Over 90 SOS Installations around the world + other spherical displays Aldo Leopold Nature Center Monona, WI American Association for the Advancement of Science CIMSS/SSEC/UW-Madison Madison, WI 2011 Highlights Snow & Ice Cover with NAO+ Ocean Temperature Anomalies 2012 Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Why was 2011 considered a year of extremes? How does the 2012 hurricane season compare to other years? Why did the U.S. have such a mild Winter, while other parts of the world had such cold temperatures? Smithsonian Zoo Washington, DC What’s the difference between weather and climate? Better understanding of Earth Systems, and how they relate to one another EDUCATION STRATEGY Further develops NOAA’s education strategy. Aligned with Ocean and Climate Literacy principles and concepts. Climate is regulated by complex interactions among components of the Earth System Our understanding of the climate system is improved through observations, theoretical studies, and modeling Climate varies over space and time though both natural and man-made processes Climate change will have consequences for the Earth system and human lives The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate PROJECT FUTURE Incorporate educational resources for docents and teachers. Foster partnership with SOS sites, including NOAA HQ SOS. These SOS sites would participate in an EarthNow Workshop and serve as EarthNow Model Institutions. Continue monthly climate digest (primary sources: NCDC, CPC), while developing more complex weather/climate connections. PROJECT PROGRESS EarthNow Blog, including mobile version, operational for 14 months, following front-end evaluation. Approx. 6,000 visits, with month to month growth. Positive feedback at SOS Users Workshop. Audio/Narration Capabilities for non- docent presentations. Video summaries for docents and broader public. NOAA ESRL Boulder, CO EarthNow Website/Blog EarthNow: Weather and Climate Connections for 3D Spherical Displays 1 Patrick Rowley, 1 Steve Ackerman, 2 Phil Arkin, 1 Rick Kohrs, 1 Margaret Mooney, 3 Dan Pisut, and 2 Stephanie Schollaert Uz 1 Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), Space Science & Engineering Center (SSEC), UW- Madison, 2 Cooperative Institute for Climate & Satellites (CICS-MD), University of Maryland, 3 NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab MAKING CONNECTIONS By providing timely weather and climate stories and using a variety of datasets to address common questions (below), it is possible to show the connection between weather events, long‐term changes in climate, and shorter scale climatic cycles. This will ultimately allow for more broad conversations on climate science. PROJECT OVERVIEW The Interpretation of Real-time Weather and Climate for Spherical Displays (EarthNow) project from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) allows Science On a Sphere (SOS) institutions to go beyond the scientific facts to create meaningful visitor experiences about weather and climate connections. CIMSS, in collaboration with the NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab and the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites, regularly updates a blog- style website, providing a central location for SOS facilitators to find timely weather and climate stories to speak about how current events affect and are affected by global change. Along with these stories, the website also provides relevant, visually appealing SOS-formatted datasets, animations, and narration with appropriate annotations, leading to easier comprehension by presenters and the public. PRIMARY GOALS Provide real-time NOAA weather and ocean data. Provide NOAA generated climate monitoring information. Provide annotation for SOS and other spherical displays. Provide appropriate training and stories for docents. Nauticus Norfolk, VA Scan for Website Scan for Contact Information CONTACT Patrick Rowley CIMSS/SSEC, UW-Madison 2010: ELG for Informal/Nonformal Education (SEC-OED ), Award #: NA10SEC