This photo of Anna Harper was taken on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of Chris Harper

Anna Harper

Growing up, I used to spend weekends at my grandmother's house in the north Georgia mountains. I loved exploring the woody hillsides and creek near her house. Those hikes sparked my interest in earth science because I was very interested in how and why everything in the woods were the way they were.

Now I study how the atmosphere and vegetation interact with each other in the Amazon rainforest to affect large-scale precipitation patterns. I use computer models to study these interactions. This November, I will be going to a conference in Brazil to present my results, and I will hopefully visit some observational towers in the rainforest. Did you know that in some parts of the rainforest, there are up to 6 months with very little rainfall? I find it fascinating that even in dry conditions, the forest thrives and supports thousands of species of plants and animals. Because of this amazing biodiversity, I think it's very important to know as much as we can about how the forest functions.

In my free time, my husband and I love to hike and bike through the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

Last modified May 9, 2008 by Becca Hatheway.

You might also be interested in:

Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

People in the Atmospheric Sciences

Atmospheric science includes the study of the atmosphere, its processes, the effects other systems have on the atmosphere, and the effects of the atmosphere on these other systems. The people who study...more

Jim Benedict

I have always been curious about how things in nature work. Growing up in New England, my house was sometimes hit by thunderstorms, hurricanes, and snowstorms that always seemed to amaze me. I became interested...more

Todd Jones

I first became interested in studying science and math in about the 8th grade when I discovered my love for reading maps (specifically weather maps) and graphs and plots.  Plus, I grew up in Northeast...more

Rachel McCrary

I am a graduate student at Colorado State University and I study drought. For my masters thesis, I am using global climate models to study drought over the Great Plains of the United States. I am most...more

Anna Harper

Growing up, I used to spend weekends at my grandmother's house in the north Georgia mountains. I loved exploring the woody hillsides and creek near her house. Those hikes sparked my interest in earth science...more

Melissa Burt

I've been interested in the weather since I was a little girl. I grew up in Maryland and during the summer I would call the weather line every hour to find out if we had a chance of thunderstorms or not....more

Walter Hannah

I haven't always been interested in weather and climate science, but after getting my undergraduate degree in mathematics I wanted to move into a field that was easier to apply to the real world. Being...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA