GLOBE Observer
Almost everyone is or has been a cloud watching hobbyist; whimsical and omnipresent, clouds capture the attention and imagination of people everywhere. GLOBE Observer is an international citizen science initiative established in 1995 by the United States government to engage cloud enthusiasts to monitor clouds in the US and now, enthusiasts worldwide. Enthusiasts download the GLOBE Observer app, follow the prompts for how to take a picture, and submit pictures of clouds in their area that will be added to a global database of cloud observations. Researchers from GLOBE, in partnership with NASA, compare submissions to satellite data to verify submissions. The data collected through the app by hobbyists help researchers track and ameliorate predictions about the climate in the present and in the future. The app is marketed also as an educational tool, particularly for those who teach children. GLOBE has other educational initiatives offered to young students in middle and high school, and apps that are highly complementary to those programs. The app is intuitive and, from reviews, appears to be highly engaging for children and parents in particular. There are questions of how helpful pictures are and if there are concentrations of data in highly developed countries in the global North where there is already a dearth of public engagement in citizen science initiatives and research on climate. However, the educational and accessible nature of the app makes it appealing for even the most casual hobbyist to engage in environmental monitoring.
Categories
Citizen Science, Data, Ecological Monitoring, Internet of Things, Monitoring, Visual Technologies
More Ideas
Air Pollution Robot
The dangers of air pollution to human health are well documented, though the traditional methodology of collecting and reporting on sample lags behind the need to keep abreast and regulate air pollution in a meaningful amount of time. The use of drones and robots have been identified by researchers as resources that can be tweaked […]
Artificial Life, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Industry/Natural Commodities, Lifestyle, Monitoring
Telematic Rivers
Erica Kermani’s artwork seeks to answer a central question: if rivers were seeing an equal, living entity, would humans take issues like climate change threatening them more seriously? In his year-long art exhibition in 2017, Kermani, in collaboration with Diana Salcedo & Jeana Chesnik, created a new forum of interaction between humans and rivers to […]
Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies
Co-occupied Boundaries
Art is easily found in nature but rarely is what considered art today inherently natural. The concept of co-occupied mediums that serve to be both functional for nature and aesthetically pleasing to people is being actively explored by Asya Ilgun and Phil Ayres, from the CITAstudio at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In […]
Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies