1. West Coast Aerosols: Pasadena vs. Cache Valley Greg Nichols & Erika Sahlman

2. Abstract Using CloudSAT protocol and a photometer students will measure regional differences in aerosol amounts between an urban and rural valley in the western U.S.

3. Introduction & Hypothesis Is there a difference in aerosol concentrations between Pasadena (urban) and Cache Valley (rural) areas? Questions that may lead to hypotheses Seasons Temperature Altitude Anthropogenic vs. Natural Aerosols

4. Materials & Method CloudSAT Use CloudSAT protocol and exchange photos between schools. Photometer Measure amounts of aerosols in both schools. In the future… Use GLOBE protocols to compare data online as we acquire additional resources. Method Collect data for as many times as possible over a two week period per school year month.

5. Data Summary/Analysis and Results Compare cloud coverage and cloud types, photometer results, and temperature. Use Excel and make a graph for all three variables. The students are then going to pick their own questions to focus on and answer them using their data between the two schools. Are there seasonal changes in aerosol concentrations? Does temperature effect aerosol amounts? Do aerosol amounts vary depending on the time of day?

6. Discussion Equipment Photometers GLOBE weather station protocols Some data is not available (AIM) ~ man-made vs. natural aerosols Setting up collaborations between the two classes.

7. Partners & Bibliography Pasadena, California JPL - NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Cache Valley, Utah Space Dynamics Laboratory Utah State University MODIS - http://modis-atmos.gsfc.nasa.gov/http://modis-atmos.gsfc.nasa.gov/ CloudSAT - http://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu/http://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu/ GLOBE - www.globe.govwww.globe.gov Google Earth - http://earth.google.com/http://earth.google.com/ UCAR - http://www.ucar.edu/http://www.ucar.edu/