[Español]

NASA and GLOBE are conducting a worldwide experiment on October 14th and 15th, 2004 (Thursday and Friday of Earth Science Week). Everyone interested in helping develop a better understanding of the Earth is invited to join. NASA works with GLOBE to help achieve its mission of inspiring the next generation of explorers.

Participants will observe contrails, clouds formed from water vapor in aircraft exhaust, and report their findings to scientists. Observations will be tallied and reported state-by-state and country-by-country to illuminate any patterns of contrail activity.

To participate, visit http://www.globe.gov/earthsciweek2004. Those already registered with GLOBE should report contrails and clouds as they normally do on October 14th and 15th. For additional information visit: http://asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/GLOBE

The observation experiment, called the Fall 2004 Contrail Count-a-Thon, is an opportunity to become involved in a hands-on, real-world science experiment. For this activity, GLOBE and NASA are encouraging the public around the world, including students and non-students alike, to participate.

In the spring, GLOBE and NASA hosted a similar Count-a-Thon in honor of Earth Day. The inaugural Earth Day event was a great success. The data collected during this event were analyzed by NASA scientists, and the results are posted online. "Contrails are one change in the Earth's system that are without a doubt caused by human activity, so it is appropriate that on Earth Day we assess how people are impacting the state of our planet," said Lin Chambers, director of the Contrail Education project, in partnership with GLOBE, at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va, during the Earth Day Count-a-Thon.

The Fall Count-a-Thon coincides with Earth Science Week, from October 10 to 16. Earth Science Week, sponsored by the American Geological Institute, is a national and international event to help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for Earth Sciences and to encourage stewardship of the Earth.

Contrails represent a human-caused increase in the Earth's cloudiness and impact the atmosphere and climate. Observations by people in the United States and around the globe may help scientists better understand under what atmospheric conditions contrails form.

"We thought spotting contrails would be a fun and educational activity that could include more schools and the general public since no instruments are required," said Peggy LeMone, GLOBE chief scientist at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, Colo. "The distribution of sightings tells us both about where jets are flying and where weather conditions favor contrails forming. We can also compare the contrail patterns to satellite images."

In addition to the Fall Count-A-Thon, there are a variety of events concerning clouds and contrails taking place in October 2004. The U.S. Postal Service is releasing a special stamp issue on clouds. Even more exciting, one of the 15 clouds (the "lenticular") is the work of Carlye Calvin, a photographer at UCAR, where the GLOBE Directorate resides. (She was the photographer at the GLOBE Annual Meeting in July.)

The official First Day of Issue on October 4 will be from Blue Hill Observatory in Massachusetts, USA. Officials from the U.S. Postal Service, the observatory, The Weather Channel, the National Weather Service, and the American Meteorological Society will be in attendance for the event, as well as stamp collectors and students from local schools. The observatory will sell a variety of first day covers. Students are being encouraged to decorate and send in their own first day cover envelopes ahead of time for first day cancellation. The observatory and The Weather Channel are also developing some classroom materials in connection with the event. For more information see the observatory's news release at http://www.bluehill.org/press.html.

Later in the month there will be a special event at UCAR with Carlye Calvin and Richard Keen, another Colorado photographer who contributed to the stamp series. Keen is a climatologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the author of the _Skywatch_ weather books. There will be talks on clouds, photography, and weather. Three presenters are authors, so there will be a book.and stamp.signing. GLOBE Chief Scientist, Peggy LeMone, will give an illustrated talk based on her booklet, "The Stories Clouds Tell," which deals with what clouds are, how much they weigh, how they form, and what they tell us about the airflow and different kinds of weather. If you can't make it to Boulder on October 17, there will be news about the event at http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases.

Questions/Comments regarding the GLOBE Program

GLOBE is managed by UCAR/CSU with support from NASA, NSF, the US Dept. of State, and other cooperating organizations.

[ Privacy ][ Accessibility ][ Terms of Use ]