The GLOBE Program®

Global Learning and Observing to Benefit the Environment

This is an exciting international project in which teachers and students can collect, report, explore, download, and map various kinds of environmental data.

Explore the GLOBE® web site.

GLOBE is involving teachers and students around the world in active collection of important information for scientists. Once the data is gathered, anyone can access and display the data they choose. After downloading temperature or precipitation data, for instance, schools can use ArcView GIS. Enhanced views can be constructed using the Spatial Analyst or 3D Analyst extensions, to create different interpretations of the data. ESRI is working with GLOBE to help participating schools take advantage of GIS.

1. ESRI provides software to interested GLOBE partners in the U.S. and has provided introductory training events designed especially for GLOBE franchises.
2. While ArcView can already handle GLOBE data, ESRI has modified ArcVoyager Special Edition so it, too, can map data coming from delimited text tables, such as lightly processed GLOBE data. In 1999, ESRI sent our "GIS for Schools & Libraries CD version 5," containing ArcVoyager Special Edition, to each GLOBE teacher in the U.S. These CDs are available internationally as well.
3. ESRI has prepared introductory lessons introducing the use of GIS with GLOBE data. We are supplementing these with lessons for using local area data in the U.S.: Using TIGER 2000 Data and Using BASINS Data.
4. We are highlighting Web sites with GIS data especially valuable for use by schools conducting measurements for GLOBE.
5. A portion of our K-12 Online Conference focused on GLOBE is available for teachers and students to post notes and ask questions.
6. We are highlighting for GIS users our relationship with GLOBE (see ARC News article), so GIS users can provide more focused local support.

Because it asks students to engage in active learning which integrates science, math, geography, technology, and communication, the GLOBE project is an especially powerful educational program. Because students and teachers can participate year after year, they can contribute in an ongoing way to the knowledge base that helps us all. And because they can analyze data with GIS, they enhance critical thinking skills, become better providers of data, and can integrate local models and global patterns.

Visualizing GLOBE data using GIS

• Here is an animated GIF showing an interpretation of five days of temperature data, from January 27-31 of 1997. Participating schools in the conterminous US (48 states) which sent in data for maximum and minimum temperature are shown as dots, and temperature "surfaces" were generated by interpolating the data, using ArcView Spatial Analyst. This GIF may be viewed using a browser capable of displaying animated GIFs; the series of 12 images displays three times, then stops.