Meteorology: How Clouds Form

Professional Development Web Seminar: Meteorology--How Clouds Form

NES and NSTA are hosting a free 90-minute Web seminar on March 14, at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Learn about the relationships between air pressure, temperature, volume and cloud formation. Get an overview of the necessary conditions for cloud formation and then see how to make a cloud in a bottle. Information will be provided about an extension activity, the S'COOL Project, which involves student participation in authentic science.

This is the last time this seminar will be offered during the current school year.

For more information and to register online, visit the NSTA Learning Center, below.

The NSTA Learning Center

Hurricane /Tropical Cyclones: Latest storm images and data from NASA http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/main/index.html

NASA - NASA's Hurricane Resource Page NASA.gov brings you images, videos and interactive features from the unique perspective of America’s space agency. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, subscribe to blogs, RSS feeds and podcasts, watch NASA TV live, or simply read about our mission to pioneer the future in space exploration, sc...

One year after the historic tornado outbreak of April 27-28, 2011, researchers say they've learned a few things about deadly twisters. Today's story from Science@NASA presents some of the scientific findings that emerged from the swath of destruction.

FULL STORY: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/13apr_april/

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIKAV7B2oTk

April is the Cruelest Month - NASA Science One year after the historic tornado outbreak of April 27-28, 2011, researchers say they've learned a few things about deadly twisters. Today's story from Science@NASA presents some of the scientific findings that emerged from the swath of destruction.

The energy entering, reflected, absorbed, and emitted by the Earth system are the components of the Earth's radiation budget. Based on the physics principle of conservation of energy, this radiation budget represents the accounting of the balance between incoming radiation, which is almost entirely solar radiation, and outgoing radiation, which is partly reflected solar radiation and partly radiation emitted from the Earth system, including the atmosphere. A budget that's out of balance can cause the temperature of the atmosphere to increase or decrease and eventually affect our climate.
http://missionscience.nasa.gov/ems/13_radiationbudget.html

Earth's Radiation Budget - Mission:Science National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Science Mission Directorate. (2010). The Earth's Radiation Budget. Retrieved , from Mission:Science website:

NOAA and NASA are working on a series of next-generation weather satellites called "GOES-R" that will improve warnings of deadly tornadoes and other severe weather.

FULL STORY: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/29feb_tornadosurprise/

Next-Gen Weather Satellites to Improve Tornado Warnings - NASA Science NOAA and NASA are working on a series of next-generation weather satellites called "GOES-R" that will improve warnings of deadly tornadoes and other severe weather.

NASA's Aqua Satellite Sees Small New Tropical Storm Near Tonga

Tropical Storm 11P has formed in the South Pacific Ocean, and NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of its cloud temperatures, revealing power in the cyclone.

NASA - Hurricane Season 2012: Tropical Storm 11P (Southern Pacific Ocean) Tropical Storm 11P has formed in the South Pacific Ocean, and NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of its cloud temperatures, revealing power in the cyclone.

S'COOL: Why do we observe clouds?
Clouds are powerful agents of global change. They affect the overall temperature or energy balance of the Earth and play a large role in controlling the planet's long-term climate.

To understand the impact of clouds over time, satellites measure the planet's clouds and energy from space. Data from NASA's ERBE and CERES satellite instruments, for example, have made and continue to make significant contributions to the understanding of clouds. TERRA spacecraft

Making sure satellite instruments are accurate is very important. So, scientists also study clouds and the Earth's energy from instruments on aircraft and ground stations. This process is called validation. You can view a Webcast on the validation of the Aqua spacecraft (Quicktime; 14 MB).

Measurements from these experiments test the accuracy of satellite instruments. Cloud observations made by people, such as S'COOL participants, are also an important part of this ground truth exercise.

Amanda Blough’s fourth grade students joined the NASA S'COOL project and submitted several ground observations of the clouds. They will continue to do this throughout the year as an ongoing project. This activity was introduced right before they started the lesson on clouds. It was a great introduction to clouds and it got the students outside and learning how to make scientific observations that will be used by NASA scientists. This activity was nicely paired with the NASA Now video about the A-train as well as with the NPP Launch. The students were very aware of the many satellites that orbit the earth and their many functions.

The S’COOL observations are timed to contribute to the validation of the CERES satellite instruments, by collecting ground observer reports of cloud type, amount, etc. The S’COOL team would like your help with an Intensive Observation Campaign to contribute to the initial validation of this new CERES instrument. By participating in this campaign, you and your students have the opportunity to engage in real science that will help NASA. This campaign will take place during the month of December, which is expected to be the first month of operation of the instruments on NPP, following completion of the on-orbit instrument checkout.

S’COOL NPP Observation Campaign

Officials Hail NPP Satellite Launch

10.28.2011 - NASA and NOAA officials congratulated each other this morning following the successful launch of the NPP spacecraft aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Ken Schwer, NPP Project Manager, led off a news conference this morning about three hours after liftoff. He will be part of the team who will get the spacecraft checked out during the next several weeks so it can begin its Earth observing mission.

"Now the future of NPP starts and we look forward to NPP touching the rest of the world," Schwer said.

The NPP spacecraft was launched on-time at 5:48 a.m. EDT

: N P P : NPOESS Preparatory Project : Observations of atmospheric and sea surface temperatures, humidity sounding, land and ocean biological productivity, and cloud and aerosol properties

Meet "NPPy" the Polar Bear
Teachers your students can help NPPy get to all 50 U.S. states and beyond! Take NPPy on your adventures and take a photo of him for this web site!

: N P P : Click here to download NPPy. Print the file, cut along the dotted lines and take your bear with you on all your adventures!

Some students have misconceptions on how clouds form they think clouds and fog are forms of water v***r.

Clouds form from condensation and are mostly tiny water droplets. This is not always understood, but clouds do not occur from ev***ration. The ev***ration process is what happens when water (the liquid state) changes to the gas state (water v***r). The gas state is invisible. Can you see clouds? If you can see any form of water, it is either the liquid or the solid state, not the gas state (water v***r). Clouds are suspended and it can be difficult to understand that this liquid state is not falling to the ground, but once the droplet grow large enough they start to fall, we call the falling water drops rain. A typical raindrop is about 2 mm in diameter, a typical cloud droplet is on the order of 0.02 mm.

(Have you ever seen dust particles floating in a ray of sunlight? The air current keeps the particles suspended.)

If you fly an aircraft slowly through a large dense cloud, you will become damp. Water v***r seems invisible because it is transparent. Clouds and fog are not transparent. They are composed of liquid droplets.