The GLOBE-Carbon Cycle project joins NASA carbon cycle science with the International GLOBE Education program to bring the most cutting edge research and research techniques in the field of terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycling into K-12 classrooms.

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Project Summary

• Student Activities
• Modeling
• Introduces students to the use of modeling in
  science
• A variety of models will allow students to
  understand how carbon is stored and transferred
  at the ecosystem and global level
• Connection with field collected data
• Plant-A-Plant Experiments
• Hands-on activities range of cultivation
  experiments with real plants
• Exploration and validation of variables necessary
  for plant growth
• Demonstration that CO2 is incorporated into plant
  biomass
• Field Measurements
• Allow students to make connections between the
  global C cycle and their own schoolyard
• Used in conjunction with modeling and remote
  sensing activities
• Remote Sensing Toolkit
• Learn how to use remote sensing and satellite
  imagery
• Understand how scientists use maps and satellite
  images to estimate global carbon storage

The global carbon cycle is a key component of the
Earth's climate regulation system and is an
important integrator of ecosystems and the
atmosphere. Increasing awareness of the carbon
cycle's importance has brought it to the
forefront of both science and environmental
policy.
Because interactions among humans, the atmosphere
and climate are complex and operate over long
time scales, societal interest in the carbon
cycle is only likely to intensify in the coming
decades. This has created a need for improved
public understanding and an educated workforce
that can apply scientific knowledge to
formulation of sound environmental policy.
Whereas the need for better scientific
understanding has led to a number of new research
endeavors, carbon cycle education initiatives
have lagged. The NSF-funded GLOBE-Carbon Cycle
Project was designed to help meet this need.
What Will Students Do? Students will explore the
carbon cycle at both a local and global level
using a set of computer models built in STELLA.
The models have accompanying activities and
materials so students at all different starting
points will be able to understand the basic
concepts of modeling as well as how modeling can
teach them about the carbon cycle. Specifically,
students will learn how carbon is both stored and
transferred within systems and how this can
change under various environmental conditions.
The GLOBE-Carbon Cycle project joins NASA carbon
cycle science with the International GLOBE
Education program to bring the most cutting edge
research and research techniques in the field of
terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycling into K-12
classrooms. Students can collect data about
their school field site through existing GLOBE
protocols (phenology, land cover and soils) as
well as through new protocols and classroom
activities focused specifically carbon
measurements in terrestrial ecosystems.These new
activities include plant-a-plant experiments,
hands-on demonstrations of various concepts, and
analysis of student-collected data. In addition,
students have the opportunity to integrate their
data with emerging and expanding technologies
including global and local carbon cycle models
and remote sensing data. This program design
allows students to explore research questions
from local to global scales with both present and
future environmental conditions.
Plant-a-Plant CO2 Experiment
Field Measurements
Field measurements provide students with the
opportunity to connect classroom science with the
natural world. Students set up field plots
similar to those of the US Forest Service and
other research programs. They measure tree
diameter and use allometric equations to
calculate plot biomass and aboveground carbon
storage. Students are also guided through the
process of data analysis where they can compare
biomass and carbon storage across tree
components, species, and plots.
Acknowledgement NSF GLOBE award 0627916,
Exploring Ecosystems and the Atmosphere in the
K-12 Classroom A Plan to Integrate NASA Carbon
Cycle Science with GLOBE