Satellite Meteorology Resources and a GOES-R Education Proving Ground
Steve Ackerman and Margaret Mooney
Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies
University of Wisconsin Madison
Paul Ruscher
Florida State University
Project Description
This multi-year effort has three main milestones
 Revise, update and redesign the on-line Satellite Meteorology for Grades 7-12 course
(http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satmet/)
Status: COMPLETED
 Recruit educators to participate in the GOES-R Education Proving Ground
Status: UNDERWAY
 Work with educators to develop activities and lesson plans prior to the GOES-R Launch
Status: PENDING
Satellite Meteorology for Grades 7-12 – (completed)
Previously existing content in the Satellite Meteorology for Grades 7-12 on-line course
underwent a complete makeover in 2011 to create a modernized and visually appealing interface.
Content updates included the addition of the 2005 Hurricane Season, incorporating feedback
acquired from past users, remote sensing aspects of the 2010 Deepwater Disaster, and a new
module featuring the Sumoi NPP Satellite, JPSS and GOES-R. These revisions were completed
in time for the 25th Satellite Educators Conference in August 2012 where the new module was
presented by project partner Paul Ruscher and 100 CD’s were distributed.
1
There are ten learning modules in the on-line course, including a new module entitled
“Three New Satellites: Suomi NPP, JPSS and GOES-R”. Content for the new module
was vetted by NOAA scientists working at the Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB)
co-located at CIMSS.
GOES-R Education Proving Ground - (underway)
The Education Proving Ground will feature the design and development of pre-and post-launch
activities for G6-12 teachers and students. Our goal is to have CIMSS and ASPB scientists work
with students virtually during post-launch GOES-R checkout activities. A key element of this
effort is identifying a core group of committed educators willing to engage in sustained
interaction. CIMSS is collaborating with Nina Jackson from NOAA-NESDIS Office of
Education and Professor Paul Ruscher to recruit teachers and plan GOES-R launch activities.
This collaboration commenced at the August
2012 Satellite Educators Conference in California
where Dr. Ruscher presented and identified the
first two candidates that will make up the
Education Proving Ground community.
Eventually we plan to have six educators from
three different states: two from California, two
from Wisconsin and two from Florida. This core
group of six teachers will work with CIMSS prior
to (and after) the GOES-R launch.
A key element of this effort will be sustained interaction between CIMSS EPO, CIMSS scientists
and NOAA ASBP researchers and these six teachers to collect feedback for iterative
improvements to the classroom activities prior to launch. In this way, teachers will be ready to
run similar activities with their students following the 2015 GOES-R launch and be ready for the
new types of satellite imagery and products that will be available in the upcoming GOES-R era.
Looking ahead to the 2014 Satellite Educators Conference
CIMSS has submitted an invited proposal to NOAA to host the 27th Satellite Educators
Conference in Madison Wisconsin in 2014. Pending year-three GOES-R funding, CIMSS will
have identified and recruited all six teachers in the GOES-R Education Proving Ground
community so several dynamic GOES-R education sessions can be expected at this conference.
The target audience for the 2014 Satellite Educators Conference will be regional science
teachers, informal educators such as docents from regional Science on a Sphere (SOS)
exhibits, satellite remote sensing researchers, broadcast meteorologists, high school and
undergraduate students, MYSPACE program members, National Weather Service (NWS)
meteorologists and NWS storm spotters. The conference will feature a full-day symposium
and celebratory banquet for all target audiences followed by 2-day workshop for science
2
teachers and informal educators. The third day will offer experiential learning opportunities
for science teachers and informal educators and feature a GLOBE atmospheres training using
the new SatCam app and a visit to a nearby SOS exhibit for presentations, discussions and
training around satellite remote sensing image interpretations.
Plans for Year Three
The GOES-R Education Proving Ground community will be fully realized in the third year of
this project with the recruitment of four more educators for a total of six teachers. We are
proposing that that the six educators help develop and then have their students conduct postlaunch check out by providing assessments of image quality and registration. Since
CIMSS/ASPB scientists participate in these activities, the tools are already available to support
this learning objective. Our overall goal is to have scientists from CIMSS and ASBP work with
students virtually during the post-launch activity. Educators will work through test exercises with
GOES data similar to those that scientists run to check data quality after a satellite launch,
including but not limited to geo-location determinations and noise assessment. In this way,
teachers will be ready to run similar test with their students following the 2015 GOES-R launch.
Satellite Meteorology Resources & GOES-R Education Proving Ground budget
Year 3
1 January 2013 - 31 December 2013
I.
Labor and Fringe Benefits
Hours
Rate
Salary
Fringe
Cost
Totals
PI - Ackerman
32.0
97.39
3,116
39.5%
1,231
4,347
Co-I - Mooney
80.0
39.00
3,120
39.5%
1,232
4,352
Webmaster
10.0
36.51
365
39.5%
144
509
Subtotal
II.
$ 9,209
Travel
1 trip, 1 person, 4 days, AMS Conference, TBD
1,430
1,430
III.
Educator Stipends
6 stipends @ $500
3,000
V.
Services (Paul Ruscher, 60 hours, $75.63/hr)
4,538
VI.
Indirect Cost at 36%
6,544
TOTAL:
$24,720
3
4