At a weekend science camp in the remote village of Bautista, Philippines, the faces of students at Coloscaoyan National High School quickly changed from skepticism to excitement when they realized that the NASA scientist speaking to them on Zoom was in fact not artificial intelligence. According to the Deputy Executive Director of the Department of Science and Technology of the Philippine Science High School System, “Many of them expressed disbelief that an actual NASA scientist would have time for them or engage with them… We can’t express enough how thankful we are for your time and for the impact you have on those students… Truly, you have left an indelible mark on each of those students and inspired many of them to become future scientists.”
This story is from one of 63 virtual student engagement events held for NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem Postlaunch Airborne Experiment (PACE-PAX). The mission used aircraft (the NASA ER-2 and CIRPAS Twin Otter) and waterborne research vessels (R/V Blissfully,R/V Shearwater, and R/V Fish) to calibrate and validate the data from the PACE satellite, which was launched in February 2024. California was the main hub for the mission, with most of the airborne and waterborne activities occurring in Edwards, Marina, Long Beach, and Santa Barbara.
NASA Earth science missions are not only an opportunity to conduct great science but also to involve students and the general public in the scientific process. As the NASA Airborne Science Program (ASP) science communication lead, I host outreach events for students worldwide. For PACE-PAX, I reached over 2,600 students from transitional kindergarten through 12th grade from 25 schools in three countries (the United States, Philippines, and South Africa) and six states (California, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Texas). Over 50 percent of these schools were located in California to highlight the state as the mission’s hub.
Each outreach event consisted of a customized presentation with a duration ranging from 10 minutes to an hour based on grade level and class availability, followed by a question-and-answer (Q&A) session for students to ask about PACE-PAX, NASA, or whatever they wanted. On some occasions, special guests from PACE-PAX were included in content creation, Q&A, or presentations: Ivona Cetinić (NASA GSFC), Bridget Seegers (NASA GSFC), Rachel Smith (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), Norm Nelson (University of California, Santa Barbara), or Brent McBride (University of Maryland, Baltimore County).
Nelson and Cetinić gave virtual tours of Nelson’s lab at UC Santa Barbara for 15 fifth-grade students at Washington Elementary School, also located in Santa Barbara, California. Additionally, Seegers gave virtual tours of her workspace, water filtration system, and other instruments onboard the R/V Blissfully for a total of 65 students from grades three, five, and six at schools located in Ohio, Illinois, and Texas. Our volunteers greatly enhanced the students’ experiences.
The schools included for PACE-PAX outreach represented a wide variety of students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, academic levels, and demographics. Out of the 25 schools reached, 17 were American public schools, 2 were American private schools, and 6 were international schools. Notably, we reached 50 at-risk and 41 special education fifth-grade students at a school in a disadvantaged community in Corpus Christi, Texas; we hosted three bilingually interpreted events (two English/Spanish and one English/Tagalog); we reached 381 high schoolers in middle- or low-income municipalities in the Philippines. Finally, 30 presentations were delivered to students at schools that are part of the NASA-sponsored Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program.
These events were very well received. A group of transitional kindergarten students from Felton, California, even sent handmade cards to express their gratitude! As teachers noted, “This activity fueled the love for science in our students,” and “The class and I learned a lot and really enjoyed you and the presentation,” and “NASA truly rocks!” And as students noted, “Thank you for teaching us about PACE-PAX and what the satellites exploring Earth do. I learned that NASA doesn’t only explore outer space, but Earth too,” and that “Learning about the different types of plankton and aerosols was so much fun!”
I look forward to reconnecting with these students for the next NASA mission!
Photos published with permission via student photo releases from Coloscaoyan National High School, Empangeni High School, Philippine Science High School, and Wheaton Christian Grammar School.
Research Vessel (RV) Blissfully is a 30-foot sailboat that is the science lab and home for two sailing scientists, Captain Gordon Ackland and myself, Dr. Bridget Seegers. The RV Blissfully is a recent addition to the fleet of research vessels. Previously, Blissfully’s days were primarily spent peacefully floating snug in a San Diego boat slip with an occasional day sail. However, Blissfully was volunteered to support the PACE-PAX campaign and therefore transitioned a month ago into RV Blissfully.
In five slightly stress-filled days, research gear was loaded, Blissfully’s sitting area became a lab, and cables and instruments ready for deployment were hung from the stern. The goal is to gather ocean data for the validation of data from the exciting new PACE satellite. Now, RV Blissfully spends eight to 10 hours a day sailing for science.
Days on RV Blissfully begin in harbor with an alarm waking our sleeping research team. A thermos is quickly filled with coffee and poured into RV Blissfully crew mugs. Some mornings before departing, Bridget does video visits with classrooms of 4th and 6th graders, answering their questions about the ocean and life as a scientist.
Then, the dock lines are tossed, and a 2.5-hour morning commute begins. Leaping dolphins are frequently spotted along the way, and once a pair of fascinating mola molas were observed “swimming” along the surface.
The commute is also breakfast time, typically with yogurt, granola, and fruit.
A crew of two means everyone onboard fills many roles, including galley chef along with scientist, mechanic, and captain. The destination, 12 miles (20 kilometers) south, is an oil rig that is home to additional research instruments whose data will be combined with RV Blissfully’s data for a more complete picture of conditions in the atmosphere and ocean. The location is also a flyover target for the ER-2 and Twin Otter research planes, allowing for even more data sets for PACE validation.
Once on station, a bucket is tossed and 10-liters of water is gathered for a variety of samples, which are processed below deck. These water samples are filtered and frozen at -320ºF (196ºC) in liquid nitrogen or preserved in jars for further analysis when shipped back to the Ocean Ecology Lab at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The analysis will produce data about the community of microscopic ocean organisms like phytoplankton and bacteria that are critical to understanding our ocean. Bridget takes the lead on the water filtering, and because the lab bench used to be a couch, it is literally at knee-height, and therefore she spends much time working on her knees.
Meanwhile on the stern, Gordon is measuring ocean light with an instrument called a HyperPro—he’s a real pro with the HyperPro.
Once logging begins, he lets the instrument fall to a depth of 20 meters before hauling it up to the surface and letting it descend again to 20 meters. This is repeated 15 times at each station, and the final cast goes to 60 meters to explore the ocean light further below. The HyperPro is critical for PACE validation because it measures light like the PACE Ocean Color Instrument, so it allows scientists to compare measurements from the ocean with light measured all the way in space.
The routine of collecting water samples and HyperPro profiles keeps the crew busy station after station.
Occasionally, the routine is broken by the spotting of wildlife or a wave through a porthole. The shifting waves and weather keep it interesting. The days are beautiful, exhausting, a bit tedious, and inspiring. All emotions fit onto RV Blissfully’s 30 feet out at sea. The winds pick up through the afternoon, so when the final station is done for the day, a sail is frequently raised for the return to harbor.
A sailboat significantly reduces the fuel used for research. RV Blissfully used 14 gallons of diesel over nine days of sampling, covering roughly 230 miles and providing data from 19 research stations. Eventually, RV Blissfully is docked, the instruments are rinsed, the crew wanders to shore for dinner as the sun sets, and after dinner they wander back to RV Blissfully for sleep—resting up to be ready for the rinse and repeat research routine to begin again.
This was the crew’s first sailing field campaign, and both Gordon and Bridget would like to do it again. They are grateful for all the friends, family, and colleagues whose support made it possible. Accomplishing PACE-PAX research on RV Blissfully made the sailing for science dream a reality.
Hello from the Goddard Instrument Field Team! Earlier this summer, we visited Katmai National Park as guest researchers. These are some of our photos and notes from the field.
In June 1912, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century blanketed glaciers with ash in what’s now known as the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Our 2024 expedition took us deep into the valley, seeking answers about icy volcanic landscapes on Earth, Mars, and beyond. The data and samples we gathered here will help us understand how these buried glaciers and the volcanic deposits on top are evolving over time.
How do you pack for nine days of hiking and camping in bear territory? Carefully! We secured food and scented items in bear-proof canisters, mapped out tent placements to fit within the perimeter of a portable bear fence, and worked closely with Katmai National Park to minimize our impact while in the backcountry.
The journey from Anchorage to our base camp near Knife Creek included flights on tiny aircraft, “Bear School,” a school bus equipped to ford rivers, and a sixteen-mile hike complete with more water crossings and high winds. On day two in the field, a helicopter carrying large items, such as heavy science gear and a group water filter, reached the valley. In case weather prevented the airdrop, we were ready to complete some key tasks using just what we carried on our backs, but we were glad to see the equipment arrive.
In the field, we worked on and around glaciers covered in huge piles of ashy debris. Some team members used ground penetrating radar (GPR) to scan subsurface structures from above. Together with drill coring, hand-dug pits, and a soil moisture probe, GPR gives us insight into what’s going on underground.
Other scientists studied the insulated glaciers from a different perspective: edge-on. They used laser ranging techniques to find out how the face of an ash-coated ice cliff morphed and receded throughout our week of work. We’ll compare these on-the-ground measurements with orbital images of the same area captured over longer periods of time. Combining field data and satellite imagery helps us better understand how the glaciers are evolving.
We’re a team of planetary scientists, so our science questions on this trip applied to both Earth and other worlds. How does a blanket of ash affect the way glaciers are preserved? What chemical and mineral signatures can we find in the debris from a huge volcano like this one, and how are those signatures changing? What can the patterns we see today tell us about how microbial life has interacted with rock in this extreme environment?
Many planets and moons have volcanic pasts, and we’re still trying to learn exactly what kinds of volcanism have shaped their surfaces. Ice is common throughout our solar system, too. Ground-truth data from field sites like this one can help us interpret evidence found on faraway worlds, where it’s harder to collect and examine samples.
Learn More
Into the Field with NASA: Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
Comparing Earth and Other Worlds: NASA Planetary Analogs
A combined team from the University of Helsinki (Environmental Change Research Unit), the Finnish Meteorological Institute (Atmospheric Composition Unit), and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Climate & Ecosystems Change) was on its way again to gather groundbreaking data on carbon and aerosol emissions from increasing fires in the northern high latitudes. Our journey began in boreal Quebec and now continues to Arctic Greenland.
Climate change is warming the Arctic with partly unexpected consequences. In recent years, unprecedented wildfires have raged through Arctic permafrost terrain burning in 2019 and 2020 alone, an area equal to half of what burned in the previous 40 years. In Greenland, a land known for its icy expanse, fires are rare. However, in July and August 2019, the second-largest wildfire recorded on the island occurred at the Kangerluarsuk Tulleq, northeast of Sisimiut. To our knowledge, fire effects in Greenland have never been studied—until now, as we begin our investigation.
To estimate the carbon burned and greenhouse gases and aerosols released during tundra fires, we assess post-fire ecosystem effects. We measure the dominant ecosystem types within the fire scar and compare them with unburned areas. We evaluate fire severity, and we conduct various aboveground and belowground measurements to calculate and date carbon stores.
Our campaign aimed to efficiently use 29 hours at the destination by collecting samples from all major ecosystems within the fire scar. We arrived by boat (hiking from Sisimiut is also possible but would take 2 days) and spent the day sampling. We camped near the shore, with some of us taking a daring dip in the sea. We continued sampling the next day before returning to Sisimiut in the evening. The study area exemplified the Arctic steppe ecoregion, featuring fragmented ecosystems ranging from barren rocky slopes and drier fields dominated by moss and lichen to moderately wet peatlands. We successfully collected a diverse set of samples from various ecosystems for detailed lab experiments and analysis to be performed back in Finland.
As we were preparing to head home from Greenland, we encountered unexpected foggy weather, which led to flight cancellations for several days. This gave us a well-appreciated few extra days of adventure. Three of us packed our hiking gear and embarked on an overnight hike. The summit of the two mountains we climbed was unforgettable. A key lesson for traveling in Greenland: keep your schedule flexible—it’s worth it!
Overall, the field campaign was a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience. But that’s not all—can you guess where the fiery journey of Granqvist and Diaz will take them next? Stay tuned!
The Greenland fire expedition was organized within the Research Council of Finland Academy Research Fellow project “Fire in the Arctic,” led by Meri Ruppel, and the Kone Foundation project FLARE. The fieldwork was also part of FireIce (Fire in the land of ice: climatic drivers & feedbacks), a Consolidator project funded by the European Research Council. FireIce is affiliated with NASA’s Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE). This blog post was written by Sonja Granqvist, a Ph.D. student at the University of Helsinki, studying Arctic-boreal fires in collaboration with the Climate & Ecosystems Change research group from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
A Powerful Landscape
Umbrella in one hand, I gripped the metal cable of the suspension bridge as I looked down into the boiling Bhotekosi River coursing below me through a steep, verdant canyon. Due to the steep slopes, fragile geology, and frequent rainfall, Nepal is especially subject to natural disasters including landslides and flooding.
I found myself in this powerful landscape because I work for SERVIR, a joint NASA and USAID program that works with leading regional organizations to help countries worldwide use Earth observations and geospatial technologies to address environmental challenges. I joined a group of scientists and disaster risk reduction practitioners on a trip to view major landslide sites and better understand what satellite data can tell us about the landscape. Driving up from Kathmandu, we passed by small villages, hydropower plants, bulging retaining walls holding back hillsides, and the aftermath of past destructive landslides.
As an applied remote sensing scientist, I seek to understand the physical processes driving these hazards, how satellite data can capture these processes, and how the information from satellite data can complement the existing systems used for planning, early warning, and disaster response. While satellite data has the distinct advantage of consistently receiving data over large regions of the world, it is only a single perspective.
Visiting the field, talking to experts, and consulting with end users is critical to designing a product that is effective at reducing loss of lives and infrastructure due to natural hazards.
Cascading Hazards in Nepal
Cascading hazards (or ‘multi-hazards’) are events where one hazard triggers or increases vulnerability of a second hazard, such as a landslide that blocks a river and creates a flood. They pose a challenge to disaster managers since they can evolve quickly and the outcome can be difficult to predict. Nepal’s predominantly rural population is increasingly at risk as climate change drives extreme and erratic precipitation events that trigger cascading hazards.
During our drive, we stopped to look at the site of the Jure landslide on the right bank of the Sunkoshi River. In 2014, the Jure landslide broke free from the steep valley walls, plummeting thousands of meters to the valley floor, blocking the river, and destroying over 100 homes and lives. The natural dam quickly caused water to back up, posing a serious flood risk to upstream towns and damaging hydropower infrastructure. The Nepal Army and Police force acted quickly to dynamite a section of the dam to release some of the water downstream, but even after this quick action the threat of catastrophic flood remained. Fortunately, a month later when the dam breached, no major damage was caused by the flood waters. In addition to loss of lives and homes, damage to the road interrupted necessary services, disrupted the primary trade route with China, and impacted the tourism trade.
In addition to precipitation events, several factors increase the chance of cascading hazards in this region: glacial lakes, snowmelt, permafrost degradation, glacial deposits, high relief, and fragile topography. The Melamchi flood disaster that occurred June 15th of 2021 was triggered by heavy rainfall at higher elevations and snowmelt. This increased amount of drainage caused a glacial lake to breach. The consequent erosion of glacial deposits and natural dams downstream resulted in severe flooding that carried debris the size of boulders and triggered further landslides and riverbank erosion.
The communities here are familiar with the risk of natural hazards. They know that there is a higher risk of landslides when it rains. The current mechanisms for warning are primarily word of mouth, phone calls, text messages, and social media posts. Despite these warnings, many lives are lost during these disasters. There is still a need for an integrated multi-hazard early warning system.
The Satellite Perspective
Satellite data can be used to consistently monitor large areas for potential hazards, such as slopes at risk for landslides. Factors such as precipitation, soil moisture, slope, aspect, and even slow-motion movement can be measured via satellite and contribute to landslide hazard mapping.
NASA’s High Mountain Asia Team (HiMAT) is a group of scientists focusing on bringing the satellite perspective to these hazards. Thomas Stanley and Pukar Amatya from UMBC/NASA worked together with Sudan Bikash Maharjan from International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) to develop a prototype landslide mapping and hazard awareness tool for the Karnali River Basin in Nepal. Collaborating with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) and other government agencies, they are working to integrate the landslide hazard awareness tool into the planning and early warning process. In addition, a SERVIR applied science team is looking at how satellite radar systems can be used to monitor slowly moving slopes in the region.
The hazard awareness tool is known as Landslide Hazard Awareness for Karnali (LHASKarnali). It is a pilot project to adapt the global Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA) model for use in High Mountain Asia starting with the Karnali River Basin of Nepal. LHASA was previously regionalized for a SERVIR Applied Science Team project in the Lower Mekong region. It provides a one-day forecast of the hazard level for rainfall-triggered landslides by using precipitation forecasts. The LHASKarnali tool integrates forecasted precipitation from the High-Impact Weather Assessment Toolkit (HiWAT), which is managed by ICIMOD.
At a workshop prior to our field visit, we sought the insights of national stakeholders and academic experts, including the Department of Mines and Geology and the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Drawing from their experience assessing slope stability for high-risk communities, they felt that soil depth and soil moisture were among the most important factors controlling the occurrence of rain-triggered landslides. While satellite data can accurately provide data on slope, aspect, and rainfall, soil moisture is not well captured due to the steep slopes and high vegetation cover in Nepal. Although prior rainfall was used in LHASKarnali as a proxy for soil moisture, how this translates to soil moisture is unknown. These conversations helped end users think through the value of the tool and how their expertise could be used to enhance the end-product going forward.
The limitations of a 4-kilometer resolution product also stood out to participants. Response agencies like Practical Action emphasized the need to be able to identify vulnerable populations at a household or village level. Even smaller landslides can be highly destructive and more targeted warnings are important when evacuations and other high effort actions are required. Going forward, a partnership between the scientists and universities will contribute to an effort to increase the resolution of the landslide hazard forecast.
Looking Ahead
During my time in Nepal, I traversed steep river canyons, which showed me the challenge of capturing and interpreting the steep slopes and narrow rivers in satellite imagery. Talking with disaster management agencies like Practical Action and NDRRMA, I learned about the need for a joint system for multi-hazard assessment to understand the cumulative effects of landslides, floods, and other factors like the erosion of natural dams. Getting the opportunity to speak with communities and get feedback about satellite observations, such as concerns over the representation of soil moisture, help us get closer to achieving warning systems for these complex hazards.
With increasing extreme events due to climate change, being able to plan and react to these hazards is critical for resilience. It will take collective expertise and tools to tackle this complex challenge.
