Science Cheerleader

Studying gravestones to track changes in Earth’s chemistry. Call for volunteers! EarthTrek presents a global Gravestone Project.

This project aims to map the location of a graveyards around the globe and then use marble gravestones in those graveyards to measure the weathering rate of marble at that location.The weathering rates of gravestones are an indication of changes in the acidity of rainfall between locations and over time. The acidity is affected by air pollution and other factors, and could be used as a measure of changes in climate and pollution levels.

While we most commonly associate Google with its ability to search the Intertubes for our favorite science FAILs, the tech giant is also opening new doors for citizen science. A recent article in the Public Library of Science (PloS) ONE highlights a new mobile phone application, powered by Google Maps and Google’s Android operating system, that allows professional and citizen scientists to gather, submit, and access research data from the field.

The application, called EpiCollect, was initially designed for epedimiological and ecological studies but has potential for a number of other fields, including economics, public health, and resource allocation. Individual users can input data records (variables, photos, GPS location, etc) into EpiCollect from their mobile phone, which is synchronized to a central database. An accompanying web application, located at www.spatialepidemiology.net, provides a common location for mapping, visualization, and analysis of the data by everyone involved in the study. The two-way connectivity between the EpiCollect mobile application and the central database could increase the collection and collation of data for community projects, particular in resource-limited areas.

Importantly, EpiCollect was developed as a free software using Google’s open-source Android operating system. Anyone interested in using the software is encouraged to contact David Aanensen in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London.  The EpiCollect website also provides three sample epidemological datasets and a facility to geocode your own spatial data.

From Sarah: This photo was taken while I was painting ceramics by the beach of our Cancun resort…and I’m sure you observant readers can detect the sunburn on my face even though we had only been outside for 30 minutes.  (And by the way, don’t think I wasn’t coated in SPF 50 sunscreen!)  I am not one of those lucky people that can tan easily…or at all.  My skin is two colors: as close to albino white you can get without being clinically albino, or bright red…and so, I am indebted to the folks at the Maryland Science Center for studying those pesky UV rays.

Earth by Aura is an ongoing research program sponsored by NASA and the Maryland Science Center that focuses on determining how accurate forecasters are at predicting the daily UV index.  Citizen scientist researchers go out into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor daily to take UV radiation readings and interact with other citizens, encouraging them to protect themselves from UV radiation and to get involved with the project. (more…)

Flower shows around the country are a pleasant reminder that spring is just around the corner!  One of my favorite things about spring is the blooming of the beautiful plants and flowers as the weather begins to warm.  (Even if my seasonal allergies beg to differ.)

This year, instead of just passing by blooming plants on our commute to work, we can take a moment to record our observations and send them to Project Budburst.  Founded in 2007, Project Budburst is a national citizen science campaign designed to collect data about the phenophases (stages of a plant’s life cycle, such as first leaf, first flower, etc.) of trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses in our areas.  By collecting this data each year, Project Budburst will be able to determine how variations in our climate affects plant growth in regions around the country.  This project is funded by a variety of sponsors, including the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Chicago Botanical Garden, and the College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana.

Phenology is a visible way of demonstrating the effects of climate change directly to young students,  and many elementary science classrooms around the country are participating in this year’s data collection.  I will be keeping tabs on the phenological observations of my mother’s fifth grade science students in the weeks to come.  When asked why she chose this particular science project for her students to become involved in, my mother replied, “I find my students are more interested in science that they do themselves; getting them out of the textbook is the easiest way to hold their interest.  I think with this particular project, they can involve their parents and siblings in getting excited about the arrival of spring without a big time commitment.  I also liked that once their data was submitted, my students could go back to the website to see their local results for Butler, PA posted on a map of the entire United States.  Seeing that their simple observations of the world around them impacted such a large study is a great reinforcement of what they accomplished as citizen scientists.” (more…)

GLOBE at Night wants you to  participate in a global campaign to observe and record visible stars to help researchers measure light pollution.  ”2008 marked a monumental shift in human history when the number of people living in cities exceeded half the people on Earth. Because of the ambient light of urban landscapes, many city dwellers have never seen a sky full of stars.” (Including this urbanite!) 2008’s program inspired 6,838 measurements of night-sky brightness by citizen scientists around the world. 

“While we have just begun to analyze the data, we have strong anecdotal evidence from our citizen-scientist network in North America that they experienced abnormally cloudy skies this year,” says Connie Walker, GLOBE at Night project manager at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, AZ.

GLOBE at Night takes approximately 15-30 minutes. Do it as a family or get a bunch of friends together and do some real star-gazing! Start by finding Orion an hour after sunset between March 16-28th and follow the four, simple steps described on Globe’s site.

 Orion, the Great Hunter, looks like this (left).  ”Look for three bright stars close together in an almost-straight line. These three stars represent Orion’s belt. The two bright stars to the north are his shoulders and the two to the south are his feet.”

 No prior experience is necessary and all the information you need to participate is on the site including activity kits for families, teachers and students.  All observations will be available online via Google Earth.

On a related note, Science Cheerleader subscriber Phil Hoffman sent in this news tip: The Galileoscope is a high-quality, low-cost telescope kit developed for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 by a team of leading astronomers, optical engineers, and science educators. No matter where you live, with this easy-to-assemble refractor, citizen scientists can see the celestial wonders that Galileo first glimpsed 400 years ago and that still delight stargazers today, including lunar craters, the phases of Venus, the moons of Jupiter, and Saturn’s rings!

Globe at Night 

Project Snapshot

> Topics  Astronomy & Space, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoor

> Location Close to home, Outdoors

> Duration  15-30 minutes

> Cost  Free

> Gear  Just a computer to log in your observations

> Level of Difficulty Easy

 Nolan from Colorado State University wants you to know about CoCoRaHS, a fun and simple citizen science activity for the weather enthusiast. Volunteers send in backyard rain, hail and snow observations to scientists who measure and track the data. The National Weather Service, other meteorologists, hydrologists, emergency managers, city utilities (water supply, water conservation, storm water), insurance adjusters, USDA, engineers, mosquito control, ranchers and farmers, outdoor & recreation interests, teachers, students, and neighbors in the community use the data.

Nolan tells me that by “late 2009, CoCoRaHS will be in the single largest source for U.S.  daily precipitation data, thanks to the power of volunteers.” 

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Topics: Weather

Location: Close to home; Outdoors.

Level of Difficulty: More complicated than I expected but once you’ve purchased (and assembled) the equipment and had a chat with the regional coordinator, the easy (and fun) parts begin.

Fee: Costs about $25 to buy the necessary equipment. (The organizers do all they can to ensure accurate data collection and proper equipment plays a big role there.)

Gear: Special measurer (see above). Computer.

Duration: Once you have the equipment, it’ll take about an hour to build it out. Then, just wait for some rain, hail or snow! Record precipitations 7am, daily for as long as you’d like to participate.