Chief Scientist's Message on Phenology

Dr. Dixon Butler

"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" As those of us in Washington and many other parts of the northern hemisphere dig out from recent snows, this concluding thought from Shelley's poem should remind us all that now is the time to prepare to take phenology measurements following the GLOBE Special Measurement protocols.

Phenology is the study of the annual cycles of living things and how they respond to seasonal changes in their environment. In GLOBE, we now have two Special Measurement protocols available for schools to follow - Budburst and Lilacs. In both, students observe plants (native tree species and common and clonal lilacs) and determine the dates when critical events in the plants annual growth cycle occur. These data will help researchers understand climate change. Analysis of satellite data indicates that the growing season in certain high latitude regions is getting longer. This could indicate that the planet is warming, but interpretation of these data could be wrong. Scientists need many ground-based observations of the timing of specific changes in plants, changes which cannot be seen from space.

Last year, over 50 GLOBE schools reported data on budburst in native trees. In anticipation of the new lilac protocol, a number of schools have planted common lilacs to observe and 25 schools received cloned lilacs to use. The results of the first year's budburst observations have been published in EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union. This year, I hope that more than 100 schools will report budburst observations and that a growing number of schools will plant lilacs. Twenty-five more sets of clonal lilacs will be available through Dr. Mark Schwartz, the Lilac Protocol Principal Investigator.

Observing phenologic changes offers GLOBE students of all ages an additional chance to contribute to our understanding of the global environment. The phenology measurements relate directly to the GLOBE Atmosphere and Soil Investigations' data. Student data analysis may include comparing the timing of budburst and the growth stages of lilacs with atmospheric temperature, precipitation, snow melt, and soil temperature and moisture values. An excellent class research project could focus on answering the question, "Are phenologic changes where you live controlled by temperature or moisture?" Doing the lilac and budburst protocols should help students understand the connections between the physical environment and living things in their neighborhood. The coming of Spring can provide a wonderful opportunity to learn science while watching beauty unfold!