A Bioregion is where geography, the environment, and culture intersect. They are places defined by landscapes, natural processes, and human elements (BioRegions 2016). Although on different sides of the world, areas in Mongolia and Montana are thought to be bioregions because of their shared characteristics. The occurrence of these similar bioregions presents a unique opportunity to compare the challenges that each of the regions face. With the ever-increasing pressures of westernization, both cultures have in the past, and are currently experiencing rapid change in their cultural ways of life
Part I - At the same time communities all over the US are struggling to deal with climate change, resilience, and environmental justice, the nation faces a shortage of geoscientists who can work on these issues. This shortage is especially acute for marginalized and underserved communities. Gaps in the pathways to careers in geoscience begin as early as middle school?the last time many students encounter Earth science content in the classroom. To address these challenges, this project will create opportunities for students in three diverse communities (Atlanta, GA; San Bernardino, CA; and Oklahoma) to develop their scientific skills and knowledge while working on authentic, local problems as they progress from middle school to college and beyond, into the workforce. Part II - The project design is informed by research findings that students are more engaged and invested in learning science when it is connected to issues of concern to their local community and that use of authentic, mentored, real world research experiences increase retention and persistence. Bringing together partners who have led relevant, successful national efforts with partners in the three regions the project team will design and begin implementation of inclusive pathways that lead from an early interest in Earth to careers that require geoscience skills and knowledge. Each pathway will include multiple opportunities for students to 1) learn geoscience in the context of compelling local issues, 2) use geoscience to address local challenges, and 3) explore geoscience career pathways. Experience gained by initial program partners and regional pilots will be used to create national support structures for developing integrated geoscience pathways and a collective action framework for expanded partnerships.
In December the Science Museum will open Mathematics: The Winton Gallery. The new gallery tells mathematical stories in relation to a broad spectrum of fundamental human concerns. One of the key exhibits is a newly acquired machine for modelling storm surges in the North Sea. Designed by Japanese engineer Shizuo Ishiguro, the object offers a way to explore the far-reaching impact and relevance of mathematical work.
Of all the online information tools that the public relies on to collect information and share opinions about scientific and environmental issues, Twitter presents a unique venue to assess the spontaneous and genuine opinions of networked publics, including those about a focusing event like the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Using computational linguistic algorithms, this study analyzes a census of English-language tweets about nuclear power before, during, and after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Results show that although discourse about
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Nan LiHeather AkinLeona Yi-Fan SuDominique BrossardMichael XenosDietram Scheufele
National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded an Informal Science Education (ISE) grant, since renamed Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) to a group of institutions led by two of the University of California, Davis’s centers: the Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) and the W.M. Keck Center for Active Visualization in Earth Sciences (KeckCAVES). Additional partner institutions were the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center (ECHO), Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) at the University of California, Berkeley, and Audience Viewpoints Consulting (AVC). The summative evaluation study was
This INSPIRE project addresses the issue of high volume hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, and its effects on ground water resources. Fracking allows drillers to extract natural gas from shale deep within the earth. Methane gas sometimes escapes from shale gas wells and can contaminate water resources or leak into the atmosphere where it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Monitoring for these potential leaks is difficult because methane is also released into aquifers naturally, and because monitoring is time- and resource-intensive. Such subsurface leakage may also be relatively rare. This project seeks to improve overall understanding of the impacts of natural gas drilling using both advances in computer science and geoscience, and to teach the public about such impacts. The project will elucidate both the effects of human activities such as shale gas development as well as natural processes which release methane into natural waters. Results of the proposed research will lead to a better understanding of water quality in areas of shale-gas development and will highlight problems and potentially problematic management practices. The research will advance both the fields of geoscience and computer science, will train interdisciplinary graduate students, and involve citizen scientists in collecting data and understanding environmental data analysis.
The project combines new hydro-geochemical strategies and data mining approaches to study the release of methane into streams and ground waters. For example, researchers will explore how to analyze the heterogeneous spatial data that describe distributions of methane concentrations in natural waters. The objectives of this project are to i) transform the ability to measure methane in streams; ii) train citizen scientists to work with project scientists to sample streams in an area of shale-gas development and publish large-volume datasets of methane in natural waters and aquifers; iii) innovate data mining and machine learning methods for environmental data to identify anomalous spots with potential leakage; iv) run field campaigns to measure methane concentrations and isotopic signatures of water samples in these spots; v) foster dialogue among nonscientists, consultants, university scientists, members of the gas industry, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations in and beyond the target region. Toward this end, the team will host workshops aimed to build dialogue among stakeholders and will release data analytic software for environmental measurements to benefit a broader research community.
The Fluid Earth Viewer (FEVer), an interactive and visually appealing web application that will allow users to visualize current and past conditions of our planet's atmosphere and oceans will be built via this award. This free web application, available to anyone with an internet connection, will directly impact approximately 2,000 individuals in-person through three field tests and is expected to reach many more online.
FEVer will be an extension of an existing open-source web application, and the PIs will add polar data sets, extended options in the user interface, and the ability to view historical climate/weather data to the existing "earth" app. It will be a vehicle of modern Earth science communication, making information most often used by the scientific community accessible and engaging to broader communities. In particular, it will provide hands-on visualization of the important climatic role of the polar-regions, their connections to lower latitudes, and the changes they are undergoing. A companion website, FEVer-Ed, will provide background, educational support, and opportunities for additional learning through a gallery of historically interesting atmospheric and oceanic events. FEVer will serve as a gateway to data sets that have otherwise been inaccessible to audiences outside of the research community. While a number of large data sets are included in this proposal (regional and global operational weather models/reanalyses), the platform is scalable to include other data such as ice sheet and glacier dynamics.
This project is partially funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.
The proposed project, which will build upon a successful NSF EAGER grant, will help arctic researchers explain the significance of their research widely to the general public which, in today's technologically connected world means not only in the U.S., but worldwide- and to reflect the diversity of the scientific enterprise Alaska. As proposed, the current Frontier Scientist's schedule of science reporting will be enhanced by a broadcast TV series titled Frontier Scientists to engage a larger viewing audience. A 'Do It Yourself' (DIY) component will help scientists to create their, professional-caliber media that will sustain the publics' interest and feedback in their research. An evaluation regime will insure appropriate quality and depth of communication, throughout the lifecycle of each science story.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Liz OConnellRobert McCoyGregory Newby
Frontier Scientists is comprised of a website and portfolio of videos created for distribution web-wide and through television broadcast. The goal of this program is to excite the general public about ongoing science in Alaska and the Arctic. This is the summary evaluation of a three-year National Science Foundation grant received by Frontier Scientists. Frontier Scientists contracted PEER Associates to conduct the evaluation. Over the course of the three years, the evaluation was focused on both formative (intended to inform and improve programming) and summative (what has the program
The connections between technology applications of all sorts and human users that are ubiquitous in informal learning and assume a great deal about how the technology is used and how learning takes place. Much of the research in this area has been focused on game design and interaction. This project will examine this interaction involving the use of gestures that represent how individuals work with systems and large data sets that represent complex systems like the oceans, to understand how basic elements of a project with a 3-D type of design might enhance the user experience and increase the utility and learning that takes place by understanding the cognitive elements of these game like interactions in specific STEM related settings like museums.
This exploratory pathways project will investigate the use of interactive, gesture-enabled, multi-touch spheres for teaching about ocean systems in science centers and museums. The gesture-enabled aspect of the project will improve on interactive table-top installations which can frustrate users who use unexpected gestures and receive no response leading to brief interaction and abandonment without significant interaction or learning. The project will investigate ways in which unsupported gestures would still produce a system response which would encourage the user to remain at the installation and continue to investigate. The effect of multiple gestures will be supported by using natural mappings between gestures and interactions with the on-sphere data.
The project investigates theories of embodied cognition that support the notion that by engaging with global-scale datasets on a spherical display more effectively models the earth in a non-distorted manner and therefore will be more natural and allow users to develop a more accurate conceptual model of how data relates to itself and the globe. In this way, the project shares some aspects of understanding about learning through game play. The sphere will not be a fully developed game but will share characteristics of game play.
This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.
As a part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds research and innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. In this project, the primary goal of Geo-literacy Education in Micronesia is to demonstrate the potential for effective intergenerational, informal learning and development of geo-literacy through an Informal STEM Learning Team (ISLT) model for Pacific island communities. This will be accomplished by means of a suite of six informal learning modules that blend local/Indigenous approaches, Western STEM knowledge systems, and active learning. This project will be implemented across 12 select communities in the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia - which consists of the four States of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap - and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Jointly, these entities are referred to as the Freely Associated States (FAS). Geo-literacy refers to combining both local knowledge and Western STEM into a synthesized understanding of the world as a set of interconnected, dynamic physical, biological, and social systems, and using this integrated knowledge to make informed decisions. Applications include natural resource management, conservation, and disaster risk reduction. The project will: (1) demonstrate that the recruitment and development of an ISLT model is an effective method of engaging communities in geo-literacy activities; (2) increase geo-literacy knowledge and advocacy skills of ISLT participants; (3) produce and disseminate geo-literacy educational materials and resources (e.g., place-based teaching guides, geospatial data systems, educational apps, 2-D and 3-D models, and digital maps); and (4) provide evidence that FAS residents use these geo-literacy educational materials and resources to positively influence decision-making.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Corrin BarrosKoh Ming WeiDanko TabrosiEmerson Odango
The rapid growth of the natural gas extraction industry in Pennsylvania and neighboring states has stirred concerned citizens to seek ways to collect data on water quality impacts from the extraction activities. As a response to requests from community members, the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) developed a volunteer-friendly protocol in 2010 for early detection and reporting of surface water contamination by shale gas extraction activities in small streams. To date, ALLARM has trained more than 2,000 volunteers in Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia to monitor water