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Sally Ride Science Announces New Educator Institute on Climate Change

The World-Changing Capability of GEOSS
And
Warmer Ocean Could Reduce Number of Atlantic Hurricane Landfalls

Astronaut
Sally Ride

Sally Ride Science Announces New Educator Institute on Climate Change

To help upper elementary and middle school teachers integrate today's hottest topic in their classrooms, Sally Ride Science(TM) announces a new Educator Institute, "Connecting with Climate Change: The CO(2) Story." The one-day professional development workshop allows teachers to explore the latest findings on climate change, and gain tips and strategies for incorporating the science of Earth's changing climate into their curriculum.

Designed for fifth through eighth grade teachers, the Educator Institute includes hands-on workshops followed by time for teachers to customize lessons and activities for their classrooms. The Institute also features a presentation by Dr. Richard Somerville, Distinguished Professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Sally Ride Science will hold the first "Connecting with Climate Change: The CO(2) Story" Educator Institute on March 1 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps in La Jolla, Calif. The $30 fee includes a continental breakfast, lunch and materials. Additional Educator Institutes will be scheduled later this year.

The Educator Institute on climate change follows on the heels of the launch of the company's Climate Change Classroom Set last fall. Developed for upper elementary and middle school students, the Climate Change Classroom Set brings the impacts of climate change to their world. The four books in the set -- Ecosystems, The Atmosphere, The Oceans, and The Poles -- blend the latest science and environmental concerns with current ideas and solutions for facing our climate challenge and creating a healthier planet. These full-color, nonfiction readers engage students in the epic changes happening around the world, encourage them to think of solutions, and reinforce state standards associated with the environment and the human impact of our changing world.

About Sally Ride Science

Sally Ride Science is an innovative science content company dedicated to fueling girls' and boys' interests in science, math and technology. Dr. Sally Ride, best known as America's first woman in space, founded the company in 2001 to create quality programs and products that educate, entertain, engage and inspire. Our programs include Sally Ride Science Festivals, TOYchallenge, Educator Institutes, summer camps, and after-school programs. Our publications include award-winning science books, science career books, and innovative Classroom Sets to supplement science instruction. Our publications and programs bring science to life and show kids that science is creative, collaborative, fascinating and fun. For more information go to www.SallyRideScience.com or call 1-800-561-5161.

Professional Development Workshop on March 1 at the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, San Diego CA.

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Extra-Credit Problems in Space Science from NASA

Elisabeth Cohen
Graduate Researcher and Lecturer
Meteorology Department
University of Utah

Yours truly,
Lis
www.WeatherOutreach.org

NASA Observes La Niña: This 'Little Girl' Makes a Big Impression

By: Laura Spector
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Cool, wet conditions in the Northwest, frigid weather on the Plains, and record dry conditions in the Southeast, all signs that La Niña is in full swing.

With winter gearing up, a moderate La Niña is hitting its peak. And we are just beginning to see the full effects of this oceanographic phenomenon, as La Niña episodes are typically strongest in January.

A La Niña event occurs when cooler than normal sea surface temperatures form along the equator in the Pacific Ocean, specifically in the eastern to central Pacific. The La Niña we are experiencing now has a significant presence in the eastern part of the ocean.

The cooler water temperatures associated with La Niña are caused by an increase in easterly sea surface winds. Under normal conditions these winds force cooler water from below up to the surface of the ocean. When the winds increase in speed, more cold water from below is forced up, cooling the ocean surface.

“With this La Niña, the sea-surface temperatures are about two degrees colder than normal in the eastern Pacific and that’s a pretty significant difference,” says David Adamec of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. “I know it doesn’t sound like much, but remember this is water that probably covers an area the size of the United States. It’s like you put this big air conditioner out there - and the atmosphere is going to feel it.”

While this “air conditioner” may be located in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, it has a great influence on the weather here in the United States and across the globe.

The cool water temperatures of a La Niña slow down cloud growth overhead, causing changes to the rainfall patterns from South America to Indonesia. These changes in rainfall affect the strength and location of the jet stream -- the strong winds that guide weather patterns over the United States. Since the jet stream regulates weather patterns, any changes to it will have a great impact on the United States.

Those changes can be felt throughout the country. The Northwest generally experiences cooler, wetter weather during a La Niña. On the Great Plains, residents normally see a colder than normal winter and southeastern states traditionally experience below average rainfall.

The cooler waters of a La Niña event also increase the growth of living organisms in this part of the ocean. La Niñas amplify the normal conditions in the Pacific. These typically cool and abundant waters experience an increase in phytoplankton growth when the water temperature drops even further.

The increased circulation that brings up cold water from below also brings up with it nutrients from the deeper waters. These nutrients feed the organisms at the bottom of the food chain, starting a reaction that increases life in the ocean. NASA’s SeaWiFS satellite documented this increase in phytoplankton during the last La Niña period in 1998.

La Niña and El Niño episodes tend to occur every three to five years. La Niñas are often preceded by an El Niño, however this cycle is not guaranteed.

The lengths of La Niña events vary as well. “We need to watch to see if this La Niña diminishes, because they can last for multiple years. And if it does last for multiple years, the southern tier of the United States, especially the Southeast, can expect dryer weather. That is not a good situation. If this La Niña behaves like a normal event, we should see signs that it is beginning to weaken by February,” says Adamec.

So far this La Niña is behaving like a textbook case: following the predicted weather patterns, strengthening throughout the winter, and peaking toward January. According to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, this La Niña episode is expected to continue until the spring of 2008, with a gradual weakening starting in February.

NASA will continue to monitor this phenomenon with several of its key Earth observing satellites.

Instruments on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites measure sea surface temperature and observe changes to life in the ocean, changes of great importance to the fishing industry. The MODIS instruments on these satellites detected the temperature drop that signaled this La Niña period, and SeaWiFS continues to monitor ocean life.

Scientists also look at sea surface height to understand La Niña. The cooler ocean water associated with a La Niña contracts, lowering sea-surface heights. Over the past year, NASA’s Jason satellite has observed a lower than normal sea level along the equatorial Pacific where this current La Niña episode is taking place.

NASA also looks at changes in wind and rain patterns to study La Niña. The QuikSCAT satellite measures changes in oceanic surface winds, while the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite observes changes in rainfall. These observations add to a fuller understanding of this phenomenon.

The current La Niña episode has far many reaching effects. What some may see as just a small change in sea surface temperature has a much greater impact on our climate here in the U.S. and across the globe, as well as implications for the fishing industry and the global economy. With the help of NASA’s earth observing fleet, scientists are becoming better equipped to observe and understand this phenomenon.

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The World-Changing Capability of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)

Earth As A New Frontier

GEOSS is turning Earth into a new frontier, driving a deeper understanding of Earth’s complex systems in a way that will greatly improve our predictive capabilities and bring vital societal benefits to people around the globe. The aim is to provide the right information, in the right format, to the right people, at the right time, to make the right decisions. Cutting across borders, sectors and disciplines to open a world of possibilities, GEOSS enables us to envision a world where more people will be fed, more resources will be protected, more diseases will be mitigated or even prevented, and more lives will be saved from environmental disasters.

Such world-changing goals require sound policy based on science derived from more than “snapshot assessments.” With this premise, GEOSS recognizes that no matter how effective and efficient all of our single-purpose Earth observation systems may be, their value multiplies when they can work in synergy.

Today the many thousands of separate data systems in constant use usually don’t work  together. Decision-makers and users at many levels –  farmers making planting choices, emergency managers making evacuation decisions, companies evaluating prospective building sites, nations battling drought and disease, parents checking daily weather reports – all take advantage of data from satellite remote sensing, aerial surveys, land or ocean-based monitoring systems and a vast array of socio-economic information. But the Earth observation data being collected are just a fraction of what could be put to excellent, perhaps life-saving use in every region of the world.

Without comprehensive, integrated data sets, there are gaps in scientific understanding. Nature doesn’t work just on land, in the sea, or in the atmosphere, and taking the pulse of the planet requires an understanding of the intrinsic links of these Earth systems.

GEOSS is emerging to fill the gaps. With human ingenuity and the political will of over 70 governments, GEOSS is a robust effort dedicated to building an integrated, comprehensive and sustained “system of systems” from many thousands of individual Earth observation technologies around the globe. This essential approach is as integrated as the planet that GEOSS is designed to observe, predict and protect.

U.S. Group on Earth Observations

The U.S. is a founding member of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO), which is developing GEOSS. Retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Ph.D., Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, represents the U.S. and also serves as a GEO co-chair along with South Africa, China and the European Commission. The U.S. Group on Earth Observations (USGEO), a subcommittee of the President’s National Science and Technology Council, coordinates U.S. government participation. USGEO is supported by 15 federal agencies and three White House offices. NOAA has a major stake in national and international Earth observing systems, including IOOS, the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System.

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Warmer Ocean Could Reduce Number of Atlantic Hurricane Landfalls

A warming global ocean — influencing the winds that shear off the tops of developing storms — could mean fewer Atlantic hurricanes striking the United States according to new findings by NOAA climate scientists. Furthermore, the relative warming role of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans is important for determining Atlantic hurricane activity.

The article, to be published on January 23 in Geophysical Research Letters, uses observations to show that warming of global sea surface temperatures is associated with a secular, or sustained long-term increase, of vertical wind shear in the main development region for Atlantic hurricanes. The increased vertical wind shear coincides with a downward trend in U.S. landfalling hurricanes.

“We looked at U.S. landfalling hurricanes because it is the most reliable Atlantic hurricane measurement over the long term,” says Chunzai Wang, a physical oceanographer and climate scientist with NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami and lead author on the article. “Using data extending back to the middle nineteenth century, we found a gentle decrease in the trend of U.S. landfalling hurricanes when the global ocean is warmed up. This trend coincides with an increase in vertical wind shear over the tropical North Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, which could result in fewer U.S. landfalling hurricanes.” For the article, Wang worked with Sang-Ki Lee of the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies-University of Miami.

In terms of hurricane strength, Wang notes, “The vertical wind shear is not the only factor affecting Atlantic hurricane activity, although it is an important one.” Other factors include atmospheric humidity, sea level pressure, and sea surface temperature. 

This study also suggests that where the global ocean warming occurs is important for determining the vertical wind shear in the Atlantic hurricane main development region — within the 10°-20° North latitude belt that stretches from west Africa to Central America. Whether future global warming increases Atlantic hurricane activity will probably depend on the relative role induced by sustained long-term warming over the tropical oceans.

Observations from 1854 to 2006 show a warming of sea surface temperature occurring almost everywhere over the global ocean, with large warming in tropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. Warmer waters in the tropical Pacific, Indian and North Atlantic oceans produce opposite effects upon vertical wind shear; that is, warming in the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans increase vertical wind shear in the Atlantic hurricane main development region, while warming in the tropical North Atlantic decreases vertical wind shear. Overall, warming in the Pacific and Indian oceans is of greater impact and produces increased levels of vertical wind shear which suppresses Atlantic hurricane activity.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

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

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Imagine the possibilities…

U.S. energy costs are cut by about $1 billion yearly.

Biodiversity data help detect the next emerging diseases.

Drought and stream flow data help manage drinking water.

Air quality effects are predicted in near real-time.

Farmers have immediate access to forecasts key to maximizing crop yields.

These are the possibilities with
GEOSS

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Some Excellent Quotes

Lee Iacocca
"Motivation is everything.
You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people. "

Leo Rosten
I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.

Marshall McLuhan
There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.

Adlai Stevenson
We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship, dependent on its vulnerable reserves of air and soil; all committed for our safety to its security and peace; preserved from annihilation only by the care, the work, and, I will say, the love we give our fragile craft.

John Glenn
I don't know what you could say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets.

AND

Mark Russell
The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage.

Lesson Plans For SEA Members

OPTICS: Light, Color
and their uses

This NASA educator's guide contains activities for grades K-12 in science and math. It has color and light activities using lenses, prisms, hidden messages, periscopes and kaleidoscopes.

Download Pdf file

 This product is available for printing through

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