SummerCloudUpdate2022 - Clouds Protocol

While satellites show a big picture of what is going on, they cannot always see everything. Some satellites have trouble detecting certain cloud types, like thin wispy cirrus clouds. Other times, satellites struggle to distinguish what is a cloud and what is snow. Also, satellites can only capture a top-down view of our planet. So, GLOBE members' ground observations help create complementary data sets that are useful for studying the climate.

When a GLOBE cloud observation is taken within 15 minutes of a satellite observation, then both points of view are matched. Well, GLOBE is excited to announce that it is really close to reaching a million satellite matches! This is NASA GLOBE Clouds program’s lifetime goal. GLOBE thanks everyone for submitting their observations. Observers can continue submitting observations after the program reaches a million satellite matches. GLOBE always needs more observations!

People who are new to the program should visit the GLOBE Observer website to download the app. Learn more about clouds and help GLOBE reach a million satellite matches!

GLOBE Clouds at GLOBE Annual Meeting and GLOBE Observer C3

Both long-time GLOBE members and those who just want to learn more about GLOBE may be interested in attending the 2022 GLOBE Annual Meeting. The meeting will be virtual. Its theme is “Communicating GLOBE in Changing Times”. It will take place from 25 July to 28 July. There will be awesome presentations, including one where we will learn about a group of GLOBE Student Vloggers. They interviewed people in their community during the Cloud Challenge 2022. Presenters will discuss how these vloggers used storytelling as a method to collection. Besides, they will join the Match to a Million celebration!

Citizen Scientists using GLOBE Observer may also be interested in GLOBE Observer C3: Connection, Conversation, Celebration. This meeting will take place on 26 July, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST. Here, Citizen Scientists will meet other volunteers who use the GLOBE Observer app, hear presentations from GLOBE volunteers, talk to scientists and learn what they are doing with GLOBE data, and meet GLOBE Observer support staff. While this event is part of the GLOBE Annual Meeting, registration to the annual meeting is not required to attend the GLOBE Observer C3 event. 

Participants can share their experiences with other volunteers in a short video to be shared at the event. Video applications are due 26 June! Learn more and register!

Meet an Expert: Amy Ellisor

Amy Ellisor is the Executive Director at Camp Discovery and a Senior Outreach Coordinator at NASA Langley. She works on the NASA GLOBE Goes to Camp project.

Question: Where are you from?
Answer: I am from Columbia, South Carolina

Question: Where do you work and what do you do?
Answer: I serve as the Executive Director at Camp Discovery, a non-profit environmental education organization in Blythewood, South Carolina. My team and I at Camp Discovery serve over 4,000 students and families providing science and nature-based field studies, summer camps and community programs. The NASA GLOBE Program is at the core of our educational programs. In addition, I conduct professional development in STEM engagement hands-on experiential environmental education for both formal and informal educators. I serve in a dual role with GLOBE working as a Senior Outreach Coordinator at NASA Langley on the NASA GLOBE Goes to Camp Project. I am a mentor for NASA GLOBE Goes to Camp Directors across the United States.

Question: What inspired you to work in this field?
Answer: I have been an educator for over 30 years. I was inspired as a child by teachers who believed in me and made me feel limitless in what I could accomplish, if I worked hard. Having a leadership role in the unique outdoor learning lab setting that Camp Discovery offers and working with NASA has exceeded my wildest childhood dreams!

Question: How did you become involved with the GLOBE program?
Answer: As a part of the coursework for earning my master’s degree in Elementary Education, I became certified as a GLOBE Educator. I used the GLOBE Program as a classroom teacher and years later as a college professor, working with pre-service teachers. When I became Executive Director at Camp Discovery, I joined the NASA GLOBE Goes to Camp pilot so I could utilize GLOBE to the fullest to support my community.

Question: What is your favorite GLOBE activity?
Answer: I have many favorite GLOBE activities including “Cloud in a Bottle” and “How Many of Me Equals a Tree?”, but what I love the most is when young citizen scientists make connections in learning such as how cloud cover, soil moisture and surface temperature are interrelated.

Question: What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is new to GLOBE?
Answer: I would say choose the topics and activities that appeal to you the most. Become a citizen scientist, create your own investigation, collect data and collaborate with other people so you can learn from one another.

Question: What do you do for fun? Hobbies?
Answer: I love swimming, writing poetry and visiting new places, especially those with beautiful beaches or snowy mountains.

Question: What new skills have you developed or what old skills have you refined by engaging in GLOBE work?
Answer: Working with GLOBE has really sharpened my observation skills. I notice the world around me in much greater detail and I have become very intentional to spend as much time in nature as possible. I do not look up into the sky now without noticing and trying to identify the cloud types. I take cloud photos every time I travel. I think about data in a much more analytical way. GLOBE has motivated me to ask questions and to learn so much more about climate change and ways I can help support NASA collecting my own data as a GLOBE citizen scientist.

Question: What is the most surprising thing you have learned by making GLOBE observations?
Answer: I have been fascinated by the satellite matches to GLOBE Cloud observations. It is amazing that soon the one millionth match will be made!

Question: What are some of the most important lessons you have learned in your life?
Answer: I have learned that doing work that you are passionate about keeps you excited, motivated and happy and that if you share that work with others, a stronger force forms and the results are life changing. Do your best with the best people you can find, and you will make a positive impact in this world!

Question: Is there anything else you would like to share with the GLOBE community?
Answer: NASA’s GLOBE Program provides a “Nature to Your Doorstep” approach that allows learners of all ages to study clouds, trees, soils and so much more, anytime/anywhere. From grandma’s backyard to the classroom, and even on a concrete slab, I have loved seeing how curious, excited and happy people are working with GLOBE. I am honored to be a part of the GLOBE Community.

Cloud Observation Science Topic: Noctilucent Clouds

The months of June, July and August bring more than warmer temperatures to the Northern Hemisphere. During these months, a very special type of cloud shows up high in the atmosphere, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) above the ground. Noctilucent clouds form when water vapor freezes around specks of meteor dust. They look like blue streaks that are visible at twilight, when they get sunlight from below. Noctilucent clouds usually appear around the Arctic, but sometimes they can be seen at lower latitudes, including California and France! As for the Southern Hemisphere, noctilucent clouds typically show up circling the South Pole in the months of November, December, January and February. 

People who are planning on spending time in the Northern Hemisphere in the upcoming months, especially in higher altitudes, may be able to spot a noctilucent cloud! For those who take a photo of a noctilucent cloud, please add a caption that says “Noctilucent” before submitting the photo to GLOBE.

To add a caption to any photo submitted to GLOBE, please follow the next steps:

1. Click “Done” after taking all six photographs.  
2. Turn the phone vertically or up and down.
3. While reviewing the photographs, notice the “Caption” box under each photograph.
4. Enter the caption for any of the photos. For example, enter the word “Noctilucent” if the photo includes one of these special clouds!

Cloud Observation Tip: Investigating Clouds’ Correlation to UV Index

Clouds and the Ultraviolet Index (UV)

Summertime in the northern hemisphere is here! For some people, warmer temperatures may mean planning to spend more time outdoors, visit a park or go to the beach. With more outdoor time, there may be increased opportunities to make cloud observations. But, more time under the sun could also mean more sunblock and sunglasses!

The Ultraviolet (UV) Index is a measure of the intensity of ultraviolet rays from the sun. It can help determine how the sun can affect people during outdoor activities. While some exposure to the sun’s rays is beneficial to help bodies produce vitamin D, too much exposure to UV rays can be harmful.

In many countries, the UV Index is reported along the weather forecast on TV, on the radio or in newspapers. The UV Index for some world locations can also be found on the Internet. For example, the Finnish Meteorological Institute has a webpage that provides UV Index reports for towns.

There is also the SunSmart Global Ultraviolet Radiation App for mobile phones. It was developed with the support of the World Meteorological Organization.

How much of an impact do clouds have on how much UV radiation we get? Observers may want to make daily cloud observations for at least several days and keep track of the cloud cover and the cloud types they see. Then, they could check and see if they find any correlation between their cloud observations and the UV Index.