GLOBE Seasons and Biomes Project and Climate Change Elena Bautista Sparrow 1 Mike Dunn 2 1 International Arctic Research Center and School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks 2 North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

GLOBE Seasons and Biomes Project and Climate Change Overview of the IPY GLOBE Seasons and Biomes project Vegetation Phenology, Climate, Earth system processes Inquiry Exercise GLOBE Phenology measurement protocols - budburst - Green-up - Green-down

Greenhouse gas concentrations of the past 1000 years

Northern Hemispheres of the past 1000 years

We know that the earth’s surface has warmed in recent decades

Precipitation trends, (greener = wetter, orange = drier)

Dr. Elena Sparrow 1, Dr. Jessica Robin 2, Dr. Leslie Gordon 3, Ms. Kim Morris 1, Dr. David Verbyla 1, Dr. Elissa Levine 4, Dr. Martin Jeffries 5, Ms. Martha Kopplin 1 and, Dr. Rebecca Boger 1 University of Alaska Fairbanks 2 Science Systems Applications, Inc./NASA-GSFC 3 Gordon Consulting, Neskowin, Oregon 4 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 5 National Science Foundation 6 GLOBE Program Office GLOBE Seasons and Biomes

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is an international science and education program that brings together scientists, educators, K-12 teachers and students in studying the Earth as a System

Inquiry and Science Processes Inquiry Process and Science Process Ask Question Hypothesis Methodology Data Collection Data Reporting Analysis Conclusions Report Results and Peer Review K-12 Teachers and Students Research Scientists Learning Science Generation of Knowledge

What is Seasons and Biomes? Seasons and Biomes is an inquiry- and project- based initiative that monitors seasons, specifically their interannual variability to increase K-12 students’ understanding of the Earth system. The project connects GLOBE students, teachers, and communities with educators and scientists from three Earth Systems Science Programs (ESSP) –International Arctic Research Center (IARC) –NASA Terra Satellite –NASA Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM)

Seasons and Biomes Other Collaborators GLOBE Partners include: GLOBE Alaska, Iowa, Gaullaudet, Ohio, Texas, Argentina, Bahrain, Cameroon, Czech Republic, Germany, Greenland, Hungary, Norway, Russia, Switzerland Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research UAF School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences UAF Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research Alaska EPSCoR program Univ. of Southern Maine Norwegian Environmental Education Network IPY Office at Cambridge, UK National Phenology Network NOAA Education Office

Seasons and Biomes Objectives Engage K-12 students in Earth system science research to learn science process skills and inquiry Provide teacher professional development in Earth system science and inquiry Provide increased connectivity of K-12 teachers and students with scientists Increase understanding of technology used in Earth system science Build diverse Earth system science learning communities locally that connect globally Engage in the International Polar Year pre-college students from polar and non-polar regions.

Photos courtesy of GLOBE Bahrain, Ghana, and USA In Seasons & Biomes, GLOBE schools will be organized by biomes into Global Learning Communities.

What is a Global Learning Community (GLC) ? A global learning community is a network of GLOBE schools organized by biomes. Biomes include: –Tundra, Taiga, Deciduous Forest, Tropical Forest, Grasslands, Savannah, Shrubland, Desert, Agricultural and Urban The project will target two GLCs each year and will focus on Tundra and Taiga biomes initially to correspond with International Polar Year (IPY)

How can studying seasonal change help students better understand Earth as a system? Seasons connect all five spheres of the Earth system - atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. Interactions between these five spheres affect the timing and duration of seasons. By monitoring seasons, students will increase their understanding of how interactions within the Earth system affect their local seasons and how these variations affect their communities as well as regional and global environments.

Photos courtesy of the GLOBE, Alaska GLOBE and ALISON programs What will students do ? Budburst Ice phenology Mosquito phenology GLOBE protocols Vegetation phenology Atmosphere Land cover Soils Hydrology Green-down Green-up

What about satellite data? Landsat and MODIS satellite data will be used to teach students: –what biomes are –how they are classified –how to identify their region’s biome –how they may be used in student inquiries In turn, the students’ field measurements collected during their field campaigns will validate the satellite data.

How is Seasons and Biomes relevant to the broader community? This project will contribute to Earth system science measurements and validations of remotely sensed data needed for - better understanding of carbon and water cycling - regional climate impact assessments - prevention and management of diseases Various cultures utilize seasons as calendars for their work activities

Join the Seasons and Biomes Team

What is Phenology? The study of recurring biological cycles and their connection to climate Bird migrations and timing of egg-laying Insect outbreaks Fish spawning

GLOBE vegetation phenology Investigates the timing and length of terrestrial plant activity Leaf emergence, expansion, and senescence

Why should anyone care Four reasons: –Education –Climatology –Carbon cycle –Integrator of Earth as a system

1. Education Phenology occurs nearly everywhere Easily observable Closely connected with the Earth System Most people are unaware

For students Simple to set up inquiries based on phenological observations Excellent example of how variation in climate can influence the development of plants

2. Climatology Climate does affect phenology But plant phenology also affects climate The partitioning of net radiation into latent and sensible heat Rn = LE + H When we have plants, more energy is used in latent heat, reducing sensible heat Albedo – plants are usually darker than soils –Absorb more radiation

Critical feature Processes occurring at the leaf level strongly influence global processes The movement of water vapor out of leaves and CO 2 into leaves, which is a function of phenology, is tremendously important for Earth System Science

3. Carbon cycle Much recent research has suggested that the length of active plant growth has been extended

Myneni,R.B. et.al Nature, 386, Increase in plant growing season length according to remotely sensed data There is a need for ground observations/data.

Date of leaf-out in Fairbanks (Chena Ridge) Data courtesy of J. Anderson

Northern Greening (1981 – 1999) Image courtesy of Liming Zhou, Boston U.

3. Carbon cycle Much recent research has suggested that the length of active plant growth has been extended May mean increased carbon storage

[from G. Juday, UAF]

3. Carbon cycle Much recent research has suggested that the length of active plant growth has been extended May mean increased carbon storage Responsible for the up and down appearance of the global CO 2 curve

We know that greenhouse gas concentrations are increasing (a 20% increase over the past 40 years)

4. Earth as a system Plant phenological variation is influenced by many areas of the Earth system –Climate –Hydrology –Soils –Biology –Human activity

The snow – albedo feedback loop Decreases in albedo Decreases in snow cover The greenhouse gas- ecosystem metabolism feedback loop Decreases in temperature Enhancements in productivity greater than enhancements in respiration Increases in temperature Increase in heat absorption Increases in greenhouse gases Enhancements in respiration greater than enhancements in productivity Increases in growing season length

The need General circulation models (GCMs) are increasingly incorporating phenology Models of plant phenology are needed to be incorporated into coupled land, ocean and atmosphere models Ground observations are needed to verify satellite data and to provide better models

Summary Vegetation phenology is easy to observe integrates Earth system components influences many Earth system processes excellent biospheric measurement of vegetation response to climate variability

Summary Engaging students in vegetation phenology research is a great way to teach and learn science content skills as a process It is simple to set up inquiries based on phenological observations