A Note From the Board

President
John Moore

Notes From The Board

John Moore

Welcome to 2008!  It’s time to move ahead into another new year. 2008 brings with it many challenges to our organization and conference, however that is really nothing new for us. If you have any experience of working on the cutting edge it seems that just as you pass over one hurdle, there’s another on right in front of you, but quite honestly, I think that our unique reaction to those new challenges is what we all have in common. No one ever said that changing the world, or at least reforming things, would be an easy task, yet every year each of us step up to the plate.  A question that one might ask is, how can anything be in a constant state of change for 20 years? When you take a look back at our collective experiences the answer is easy. Look at how the world, education, and technology have changed, and the good news is that the Satellite Educator’s Association has been a part of all of that! In the end, in a world of changing politics and economics, my experience is what most people around the world have in common is that they value their families and seek to make the world a better place for their children. We are definitely a part of that too!

In the United States, STEM education is in the forefront of the discussion. If you have done any reading on the subject, STEM quickly emerges has one of the USA’s major agendas, not only for education and the impact on our future workforce, but for the national economic strength in the future. Our annual conference provides an avenue to introduce new ideas and concepts in terms of educational pedagogies, instructional strategies and applications of technology in the classroom. It goes well beyond that though. There are few places where scientists, educators (at all levels) and students can come together to share and learn from each other. We have enjoyed the support of NASA and NOAA over the years, as well as many other organizations and educational institutions that have helped us reach for the stars. We connect the dots! At last year’s Conference, SEA achieved another goal, to bring international students together in an effort to begin global problem solving, and all the discussion that goes along with that. It was a good thing. Check out M.Y.S.P.A.C.E. on the SEA website.

All of this of course all requires funding. Our organization is not unlike many others; we need to be concerned for, and on the lookout for, funding opportunities. I would ask that as you go about you daily business that you remember to explore possible funding opportunities to support the conference and the related activities.

As we begin a New Year, I would personally like to thank each one of you for you vision, insight, and dedication to not only this organization and the conference, but really, to our next generation of students and workers. As preparation for this year’s conference begins, I encourage you to bring the exciting work that you are involved in to share with the rest of us. Hope to see you this summer.

Best wishes for a great 2008 

John

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Paula Arvedson

Paula

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Elisabeth Cohen
Graduate Researcher and Lecturer
Meteorology Department
University of Utah

Happy New Year,
Lis
www.WeatherOutreach.org

Skeptical Scientists Urge World To ‘Have the Courage to Do Nothing' At UN Conference
Posted By Marc Morano - Marc_Morano@EPW.Senate.Gov

BALI, Indonesia - An international team of scientists skeptical of man-made climate fears promoted by the UN and former Vice President Al Gore, descended on Bali this week to urge the world to "have the courage to do nothing" in response to UN demands.  

Lord Christopher Monckton, a UK climate researcher, had a blunt message for UN climate conference participants on Monday.

"Climate change is a non-problem. The right answer to a non problem is to have the courage to do nothing," Monckton told participants. 

"The UN conference is a complete waste of our time and your money and we should no longer pay the slightest attention to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,)" Monckton added. (LINK)

Monckton also noted that the UN has not been overly welcoming to the group of skeptical scientists.   

"UN organizers refused my credentials and appeared desperate that I should not come to this conference. They have also made several attempts to interfere with our public meetings," Monckton explained.

"It is a circus here," agreed Australian scientist Dr. David Evans. Evans is making scientific presentations to delegates and journalists at the conference revealing the latest peer-reviewed studies that refute the UN's climate claims.

"This is the most lavish conference I have ever been to, but I am only a scientist and I actually only go to the science conferences," Evans said, noting the luxury of the tropical resort. (Note: An analysis by  Bloomberg News on December 6 found:  "Government officials and activists flying to Bali, Indonesia, for the United Nations meeting on climate change will cause as much pollution as 20,000 cars in a year." - LINK)

Evans, a mathematician who did carbon accounting for the Australian government, recently converted to a skeptical scientist about man-made global warming after reviewing the new scientific studies. (LINK)

"We now have quite a lot of evidence that carbon emissions definitely don't cause global warming.  We have the missing [human] signature [in the atmosphere], we have the IPCC models being wrong and we have the lack of a temperature going up the last 5 years," Evans said in an interview with the Inhofe EPW Press Blog.  Evans authored a November 28 2007 paper "Carbon Emissions Don't Cause Global Warming." (LINK)

Evans touted a new peer-reviewed study by a team of scientists appearing in the December 2007 issue of the International Journal of Climatology of the Royal Meteorological Society which found "Warming is naturally caused and shows no human influence." (LINK)

"Most of the people here have jobs that are very well paid and they depend on the idea that carbon emissions cause global warming. They are not going to be very receptive to the idea that well actually the science has gone off in a different direction," Evans explained.  

[Inhofe EPW Press Blog Note: Several other recent peer-reviewed studies have cast considerable doubt about man-made global warming fears. For most recent sampling see: New Peer-Reviewed Study finds 'Solar changes significantly alter climate' (11-3-07) (LINK) & "New Peer-Reviewed Study Halves the Global Average Surface Temperature Trend 1980 - 2002" (LINK)  & New Study finds Medieval Warm Period '0.3C Warmer than 20th Century' (LINK) For a more comprehensive sampling of peer-reviewed studies earlier in 2007 see "New Peer-Reviewed Scientific Studies Chill Global Warming Fears" LINK ]

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NASA Satellites Help Lift Cloud of Uncertainty on Climate Change
Alan Buis 818-354-0474
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

New findings from NASA's CloudSat and other spacecraft in NASA's "A-Train" constellation of five Earth observing satellites offer important insights into this year's record reduction of Arctic sea ice, global rainfall patterns and the effects of pollution on clouds.

The investigations are giving scientists a greater understanding of factors influencing Earth's present climate and an important foundation for better understanding long-term climate change.

Speaking at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Graeme Stephens, CloudSat principal investigator and professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo., outlined results of several recent studies currently in peer review.

In one study, a team led by Jennifer Kay at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colo., examined the influence of polar clouds on 2007's record low extent of Arctic sea ice. Using data from CloudSat and NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation satellite, they found the total cloud cover over the western Arctic, where most of the ice loss occurred, was 16 percent less over the 2007 melt season than in 2006. The resulting clearer skies in 2007 heated the Arctic surface enough to warm ocean waters by 2.4 degrees Celsius (four degrees Fahrenheit) or enough to melt 0.3 meters (one foot) of sea ice. Anomalous clouds, in addition to other weather factors, helped melt ice that had already thinned due to sustained warming in recent years.

The results highlight the importance of weather pattern variability to a warming Arctic environment. "As Arctic sea ice thins, its extent is more sensitive to year-to-year variability in weather and cloud patterns," said Kay. "Our data show that clearer skies this summer allowed more of the sun's energy to melt the vulnerably thin sea ice and heat the ocean surface."

A separate CloudSat study led by John Haynes at Colorado State University found it rains more often and in greater amounts over Earth's oceans than previously estimated. The team found that, on average, 13 percent of clouds over Earth's oceans produce rain that reaches the surface. The difference in total rainfall amount estimates was greatest during winter, when large storms produced much more rainfall than previously estimated.

"These results suggest there is considerably more water falling from our skies, at least over Earth's oceans, than we previously thought," said Haynes. "The implications of these results are substantial and are still being examined, and suggest it may be necessary to reassess climate model estimates of Earth's water cycle intensity. By improving our understanding of present rainfall patterns, scientists can also improve climate model projections of how rainfall will increase or decrease in the future around the world."

CloudSat is providing some of the first, most direct observations of where rainfall occurs on a near-global basis, allowing scientists to see, for the first time, what fraction of Earth's clouds precipitate. It surveys ocean regions where measurements did not previously exist -- regions where the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests the greatest changes are occurring. It complements NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and offers a test bed for its planned Global Precipitation Measurement mission.

In another study, Colorado State University student Matt Lebsock and Stephens found the first global evidence that pollution of clouds by aerosols -- small particles suspended in the atmosphere -- is indeed making clouds brighter and more reflective, reducing the amount of sunlight available to warm the surface. These indirect aerosol effects are not well understood and create major uncertainties in climate models. The team combined data from CloudSat with the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instruments on NASA's Aqua satellite.

Scientists had previously believed that aerosols indirectly altered sunlight reflected by clouds by altering the sizes of cloud particles. The new observations also show that aerosols might allow clouds to grow deeper, increasing the amount of sunlight reflected from them even more than previously thought.

The Afternoon, or "A-Train" satellite constellation presently consists of five satellites flying in formation around the globe. Each satellite within the A-Train has unique measurement capabilities that greatly complement each other. The combined set of measurements is providing new insights into the global distribution and evolution of clouds that will lead to improvements in weather forecasting and climate prediction.

Background materials  are online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cloudsat/news/secret_clouds.html . For more on CloudSat and the A-Train, see: http://www.nasa.gov/cloudsat.

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NASA's Top Exploration and Discovery Stories of 2007

NASA moved forward in
2007 to explore the solar system, expand our knowledge of Earth and its
place in the universe, and build the International Space Station. The space
shuttle flew three highly successful missions to continue the station's
assembly and construction began on projects designed to send astronauts to
the moon, where they will establish a permanent outpost and prepare for
eventual voyages to Mars. Space science missions were launched to Mars and
the asteroid belt. Closer to home, Earth science satellites made a number
of key discoveries, such as how waterways beneath an Antarctic ice stream
affect sea level and the world's largest ice sheet. Click on the links below to read about NASA's top 10 discoveries of 2007.

CONSTELLATION BUILDS SYSTEMS FOR RETURN TO MOON

  AN HISTORIC HANDSHAKE BETWEEN WOMEN COMMANDERS

    RISE OF THE PHOENIX

      INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION KEEPS ON GROWING

        COLD AS ICE

           NEW HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT RECORDS

              STAR POWER

                  ADVANCED NEW AIRCRAFT DESIGN FLIES SUCCESSFULLY

                     GLOBAL EXPLORATION STRATEGY UNVEILED

Why are there only 9 listed? If you know the answer email us with the answer - CLICK HERE

CONSTELLATION BUILDS SYSTEMS FOR RETURN TO MOON

NASA began laying the foundation for the future of space exploration in
2007. Construction projects across the agency supported the Constellation
Program, which is developing next-generation spacecraft and systems to
return astronauts to the moon by 2020. All major contracts for the Ares I
rocket were awarded in 2007. Hard hats, cranes and bulldozers were the
equipment of choice at space facilities across the country. Construction
got under way at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in Las Cruces,
N.M., where NASA will hold the Constellation Program's first flight tests
in 2008.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers are erecting a new
lightning protection system at the Constellation launch pad, 39-B. A new
test stand for rocket engines is being built at NASA's Stennis Space Center
in Mississippi. NASA's lunar architects unveiled more details of their
plans for a lunar outpost, complete with small, pressurized rovers that
would travel in pairs, and possible astronaut housing that could be moved
from one location to another. NASA engineers also sought opportunities to
test lunar equipment ideas at sites on Earth that are similar to the moon,
such as the Arizona desert and the Antarctic tundra. For more information,
visit:  http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

AN HISTORIC HANDSHAKE BETWEEN WOMEN COMMANDERS

Space Shuttle Commander Pam Melroy and the International Space
Station's Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson made history Oct. 25 when
shuttle Discovery and the station docked, and the hatches between the two
ships were opened. As the two women shook hands 200 miles above Earth, they became the first female spacecraft commanders to lead shuttle and station missions simultaneously. Whitson, who also holds the distinction of being the first woman to command a station mission, has accumulated more total time in orbit than any other female space traveler.


RISE OF THE PHOENIX

NASA's Phoenix mission launched Aug. 4 from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station in Florida on a nine-month trek to Mars. The robotic lander is
scheduled to arrive at the Red Planet May 25, 2008, and begin a close
examination of Mars' northern polar region. Phoenix will be the first
mission to touch the planet's water-ice. Its robotic arm will dig into an
icy layer believed to lie just beneath the Martian surface. The robot
explorer will study the history of the water in the ice, monitor weather in
the polar region, and investigate whether the subsurface environment in the
far-northern plains of Mars has ever been favorable for sustaining
microbial life. For more information, visit:   http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix


INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION KEEPS ON GROWING

NASA launched three successful space shuttle missions in June, August
and October to deliver pieces of the International Space Station, allowing
it to grow in size, volume and power production in 2007. The electricity
generated by the station and used aboard the outpost more than doubled this
year. The station's six solar panels now extend to more than half an acre
of surface area. NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts safely conducted 22 spacewalks devoted to building and maintaining the station in 2007. A 23rd
spacewalk is planned for Dec. 18. That will match a record for the most
spacewalks in a single year. For more information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_assembly.html


COLD AS ICE

Scientists using NASA satellites discovered an extensive network of
waterways beneath a fast-moving Antarctic ice stream. The waterways provide clues as to how "leaks" in the system affect sea level and the world's
largest ice sheet. Data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite and data from the
Geoscience Laser Altimeter System on NASA's Ice Cloud and Land Elevation
Satellite provided a multi-dimensional view of changes in the elevation of
the icy surface above a large subglacial lake and surrounding areas during
a three-year period. Those changes suggest the lake drained to the ocean.
For more information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/antarctic_plumbing.html


CIRCUIT CHIP BREAKTHROUGH

NASA researchers designed and built a new silicon carbide differential
amplifier integrated circuit chip that has exceeded 4,000 hours of
continuous operation at 500 degrees Celsius - a breakthrough that
represents a 100-fold increase in what had been achieved previously. Prior
to this development, such integrated circuit chips had operated at these
high temperatures for only a few hours or less before degrading or failing.
The extremely durable transistors and packaging technologies will enable
highly functional but physically small integrated circuitry to be used for
sensing and to control electronics within harsh environments, such as hot
sections of jet engines as well as long-duration spacecraft. For more
information, visit:  http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov


NEW HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT RECORDS

Two new human spaceflight milestones were set by NASA astronauts in
2007. Sunita Williams, the International Space Station's Expedition 14 and
Expedition 15 flight engineer, broke the record for the longest duration
single spaceflight by a woman, spending 195 consecutive days in orbit. She
also completed the most spacewalks by a woman, logging 29 hours and 17
minutes during four spacewalks, and was the first astronaut to run a
marathon while in orbit. At the end of the Expedition 14 mission in April,
William's crewmate, Mike Lopez-Alegria, led all astronauts in the number of
spacewalks with 10 and the amount of time spent spacewalking with 67 hours
and 40 minutes. The time was accumulated during two shuttle flights and his
stay on the station. Lopez-Alegria's 215-day station mission also marked
the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut.

STAR POWER

The brightest stellar explosion ever recorded was seen by NASA's
Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based optical telescopes. The
discovery indicates that violent explosions of extremely massive stars were
relatively common in the early universe, and a similar explosion in our own
galaxy could be imminent. This new supernova may offer a rare glimpse of
how the first stars died. It is unprecedented to find such a massive star
and witness its death. The discovery of the supernova provided evidence
that the deaths of such massive stars are fundamentally different from
theoretical predictions.

ADVANCED NEW AIRCRAFT DESIGN FLIES SUCCESSFULLY

NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, with the Air Force
Research Lab and Boeing Phantomworks, successfully completed flight
experiments for the X-48B Blended Wing Body advanced aircraft at NASA's
Dryden Flight Research Center this year. The aircraft is a hybrid
configuration combining the best attributes of a conventional tube-and-wing
aircraft with a flying wing. It has the potential to meet expected future
Next Generation Air Transportation System requirements for low noise, low
emissions and high performance. With certain modifications to the design,
the Blended Wing Body also has the potential to land and take off on
shorter runways than current aircraft. The experiments demonstrated the
basic flying qualities of the X-48B and the effectiveness of the on-board
flight control system. For more information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/features/bwb_main.html
 

GLOBAL EXPLORATION STRATEGY UNVEILED

NASA and 13 space agencies from around the world released the framework
for a global exploration strategy in May 2007. The document, "The Global
Exploration Strategy: The Framework for Coordination," reflects a shared
vision of space exploration focused on solar system destinations where
humans may someday live and work. It represents an important step in an
evolving process toward a comprehensive global approach. The framework also
allows individual nations to share their strategies and efforts so all can
achieve their exploration goals more effectively.
 

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Air Quality Forecasts See Future in Space
By: Kathryn Hansen
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Weather broadcasts have long been a staple for people planning their day. Now with the help of NASA satellites, researchers are working to broaden daily forecasts to include predictions of air quality, a feat that is becoming reality in some parts of the world.

Some scientists predict that an operational system of routine, global forecasts of air pollution near the ground, where it affects human health, is only a few years away. Such a system could prove useful in efforts to improve air quality, assess the effectiveness of environmental regulations and address the challenge of climate change. Advances in air quality monitoring and forecasts are being discussed this week at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

"Regional modeling is already getting quite meaningful," says Richard Engelen of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Reading, United Kingdom. He notes that air quality forecasts are now possible up to a few days in advance in Europe where there has been a concerted effort to combine atmospheric composition data from satellites and ground stations into the existing backbone of weather forecast computer models.

The European project – the Global and Regional Earth-system (Atmosphere) Monitoring Using Satellite and In-Situ Data project – is currently in the experimental stage. In the United States, planning for the application of satellite data in regional air quality forecast model is underway at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But for forecasts to become more accurate and global, researchers need more and better observations, Engelen says. That's where NASA satellites are helping to fill in the gaps.

"To really do an accurate job of forecasting air quality, you have to know what pollution is coming in from upwind," says Kenneth Pickering of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., who studies the chemistry and movement of gases through the atmosphere.

For example, a recent study conducted by researchers from NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., used satellite instruments to look at air quality in Houston, Texas, a city with major air quality problems. Using data from two instruments on NASA's Aura satellite, researchers found that not all of Houston's pollution was locally caused and there was significant long-range transport from the Midwest and Ohio Valley. "Although the finding was made possible by a computer model, it was greatly aided by the Aura satellite data," Pickering says.

Researchers at centers including NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., are also experimenting with blending satellite ozone data with the output from computer models to continuously improve a forecast's accuracy.

NASA satellites are helping researchers evaluate the Clean Air Interstate Rule instituted in 2005 by the EPA. The rule calls for eastern U.S. power plants to cut sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by 73 and 60 percent, respectively, by 2018. Coal burning plants emit plumes containing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere, where they undergo chemical reactions and form aerosol particles that lead to adverse health impacts, degrade visibility and can influence Earth's climate. These aerosols are usually transported by wind away from their source to distant regions. Satellite instruments, as well as models and other information sources, allow researchers to create a history describing how much aerosol is transported and where, helping them to evaluate the rule.

"Satellites add considerable vertical and horizontal spatial detail, enabling a more scientifically sound way of understanding whether or not programs are making progress in reducing air pollution in the long term," says Rich Scheffe of the EPA in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Satellite data still pose challenges, however, and researchers are trying to find ways to tease out specific information, such as how much of each gas exists at a specific altitude. This is a particularly challenging measurement to make in the air closest to Earth’s surface, where the information matters most relevant for air quality regulations. More research is needed to determine the value of the current data and to develop improved sensors for future satellites, Pickering says.

The advances in forecasting air quality are happening fast, spurred in part by concern about global warming. At Earth's surface, warmer temperatures can accelerate the reaction between chemicals in the air that form ozone. "The combination of the increase of transported air pollution and the interaction of climate change and air quality really puts a greater premium on satellite imagery for air quality applications," Scheffe says.

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NOAA Education Resources for 2008
Publication of the NOAA Education Team

New dates added for 2008!

New training opportunities from Ocean Explorer

The professional development offerings listed here include opportunities for teachers and other educators to engage in learning more about ocean exploration. Opportunities will focus on how educators can use the mathematics, science, and technology associated with exploring the oceans in their classrooms to help increase awareness and understanding of the ocean world. These offerings are designed to introduce educators to premiere ocean scientists/explorers and their research and explorations, and at the same time, provide exemplary tools and resources to engage students in ocean exploration by bringing the classroom closer to the ocean than it has ever been before.

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To visit the hurricane education site, click here.

LET YOUR STUDENTS KNOW!

To receive free NOAA science stuff, send an e-mail to: outreach@noaa.gov, they should include their age or grade level with their complete mailing address.

Let them know if specific materials are needed on oceans, fish, marine animals, weather, climate, or satellites. They can provide one copy of each publication.

VISIT NOAA'S WEB PAGES FOR KIDS AND STUDENTS

Also make note of the web pages NOAA has created for kids and students. Go to: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/kids/#top

Top 10 Space Stories of 2007

Seething activity on the Sun, Martian caves and bizarre black holes were among the most clicked-on subjects of the year.

1. Dazzling new images reveal the 'impossible' on the Sun.

Click on the picture for a larger image

The restless bubbling and frothing of the Sun's chaotic surface is astonishing astronomers who have been treated to detailed new images from a Japanese space telescope called Hinode.

The observatory will have as dramatic an impact on our understanding of the Sun as the Hubble Space Telescope has had on our view of the universe beyond, scientists told a NASA press conference in Washington, DC. Click here to read the rest.

Click here to read the other 9.

Lesson Plans For SEA Members

Catch the Wind: Oceans, Atmosphere And Climate
Grades 9-12

This NASA video segment stresses the significant impact that oceans have on Earth's climate. Learn that to understand natural phenomena like hurricanes and El Niño, one must first study the relationship between the oceans and the atmosphere. A scientist notes the lack of technology available to monitor the ocean.
Click here

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Top 10 Space Pictures of 2007
Click on the picture for a larger image

Click Here for more