On 23 September, join the second Xpedition of GLOBE students, alumni and scientists on a GLOBE Africa and Seasons and Biomes project to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in all of Africa. Led by Dr. Kenji Yoshikawa of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, one of the world's leading authorities on permafrost research, students on the Xpedition will observe firsthand the shifting biomes and shrinking glaciers of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Read eyewitness accounts as Xpedition members discover the unique ecological community of Kilimanjaro and compare their findings to historical data and data from last year's GLOBE Xpedition. Watch as students set up research stations below the retreating ice fields to deploy instruments that will continue to measure change on the mountain long after they have gone.
Follow the 9-day trek to the summit of Kilimanjaro to engage with student-scientists in the field. GLOBE teachers and students are invited to interact with Xpedition members via e-mail while on the mountain. Online followers of the Xpedition are encouraged to contribute scientific measurements and biome descriptions from their communities to compare with those on the mountain and to post email questions to the climbers. New features to the 2010 Xpedition website include advanced 3D Google Earth Tours of the mountain as well as daily video blogs that include updates and GLOBE protocol demonstrations.
GLOBE students taking part in research on Mt. Kilimanjaro provide compelling first-hand observations and some of the most dramatic testimony to the effects of climate change of any one place on Earth. Follow the 9-day trek to the Roof of Africa and introduce your students to the study of climate in an interactive environment that promises to fundamentally more engaging than classroom study alone.
To follow the adventure and for more information see the Xpedition website.