SummerUpdate2021 - Clouds Protocol
NASA GLOBE Clouds Summer Update
June/July/August 2021
Summertime brings flowers, rainbows and rain! This is the season for cumulonimbus clouds, which can be observed as thunderstorms, hurricanes, and monsoons. Be sure to send in your cumulonimbus observations to GLOBE. Always remember, only make observations when it is safe to do so, and follow your local guidelines.
NASA’s First Citizen Science Conference
Summertime Fun Cloud Activities
As Summer approaches, you may be interested in the The Family Cloud Challenge. It is a great way to refresh your perspective on clouds or involve the whole family in observations. There are so many choices for how to have fun with clouds! Choose how many clouds you want to shade in for your “cloud cover” and select from options to engage, learn, create and observe clouds.
Lindsay McCarthy and her children submitted multiple cloud observations as part of the NASA GLOBE Clouds Terminator Problem. Lindsay, a NASA 2021 Spring intern, said it was an incredible experience and “provided a beautiful bridge for my three elementary aged children to participate as well. Daily data collection, that started with ice and snow and ended in sunshine and blooms, was a gift that engaged my family in beautiful and deeply impactful ways. Learning about Citizen Science and making actual contributions together showed us all how we can collectively serve our world scientifically and wholeheartedly.” Her thoughts provide a powerful reminder of the importance of your observations and the impact they can have.
Meet an Expert: Tina Harte
Tina Harte is Task Lead for the Earth Science Education Team in NASA Langley’s Science Directorate, where she serves as Project Manager for the GLOBE Cloud and My NASA Data Teams. She also leads the GLOBE Goes to Camp Project, which allows the opportunity to help youth discover their sense of place as they learn the skills to better care for environmental issues affecting their local communities. Her passion for this work stems from years of exploration of her Native American ancestral past with a strong connection to the “Art of Storytelling.” Recognizing the need for equitable exchange and a sense of place that acknowledges those that have gone before through providing a voice at the table, she works to ensure that the voice of the past continues to be heard as a source of an ongoing way of understanding and knowing while serving to guide the voice of the future.
Question: Where are you from?
Answer: I grew up in the small town of Hickman, Kentucky, where I developed a love for horses, the Mississippi River, fishing, and farmland. The wide open spaces have always been where I felt most at home, my sense of place.
Question: What inspired you to start NASA Goes to Camp?
Answer: Having the opportunity to work with GLOBE through the lens of formal education for seven years with the NASA Langley GLOBE Partnership, I began to see the potential that was yet to be reached with an informal audience that would be a perfect match for the citizen science component of GLOBE. Camps provide the ideal setting for youth to engage in the learning opportunities made possible by participating in the GLOBE program, so in 2018 the idea for GLOBE Goes to Camp was born.
Question: What barriers have you had to overcome in your career?
Answer: The initial barrier that I had to overcome was the opinion of a small rural community that a “woman’s place” was in the home. I left home to pursue a college degree which was difficult without the support of my family; yet, I know now that I fought harder to advance toward my dream as a result of having faced that challenge. Working my way through college I discovered an even stronger determination to advance, taking every opportunity that came my way to learn and experience the true essence of empowerment that learning brings.
Question: What do you do for fun? Hobbies?
Answer: I have a wide array of things that I enjoy, but a few of my favorites would be gardening, writing, cooking, shopping for antiques, basketball, traveling, and enjoying a good book. I love to be with my family and friends, so a cookout is always at the top of my list of favorite things to do.
Question: What are some of the most important lessons you have learned in your life?
Answer: One of the most important lessons that I have learned is staying true to yourself, no one truly knows the path that you were meant to follow better than you. Follow your passion, it will be the driving force that takes you where you were meant to go, becoming the person you were meant to become, and doing that which you were intended to do. Next, play well with the team; realize the potential that is possible by the sharing of talents toward a common vision. Never be afraid to dream, you never know where you might end up.
Cloud Observation Tips: Percent Cloud Cover
Have you ever had a hard time estimating the percent cloud cover? It seems like it would be easy, but in fact, people often underestimate the amount of empty space between objects, including clouds. There is more than one way that you can practice.
- Practice and learn about cloud cover using the My NASA Data Modeling Cloud Cover activity.
- Watch the Cloud Cover Estimation Activity which demonstrates how to use the hands-on Estimating Cloud Cover: A Simulation activity.
- Use the GLOBE Cloud Cover Practice simulation to practice.
Science Topic: Clouds and Mosquitoes, really? By Cassie Soeffing
Cassie Soeffing is a Senior Science Educator at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies in Arlington, VA. She is the Campaign Coordinator and Lead for Informal Education for GLOBE Mission Mosquito. She is based out of Sioux Falls, SD, and noted that there are lots of mosquitoes there.
Clouds and Mosquitoes? Actually, yes, clouds contain water, and water is a resource that mosquitoes rely on for various aspects of their life cycle. There are two types of clouds that produce rain. They are the nimbostratus and cumulonimbus. Have you ever left toys or containers outside but forgot to bring them in, and then it rained? That container may be just the right spot for a female mosquito to lay her eggs.
Mosquitos are climate-sensitive insects. Like the story of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears, conditions have to be just right. Mosquitos are sensitive to humidity (water vapor in the air), air and soil temperature and the amount of rain needs to be just right for their eggs to turn into larvae. The whole process from egg to larva to pupa and finally to an adult can take between 8-10 days!
