Science in the Snow Audio and Video Podcast

Whenever you’re out frolicking in a winter wonderland, why not take a frolicking break every now and then to measure snow depth for your friends at the Community Snow Observations project? Your observations will help them verify data obtained from satellites and other remote sensing tools, and also fill in both spatial and temporal gaps … Read more “Science in the Snow Audio and Video Podcast”

Categories: Apps, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Environment, Featured Projects, Geology & Earth Sciences, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, videos

Feast upon these delectable citizen science projects

If you’re spending time with family and friends, here are activities to do together to discover more about your mental, biological and genetic health and more. Feast upon these delectable citizen science projects guaranteed to satisfy even the most insatiable curiosity! Thank you for being part of our growing family (150,000 strong now!) of thinkers … Read more “Feast upon these delectable citizen science projects”

Categories: Animals, Biology, Birds, Ecology & Environment, Health, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, podcast

Simple ways to learn about and help koalas, kangaroos, and coastlines

Looking for new ways to spend some of your spare time? Check out the SciStarter Affiliates page featuring dozens of gold-star projects linked directly to your SciStarter Dashboard. To get you started, we’re featuring five Affiliate projects below. Cheers! The SciStarter Team  

Categories: Alzheimers, Amphibians, Animals, Bats, Biology, Birds, Citizen Science, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Newsletter, Ocean & Water

Image of shark on reef with small, colorful reef fish.

Tracking Sharks and Listening to Rays

Sharks get a lot more attention than, say, sea cucumbers, possibly because sharks tend to have much bigger teeth. They even get their own week! (note to Discovery Channel: please find room for Sea Cucumber Week). And yet, as marine scientist and shark expert David Shiffman points out, scientists are still discovering new things about … Read more “Tracking Sharks and Listening to Rays”

Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water

A hand holding a smartphone in the woods. On screen is the Mountain Rain or Snow website.

How can it snow when temperatures are above freezing? Mountain Rain or Snow has the answer — and wants your help studying it

A glimpse at the temperature during the next snowfall might surprise you: It may not actually be below freezing outside. Don’t worry, your thermometer isn’t broken, and you didn’t miss a memo about a change in the laws of physics. There’s a straightforward reason why it can snow above 32°F — though it does make … Read more “How can it snow when temperatures are above freezing? Mountain Rain or Snow has the answer — and wants your help studying it”

Categories: Citizen Science, Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Other

Sea Level Rise Citizen Science with the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History

The curved arm of Cape Cod jutting out into the Atlantic with 560 miles of beautiful coastline hints at the Cape’s glacial beginnings and its vulnerability to sea levels, now rising as a direct result of climate change. A disappearing island, a lost clam shack and a Beluga whale found in landlocked Vermont were all … Read more “Sea Level Rise Citizen Science with the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History”

Categories: Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Ocean & Water

This image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows a cross-section of the undersea, land and sky at Tafeu Cove in American Somoa.

Exploring Earth with NOAA Citizen Science

This post is based on the latest episode of our podcast, Citizen Science: Stories of Science We Can Do Together! In it, co-host Bob Hirshon and Caroline Nickerson discuss some of the inspiring citizen science work conducted under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Listen here: Citizen Science: Stories of Science … Read more “Exploring Earth with NOAA Citizen Science”

Categories: Apps, Citizen Science, Climate & Weather, Ecology & Environment, Education, Environment, Featured Projects, Geology & Earth Sciences, Ocean & Water, Other, podcast

Map the World’s Coral Reefs for NASA with NeMO-Net

“Our coral reefs are in danger … we need your help.” When new players log on to NASA’s NeMO-Net, they’re greeted with a video message from oceanographer Sylvia Earle. “Your mission is to take command of a research vessel, and travel the world collecting data on the ocean,” she says. Warming temperatures, rising sea levels … Read more “Map the World’s Coral Reefs for NASA with NeMO-Net”

Categories: Apps, Ecology & Environment, Ocean & Water

Four Smartfin surfers with surfboards and lab coats pose on the beach.

With Smartfin, Surfers Collect Ocean Data While They Hang Ten

Oceans give our world life. Phytoplankton breathe out 70 percent of our oxygen, and the oceans’  currents and other physical properties are responsible for our weather and climate. Scientists have long been keeping tabs on the ocean with vast networks of sensors, satellites and other equipment, in order to understand more about how it works … Read more “With Smartfin, Surfers Collect Ocean Data While They Hang Ten”

Categories: Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Tools

As Ghost Forests Spread, Researchers Ask for Help Keeping Track

  Have you seen a ghost forest? As sea levels rise around the world, coastlines are increasingly marked by lingering stands of dead trees. The cause of death isn’t a mystery. Sea level rise is intensifying the effects of flooding and pushing saltwater into low lying coastal ecosystems. That saltwater kills the trees, leaving behind … Read more “As Ghost Forests Spread, Researchers Ask for Help Keeping Track”

Categories: Nature & Outdoors, Ocean & Water, Other