdays at 12:00 p.m. ET), include:
- 06 August: Science Topic “Aerosols and Air Quality,” presented by Research Scientist Kristina Pistone (NASA Ames Research Center), and at-home activity “Up in the Air,” presented by NASA Educator Angela Rizzi and Atmospheric Scientist Ali Omar (NASA Langley Research Center)
- 13 August: Science Topic “The Impact of Your Observations in Research,” presented by Atmospheric Scientist J. Brant Dodson (NASA Langley Research Center), and at-home activity “Cloud Fun (Nature Journal),” presented by GLOBE educator Veshell Lewis (Jackson Public Schools and University of Southern Mississippi)
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Dates for Virtual 2020 North American Regional Meeting (NARM)
Announced: 19-23 October
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The North America Meeting (NARM) will be taking place from 19-23 October.
NASA and GIO have been keeping a close watch on developments surrounding the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak. Following directives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and other government public health agencies regarding the progression of the virus and the appropriate public health response to it, it has been decided that the NARM will be virtual this year.
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NASA’s Summer of Citizen Science Event Series Continues in August
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You are invited to “attend” NASA’s virtual event series, “Summer of Citizen Science.” The series, which began in May, will continue through 30 September 2020. These live, 90-minute, events will be hosted by Sarah Kirn, and will occur every other Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
This event series is intended to promote the exchange of scientific and engagement practices that make citizen science projects effective. NASA civil servants, collaborators, grantees, contractors, and partners involved or interested in citizen science are encouraged to attend all sessions to build a more robust approach to designing and running these projects. If you are not part of this group, but are interested in the topics, you are more than welcome to join in. The virtual doors are open to everyone.
This workshop series will:
- provide you with opportunities to connect with others in the NASA citizen science practitioner network;
- share actionable insights and strategies to advance work towards NASA’s dual goals for citizen science: advancing scientific research and building understanding of the process of science; and
- celebrate the work and accomplishments of the NASA Citizen Science practitioner network.
Recordings of speakers and panelists will be available after the events have taken place; however, the Q & A sessions will not. The August schedule of events is as follows:
- 05 August: Panel: Citizen Science Summer Experience: Dive into Project Design, with panelists to be determined
- 19 August: Keynote: Does Knowing the People Make the Science Better? COASST, Climate Change and COVID-19, with Dr. Julia Parrish, University of Washington and the COASST Program.
Join the conversation between practitioners and citizen scientists
with #NASACitSci2020 on Twitter!
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Join 04 August Trees Around the GLOBE Student Research Campaign Webinar “Preparing for Year 3 of the Trees Around the GLOBE
Student Research Campaign”
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The Trees Around the GLOBE Student Research Campaign webinar “Preparing for Year 3 of the Trees Around the GLOBE Student Research Campaign, Student Research Scaffolding, and Highlighting the Use of Online Tools,” will be held on Tuesday, 04 August, at 11:00 a.m. ET (3:00 p.m. UTC).
This webinar marks the end of Year 2 of the campaign. During the webinar, the campaign team will highlight the structure for Year 3, including a new science and data research scaffold, the use of online tools and NASA mission data for student research, and multi-campaign collaboration.
During the webinar, Dr. Christopher Shuman will highlight how local natural events can impact trees, and Peder Nelson will highlight several online tools recommended for student research. The last half of the webinar will be opened up for discussion on the needs of the participants for Year 3 of the Trees Around the GLOBE Student Research Campaign.
If you are interested in joining the webinar, please send an email
To learn more about the Trees Around the GLOBE Student Research Campaign,
click here
.
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Join 13 August GLOBE Mission Mosquito Webinar: “Sharing Research”
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On Thursday, 13 August, at 2:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. UTC), GLOBE Mission Mosquito (GMM) will be hosting a webinar, “Mosquito Mappers Research Showcase: SEES Summer High School Interns 2020.”
During the webinar, students participating in the STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Summer High School Intern Program will share their research. This summer, 113 high school juniors and seniors are participating in the NASA SEES Virtual Summer High School Internship: Mosquito Mappers. The projects will demonstrate how different data analysis tools, such as ArcGIS Online, Collect Earth Online, Python, R and imageJ, as well as NASA datasets, can be combined with GLOBE Observer data to understand where and why productive mosquito habitats can be found.
To learn more about GLOBE Mission Mosquito,
click here
.
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Let’s Start Investigating! Read Recent Blog “Using NASA Data to Predict
Where and When it Will Rain!”
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Are you keeping up with the GLOBE Community Blogs? Read the latest blog, “Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Using NASA Data to Predict Where and When it will Rain!” written by NASA Science Educator Dorian Wood Janney.
“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,” Janney said in the blog.
“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.”
“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!” Janney said.
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August GLOBE Zika Education and Prevention Project Update
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GIO worked with the Collaboratory of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State to develop a toolkit for teachers connecting GLOBE schools involved in the Zika Education and Prevention Project. This toolkit, and the companion website, are now ready for use by the broader GLOBE community.
Virtual exchanges were organized to connect students collecting water samples and tracking mosquito habitats in Brazil, Kenya, Paraguay, and Thailand prior to the GLOBE Learning Expedition (which took place in Ireland in 2018). During these exchanges, students shared photos, videos, and stories and connected virtually to learn about mosquito-borne diseases and science communications. Feedback from the participating teachers was incorporated into a GLOBE Virtual Exchange Toolkit. A pilot was then conducted with this new toolkit, where six pairs of schools (ranging from middle to secondary school-aged students) in Brazil, Estonia, Kenya, Thailand, and the United States field tested the toolkit. Teachers provided comments and suggestions for the toolkit and the companion website.
The GLOBE Virtual Exchange Toolkit offers guidance and tools for GLOBE community members to engage with their counterparts over a sustained period of time. It outlines steps, program ideas, suggested criteria, and a sample timeline for creating a virtual exchange, and shares best practices and experiences. It also provides technical tips, including a technical troubleshooting “cheat sheet” and checklist.
To access the Virtual Exchange Toolkit,
click here
.
To learn more about the GLOBE Zika Education and Prevention Project,
click here
.
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Did You Miss the July NESEC Webinar: “GLOBE Family Science Opportunities and Resources”? Check Out the Video Recording for Science-at-Home Possibilities!
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As part of the 2020 GLOBE Virtual Meeting, the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative (NESEC) team hosted a webinar on 15 July to highlight opportunities and resources for doing GLOBE science at home this summer and beyond.
During the webinar, numerous links were shared, including:
The NESEC team is looking for volunteers to provide feedback on the family resources.
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Keeping Up With GLOBE Star Stories?
Read About Our Latest Bright Lights!
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GLOBE Stars are stories of projects, people and extraordinary activities being conducted around the world in connection to GLOBE. These GLOBE Stars are the bright lights that spark our imagination and inspire us with news of GLOBE at work in the world.
Some of our latest GLOBE Star Stories include:
Are you a GLOBE Star? Share Your Story!
Are you a GLOBE Star? If so, GLOBE wants to hear all about it! Send your story of people, projects, or activities to share on the GLOBE website.
To learn more about GLOBE Stars, and to use the Star template for
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2020 United States Regional Posters Available on the GLOBE Website
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Although the United States Regional Student Research Symposia (SRS) were not held in-person this year, many students were able to upload their research to the GLOBE website.
To view the posters (and the review comments),
click here
.
(Students can upload their research – in any language, anytime of the year – by clicking “Upload Your Research Report” on the Student Research Reports page. Make sure to tag the work “U.S. Student Research Symposia”)
Keeping up With U.S. GLOBE Happenings? Jennifer Bourgeault (U.S. GLOBE Country Coordinator) has been blogging monthly with highlights of what has been happening in the U.S. GLOBE community, including news stories, Watercoolers, and partner news.
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Recent Article Highlights GLOBE Malta Deputy Country Coordinator
as a “Trailblazer”
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A recent article, “Ramona Mercieca: Inspiring Mini Agents of Change,” published in
Gozo in the House
(GITH) on 15 July, highlights the dedicated work of the GLOBE Malta Deputy Country Coordinator. In an interview “Trailblazer Ramona” spoke with GITH Magazine about her work on Gozo and beyond to actively encourage children to work towards a sustainable future.
“Ramona Mercieca is one busy lady. She teaches geography at Gozo College, middle school and, for the last eleven years, has volunteered as the eco-schools link teacher,” the article said.
In addition to serving as Deputy Country Coordinator, where she encourages and supports Heads of Schools and Science teachers in Gozo and Malta, Ramona also works for Eco-Schools. Eco-Schools is the largest global sustainable schools program, starting in the classroom and expanding to the community by engaging the next generation in action-based learning. According to the article, “There are currently 59,000 participating schools over 68 countries and each school follows a seven-step change process that empowers their young people to lead processes and actions wherever they can. As the dedicated Eco-Schools teacher, Ramona coordinates the running of the program as a whole school approach and links the various sustainability themes the school is working on with a number of subjects across the curriculum, especially STEM subjects.”
“Ramona also volunteers with Nature Trust FEE Malta and, along with a group of wonderfully dedicated people, she is helping to monitor and protect a turtle nest at Ramla Bay. This is first time in seventy years that a turtle nest has been registered and confirmed in Gozo. Great care has been devoted over the past 6 weeks to do everything possible to ensure the survival of this precious nest. The conditions are closely monitored including the temperature of the sand to provide vital information such as the sex of the eggs and due date, which is any day now – watch this space!”
“Ramona Mercieca is a wonder and with all her work, her volunteering and her involvement in such vital programs is testament that every small action truly helps and together we can achieve so much more.”
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Opportunities for Teachers
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(U.S. opportunities are often highlighted in the News Brief simply because we are more aware of them through our local media; however, if there are opportunities for GLOBE students and/or teachers in your region that you would like us to highlight in the coming months, please send the information to:
communications@globe.gov
. Thank you!)
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NASA STEM Educator Webinars
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The
NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative
(EPDC) is presenting a series of
webinars
open to all educators. All pre-service, K-12, and informal educators, as well as university faculty, are invited to join NASA education specialists to learn about NASA missions, activities, lesson plans, educator guides, and online resources that integrate NASA and STEM into the classroom.
An upcoming webinar, “
Explore Space Tech: Build and Test a Solar Sail Using the Engineering Design Process
,” is geared toward educators in grades K-12. On Tuesday, 18 August (4:30 p.m. ET), the NASA EPDC at Texas State University will present a one-hour webinar. Participants will learn about how technology drives exploration. Using the Beginning Engineering Science and Technology curriculum, participants will learn how to use the engineering design process to build and test a Solar Sail. Participants will also learn about current research going on at NASA.
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YLACES Offers Awards, Scholarships, Grants – and Support – for Science Education
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Youth Learning as Citizen Environmental Scientists (YLACES), based in the United States, offers awards, scholarships, grants, and support – all to assist and reward the implementation of inquiry-based, experiential science education where students do science and contribute to understanding of our environment through recognition and financial reward programs.
Those working with youth to do research projects through environmental citizen science are invited to submit proposals for support to help their efforts. Grants range from support for taking simple measurements to teacher professional development and working for pervasive inclusion of student research projects in science teaching.
In addition, support is provided for prizes recognizing student achievement and effective teaching; for infrastructure necessary for contributing, storing, and sharing data and methods; and for science fairs/symposia that assess student work.
For more information on YLACES, and the specific types of assistance
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Upcoming 2020 GLOBE Teacher Training Workshops
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- Perrysville, Ohio, USA (2020 STEM Institute Elementary GLOBE): 03-07 August (open to all)
- Portsmouth, Virginia, USA (Virtual Portsmouth Clouds Training): 06-13 August (restricted attendance)
You can also check out GLOBE’s protocol
eTraining
. (In order to enter GLOBE data, GLOBE users must complete the necessary training either by attending a GLOBE workshop or by completing the required online eTraining modules. Once your training is complete, you will be ready to start entering your measurements – and will be joining a community of thousands of teachers around the world!)
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Congratulations to the ten GLOBE countries celebrating anniversaries of successful GLOBE implementation during the month of August:
Cape Verde – 20 years
09 August 2000
Ethiopia – 15 years
24 August 2005
Gabon – 17 years
11 August 2003
India – 20 years
25 August 2000
Japan – 25 years
29 August 1995
Macedonia – 22 years
24 August 1998
Niger – 15 years
11 August 2005
Rwanda – 17 years
21 August 2003
Seychelles – 03 years
25 August 2017
Sweden – 25 years
23 August 1995
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Past issues of the GLOBE News Brief are available in the
online
. (On the drop-down menu under “Category,” simply scroll down to “News Topics” and select “News Briefs.”)
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