July
26, 2007 Kondos is now a
participant in the S'COOL
project (Students' Cloud Observations On-Line), an international effort
in
which teachers and students examine clouds and submit their
observations to
NASA. Scientists use these ground measurements to assess the accuracy
of CERES
(Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System), a collection
of instruments
that observe clouds from space and monitor Earth’s radiation
balance. Because clouds
have so many layers,
satellites can be limited in their observation abilities. Ground
measurements
greatly improve our understanding of clouds because they offer a
different
perspective. If students and teachers are able to analyze the clouds
within 15
minutes of one of the CERES spacecraft flyovers, the scientists at NASA
Langley
will be able to take the two sets of data and study how clouds affect
the
Earth's climate. "We use these
observations to identify
cloud conditions that our satellite instrument has trouble with, such
as
sparse, thin cirrus clouds. The student observations and satellite data
are
also available for the students to examine," explains Lin Chambers,
director of the S'COOL project. Using the
S’COOL Web site, teachers can find
out how to join the program, and participants are able to obtain
observation
instructions and forms. After submitting the cloud observations online,
day-to-day classroom learning instantly becomes an important scientific
contribution. For
more information, visit: ##
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