The objective of the campaign was to train the teachers and students how to validate tree cover and impervious cover Landsat data sets for the Upper Delaware River Basin, which are being developed through Eric Brown de Colstoun's NASA-funded New Investigator Program project.
The project aims to use Landsat to measure land cover change and urban growth in the Upper Delaware Basin from 1984 to the present and to study the effect of these changes on local National Parks. Limited biometric data to support ICESAT satellite land data sets were also collected at selected sites. Participants received a brief presentation on the research component of the project and a short training in the GLOBE GPS and Land Cover/Biology field protocols. Then in groups of four to eight students and teachers they went to their assigned sites in DEWA Park to make field measurements. Participants also measured two principal sites at PEEC to assess the variability between each group’s measurements. This research/educational partnership between the Principal Investigator (Eric Brown de Colstoun), the NPS, the PA Intermediate Units and area students and educators is one that clearly benefits the development and validation of the research. It also provides the compelling story line for a wide variety of educational activities using NASA data and GLOBE protocols, all within the spectacular setting of our National Parks.
Summary courtesy of Jessica Robin.
+ Related article from the Pocono Record (external link)
+ Visit the GLOBE website
Download and watch local news clips about this activity:
+ Channel 28 (.AVI file, 13.5 Mb)
+ Channel 16 (.AVI file, 15.1 Mb)
+ Channel 13 (.AVI, 12 Mb)