Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

    x

    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

    x

    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

    x

    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

postcards from the field COPS germany

Studying storms to improve weather forecasts

During the summer of 2007 (June to August) a team of researchers set out to study how storms form in areas of Germany and France. By making detailed observations of the way air moves in the atmosphere, how clouds form, and precipitation, they hope to help improve weather forecasts for the region. Janine Goldstein, a software engineer at in the Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, US, is with the research team. She is helping to run a "Doppler on Wheels", a large radar made portable because it is mounted to a truck. Postcards from Janine are linked below. Take a look at them to learn more about her experience with this research project called the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study (COPS).

Janine Goldstein studying thunderstorms in South-Western Germany from Janine Goldstein, August 5, 2007

Forecasting When Storms Will Start from Janine Goldstein, August 6, 2007

First Ops from Janine Goldstein, August 7, 2007

Big Storm from Janine Goldstein, August 8, 2007

Mist from Janine Goldstein, August 10, 2007

Visiting the DIAL from Janine Goldstein, August 11, 2007

Last Ops from Janine Goldstein, August 14, 2007

Last modified August 23, 2007 by Janine Goldstein.

Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!

Our online store includes issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist, full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science, as well as books on science education!

Windows to the Universe Community

News

Opportunities

Upcoming W2U Events
Join Today - Benefits,
No Ads!
Special Offers for Teachers
Member Benefits
Teacher Newsletter
Partnership Opportunities

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

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

Janine Goldstein studying thunderstorms in South-Western Germany

Hi! My name is Janine Goldstein and I am a software engineer at NCAR in the Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL). I have worked at NCAR for 17 years. This summer I am in Germany helping to operate a radar...more

Forecasting When Storms Will Start

Hi again! Guess what? Today I had the day off! Each day, our goal is to set up the "Doppler on Wheels" or DOW near where storms are most likely to occur so that hopefully the storms will pass near the...more

First Ops

Hi! Boy did we get a big storm today. Today is my first day doing "ops" (that means operating the Doppler on Wheels). We set up the radar in the middle of a field and have been operating all night long....more

Mist

It has been raining steadily for 4 days. There is so much moisture that clouds form down in the trees. I had heard of that in fairytales, but I've never seen it for real. It is really pretty! When the...more

Visiting the DIAL

Today we drove to the top of Hornisgrinde to see the water vapor DIAL. Hornisgrinde is a mountain in the black forest. It stands 1.1 km (3,609 feet) above sea level, and about 1 km (3,281 feet) above the...more

Last Ops

Today is our last day collecting data with the DOW. Tomorrow we start packing to go home. Guess what? The hydraulics that life the truck went out yesterday so I had to hold the truck up while the others...more

Research Expeditions

When scientists go out to explore the Earth they often wind up in pretty interesting places and doing pretty interesting things. And they are learning more about how our planet works through the fieldwork....more

Shop Windows to the Universe

Science, Evolution, and Creationism, by the National Academies, focuses on teaching evolution in today's classrooms. Check out the other publications in our online store.

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation and NASA, our Founding Partners (the American Geophysical Union and American Geosciences Institute) as well as through Institutional, Contributing, and Affiliate Partners, individual memberships and generous donors. Thank you for your support! NASA AGU AGI NSF