ED33B-0770 1340h
Education and Public Outreach for the International Heliophysical Year
An overview of IHY E/PO opportunities for 2007. E/PO must be an important component of IHY in order to ensure its success. The first step is to identify and explore any E/PO opportunities which may be useful to the community. It is also crucial to provide support to all those participating in E/PO activities once the opportunities have been identified. Support should include everything from helping write proposals to providing presentations, products, and people whenever needed.
ED33B-0771 1340h
Teaching the Teachers: Physical Science for the Non-Scientific
The Catholic University of America, in collaboration with the Solar Physics Branch of the Naval Research Laboratory and the Goddard Space Flight Center, has begun development of an experimental, inquiry-driven and standards-referenced physical science course for undergraduate, pre-service K-8 teachers. The course is team-taught by faculty from the University's Departments of Education and Physics and NRL solar physics research personnel. Basic physical science concepts are taught in the context of the Sun and Sun-Earth Connections, through direct observation, web-based solar data, and images and movies from ongoing space missions. The Sun can illuminate, in ways that cannot be duplicated with comparable clarity in the laboratory, the basics of magnetic and gravitational force fields, Newton's Laws, and light and optics. The immediacy of the connection to ongoing space research and live mission data serves as well to inspire student interest and curiosity. Teaching objectives include pedagogical methods, especially hands-on and observational experiences appropriate to the physics content and the K-8 classroom. The CUA Program, called TOPS! (Top Teachers of Physical Science!) has completed its first year of classroom experience; the first few batches of Program graduates should be in K-8 classrooms in time to capitalize on the motivational opportunities offered by the 2007-2008 IHY and IPY. We present data on the attitudinal and scientific progress of fifteen pre-service Early Childhood and Elementary Education majors as they experienced, many for the first time, the marvels of attractive and repulsive forces, live observations of solar system dynamics, access to real-time satellite data and NASA educational resources.
ED33B-0772 1340h
Observing the Polar Regions from Space: Educational Opportunities for an International Polar Year and International Heliophysical Year
The International Polar Year (IPY) and the International Heliophysical Year (IHY) will require integrated circumpolar research projects using present and advanced technologies. The IPY/IHY will offer exceptional opportunities for participation world-wide and especially by indigenous residents of the Arctic. Educational outreach will be an essential component of these programs. Participation in IPY/IHY projects and utilization of educational products will improve science competence and citizen awareness of the importance of the polar regions. An important and practical objective of IPY and IHY educational outreach is to recognize that the earth is a system and that it is best to acquire seasonal and secular atmospheric, terrestrial and oceanic environmental data from space. Acquisition of reliable ground truth data in support of remote sensing of geophysical and geochemical variables will be essential, especially with broad long-term coverage in the polar regions. In the United States NASA has developed a strategy for long-term monitoring of some key parameters needed to bring us closer to the answers we need regarding climate change and its relation to social systems. This technology consists of a group of six satellites that can make a suite of earth observations referred to as the "A Train". Data from this group of polar orbiting satellites, as well as from the Orbital Carbon Observatory (OCO), and older Quikscat and new Seawinds radar missions, will provide focus for an education program based not only on the acquisition of polar data but also on how these data correlate with global observations. Use of new technology to make data accessible to all users will be an important outcome of the International Polar Year and International Heliophysical Year.
ED33B-0773 1340h
The NASA GES-DISC-DAAC Precipitation Data and Information Services Center (PDISC)
This poster promotes the latest contribution from Goddard Earth Science (GES), Data and Information Services Center (DISC), Distributed Active Archive Center (DISC), to the scientific and public user communities who are interested in the precipitation and related data sets and products. The Precipitation Data and Information Services Center (PDISC) provides an integrated view connecting rainfall estimation basic research to its use and implications to our understanding of the water cycle. The following topics are addressed: 1. Various rainfall estimation products derived from visible/infrared (VIS/IR), passive and active microwave (MW) measurements located both in polar and geosynchronous satellites; 2. Rainfall product quality control and error analyses; and 3. Rainfall estimation from space and its contributions to the understanding of the Earth's energy and water balance and long-term climate prediction. Special attention is given to the 6 years data and products derived from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite Precipitation Radar (PR) and Microwave Imager (TMI). All TRMM data and related products are archived, distributed, and accessible to users through various GES-DISC-DAAC-PDISC user-friendly ordering systems, with analysis tools, documentation, and data read software. The intention is to make TRMM and other precipitation related data and products more widely used for climate, health, environment, agriculture, and interdisciplinary research and applications. The TRMM six-year precipitation climatology for example is an excellent benchmark for other tropical rainfall measurement, and for estimating tropical contributions to global water and energy cycles.
ED33B-0774 1340h
From the Ionosphere to the Classroom: Exploring the Earth's Upper Atmosphere with CINDI
CINDI (Coupled Ion Neutral Dynamic Investigation) is a NASA funded instrument scheduled for an early 2005 launch by the Air Force on board the C/NOFS (Communications/Navigations Outage Forecast System) satellite. In preparation for this launch, our education and public outreach program is well under way, and focuses on making the difficult-to-visualize science of the ionosphere understandable to students in middle school and above. Our formal education strategy is to create engaging and usable materials that meet teachers' needs and integrate well into existing curriculum in today's era of high stakes testing. We will present our middle school educator guide, a preview of our new CINDI comic book, highlights from our 2004 educator workshops, and future plans to bring the ionosphere into classrooms around the country.
http://cindispace.utdallas.edu/
ED33B-0775 1340h
Remote Sensing of Tolkien's Middle Earth: A Unique Interactive Application of Earth System Observational Tools
The power of remote sensing tools were combined with the creativity of bright young minds and the magic of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth to provide a unique educational opportunity. Four students, age 12 to 15, were introduced to the basics of space-based Earth observation tools and aerial photography interpretation during the 10-day Alaska Summer Research Academy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks June 9-18, 2004. The students created an interactive map of Tolkein's Middle Earth by selecting aerial photographs, Landsat and FLIR images to represent areas of the Hobbits' journey as described in the popular Lord of the Rings books and films. Ground truthing excursions were made in the Alaskan interior to determine if the regions selected from the images and photographs indeed fit with Tolkein's descriptions. The students presented their final results to their peers in a morning news format, following the flight of the Hobbits across the landscape in their quest to destroy the One Ring.
ED33B-0776 1340h
Students Engaged in Climate Change Research Through Vegetation Phenology Studies
The project goal is to engage students in scientific research as a way of learning science, math, and technology in K-12 classrooms by providing an opportunity for student-scientist collaborations. This NSF-funded GLOBE project is of significance to scientists who track plant phenological changes as an indicator of climate change and study carbon cycling. To students it is a means of studying Earth as a system. Plants and their phenology stages reflect and integrate the effects of weather and other environmental parameters that are components of the Earth system. Remotely sensed data indicate that the plant growing season has increased in northern latitudes. The greenness estimates could vary due to possible interference from clouds and other atmospheric properties, low sun angles at high latitudes and aging of satellite detectors; hence the need for ground-based observations to help validate satellite-derived estimates of plant growing season lengths. GLOBE plant phenology measurements (protocols) of Green-up and Green-down for deciduous trees and shrubs, and for grasses were developed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Budburst at Utah State University. These were pilot- tested, and revised several times with input from teachers and GLOBE personnel. Learning activities to support understanding of science concepts, were also developed and/or adapted. The protocols and learning activities were aligned to national science standards and incorporated in the "Earth as a System" chapter in the 2003 GLOBE Teacher Guide published and also posted on the GLOBE website (www.globe.gov). Phenology protocols and learning activities are being used in Alaska by teachers and students who participate in different NSF and NASA-funded science education programs, such as the Schoolyard Long Term Ecological Research Project, the Global Change Education Using Western Science and Native Observations (OLCG) Project, the Alaska GLOBE program and the EPSCoR Rural Research Partnership Education Outreach program. Pre-college students and their teachers from 77 schools in 11 countries have engaged in GLOBE plant phenology research and entered phenology data on the GLOBE web server. Thus, collaborative efforts in research and education among science education projects in Alaska and in other countries have been facilitated. Scientists now have access to global plant phenology data-ground-based observations that previously have been very rare. Students have also used the phenology protocols for their own investigations.
ED33B-0777 1340h
Successful Schoolyard Long-term Ecological Research: Studies of Deadman's Slough by Successive Classes of 4th Grade Students in Fairbanks, Alaska
We report on an inquiry-based long-term study of Deadman's Slough by successive classes of fourth grade students at University Park Elementary School in Fairbanks, Alaska. Since 2000 successive classes of fourth graders have studied the ecology of Deadman's Slough, off the Chena River and located by the school. Students have focused on (1) identification of the fish, insects, other aquatic animals, and plants that live in the slough, (2) the life histories and seasonal changes of those plants and animals, (3) the physical characteristics of snow and the microclimate below the snowpack, and (4) the history of the slough and the origin of its unusual name. The students have made physical measurements at the slough, set up and maintained an aquarium with netted fish and other aquatic animals, made sketches of snowflake and ice patterns, and produced a large mural showing slough life. The work on the slough has been incorporated into the classroom curriculum throughout the year. Success of the Deadman's Slough project has been demonstrated by the effective inquiry-based teaching of basic science and math concepts, the appreciation the students have gained for the value of long-term scientific studies, and the pure excitement and enthusiasm for science sustained by the students through the year.
ED33B-0778 1340h
IMPROVING SCIENCE EDUCATION AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN RURAL ALASKA:The Synergistic Connection between Educational Outreach Efforts in the Copper Valley, Alaska.
The objective of the High frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) Education Outreach is to enhance the science education opportunities in the Copper Valley region in Alaska. In the process, we also educate local residents about HAARP and its research. Funded jointly by US Air Force and Navy, HAARP is located at Gakona Alaska, a very rural region of central Alaska with a predominantly Native population. The main instrument at HAARP is a vertically directed, phased array RF transmitter which is primarily an ionospheric research tool, however, its geophysical research applications range from terrestrial to near-space. Research is conducted at HAARP in collaboration with scientists and institutions world-wide. The HAARP Education Outreach Program, run through the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute has been active for over six years and in that time has become an integral part of science education in the Copper Valley for residents of all ages. HAARP education outreach efforts are through direct involvement in local schools in the Copper River School District (CRSD) and the Prince William Sound Community College (PWSCC), as well as public lectures and workshops, and intern and student research programs. These outreach efforts require cooperation and coordination between the CRSD, PWSCC, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Physics Department and the NSF sponsored Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) and HAARP researchers. The HAARP Outreach program also works with other organizations promoting science education in the region, such as the National Park Service (Wrangell- St. Elias National Park) and the Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment (WISE) a newly formed regional non-profit organization. We work closely with teachers in the schools, adapting to their needs and the particular scientific topic they are covering at the time. Because of time and logistic constraints, outreach visits to schools are episodic, occurring roughly four times a year. Even though the in-class time per year is not large, our experience suggests that a long term, multi-year connection enhances learning by the students. We coordinate with HAARP research campaigns so as to utilize the availability of top scientists for public lectures. We do not limit our scope to only ionospheric physics, but try to meet the demands and needs of the region as they arise. Less than two weeks after the November, 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake, we traveled to the villages most strongly effected by the quake and presented basic preliminary information about the quake (Sources: Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Alaska State Geological Survey & USGS). As a teachable moment it was unparalleled, but it was also an example of where even preliminary information on an event can truly help to calm people.
ED33B-0779 1340h
Understanding Arctic River Systems: An Effort to Train Undergraduate and Graduate Students
Undergraduate and graduate student training is integral to the research and education efforts at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. A multidisciplinary group of four scientists got together to study the Colville River flowing across the Alaska North Slope. The idea was to understand the river as a system, rather than tackling it from the single perspective of knowing more about sedimentology, geology, geomorphology, hydrology, etc. The importance of using remote sensing data, together with field observations in an integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) environment was realized and taken as the central theme to proceed. In the last two years three undergraduate students have been trained in this multidisciplinary project and one graduate student has recently started her studies. Results from the study have also been incorporated in undergraduate courses in sedimentology and remote sensing, and are being used widely in public relations materials developed by the organization to reach out to a wider audience. From the research perspective, the use of satellite imagery to monitor temporal and spatial evolution in fluvial geomorphologic studies in temperate and tropical streams is well established in the literature. However, little work has been published on river studies conducted in cold settings, where the influences of river ice and permafrost on sediment transport processes are not clearly understood. The Colville River is the largest river draining the Brooks Range in Arctic Alaska. The stream pattern changes from braided to meandering as the river crosses the Arctic coastal plain. The reaches are highly unstable, with lateral changes in the order of a few to tens of meters per year in some river bends. The research was conducted using multisensor remote sensing images. Optical and microwave remote sensing data from 1995 to 2001 were used by students to carry out their projects, and these results are presented here. Future work will include the coupling of satellite imagery to fluvio-sedimentological and hydrological data. The final goal of this multidisciplinary approach is to develop protocols that may be used to monitor rivers in remote Arctic locations.