07/28/2011 14:30 MST - The Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET) is an online workbook for students, teachers and anyone else interested in learning computer-based Earth science activities. Each activity introduces one or more data sets and an analysis tool that enables users to explore some aspect of the Earth system. Instructions in each chapter guide users through an example using a case study to access data and use analysis tools to explore issues or concepts in Earth system science. Course chapters walk users through the production and analysis of maps, graphs, and other images. The ultimate goal of each activity is to build the user's adeptness so they can use data to conduct their own investigations of the Earth system. Chapters address a variety of topics, including plate motion, change in satellite images, climate history, climate change, and custom map creation. GLOBE Partners Todd Ensign, NASA Education and Technology Specialist, and Kevin Czajkowski, of the University of Toledo, Ohio, have developed a chapter focused on the urban heat island (UHI) effect using GLOBE Student Surface Temperature data, and the My World GIS program.
The urban heat island (UHI) effect is a curious phenomenon of amplified temperatures in urban cities. Higher temperatures may be associated with the increased amounts of materials such as asphalt and buildings that absorb heat during the day and release slower at night than natural ground soil and vegetation. Increases in infrastructure have shown to produce significantly warmer temperatures and may intensify as urban areas expand out and upward. The central area of a city can range from 5-10 degrees Celsius higher than its surrounding rural areas. The Southwest region of the United States seems to be the most affected by the UHI effect.
In the Urban Heat Island chapter of the EET, anyone can explore the urban heat island effect with My World GIS using GLOBE student data. After downloading and mapping GLOBE surface temperature data, users can gather statistics and examine spatial relationships between the GLOBE surface temperature data and cities that have a population greater than 50,000 people. Students can utilize the toolbook by making comparisons between urban and rural sites around their schools or local environments to discover how land cover and land use affect surface temperature. Users begin the first chapter by downloading the My World GIS software, Urban Heat Island file, and GLOBE Surface Temperature data. In the second chapter, learners launch the GIS program and import GLOBE data into the program. The next chapter guides users through the process of creating maps in GIS, which they are then able sort and organize according to the data. Finally, the toolbook examines spatial relationships between cities and the urban heat island effect by comparing mean surface temperatures for urban and rural school sites. By gathering these statistics users can then consider the factors that may affect and contribute to rising surface temperatures in urban areas.
The Earth Exploration Toolbook is just one example of how research performed at the hands of students in their local environments is boundlessly utilized for unique purposes all over the world.
Posted
with tags: