Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Global Snowflake Network  (Snowflake)

Outline
SNOWFLAKE is a legacy of the History of Winter (HOW) and is a program that is simultaneously a science program and an education program aimed at the manifestations of a global network of snowflake observers. When the validation of the procedures (collection and identification of the type of snowflakes and the associated satellite image archive, as a serial record of a storm), is achieved, then the program becomes a scientific resource. This latter is the ultimate goal. Critical to education and outreach will be the integration of data entry into a web based site that will allow tracking of snow storms as they travel accross the globe. The students will see the actual relationships of climate,temperature and other pertinent atmospheric features. The education aspect will include multimedia access to basic physical principles and ideas associated with the snowflake. A great deal of information about the atmosphere dynamics and cloud microphysics can be derived from the serial collection and identification of the types of snow crystals and the degree of riming of the snow crystals during the progress of a snow storm. Forecasting winter weather depends in part on cloud physics which deals with precipitation type and if it happens to be snow- the crystal type, size, and density of the snowflake population. SNOWFLAKE will also address Theme 6, Human societies in polar regions, through a human health application which will relate the types of snowflakes to contaminant content of the snowflakes (atmospheric pollutants) and contaminant content of target deposition sites - snow cover, water bodies, soil, vegetation, and, ultimately the animals and people of the region. Emphasis will be on health studies of indigenous peoples (e.g., reindeer herders) of the Russian North and Scandinavia. SNOWFLAKE is simple in concept and is time efficient for the observer. Winter brings snow, to the high southern and northern latitudes and up in the mountains- even near the equatorial region, and this can be collected and identified. The serial record can then be archived with serial satellite image records . A web site archive, accessed by an index map of the world indicating where the network is active, allows an instant indicator of where there is snow and what type of snow and the nature of the responsible storm systems. This allows a global connection. The time series will be looped as a archive so that the efficacy of the network storm tracking can be demonstrated.The 2005-2006 winter will build the network which will include Jericho Vermont ( the birthplace of “snowflake” Bentley ) and the Winter Olympic cities ( these will be engaged through partnership with ORDA - the Olympic Regional Development Authority in Lake Placid ,New York) The purpose of these latter two sites is to provide a basis for engagement of the network. The web site http://education.gsfc.nasa.gov/howsnowflake will contain: multimedia instruction in the protocols for collection and identification of snowflake types. This same site will contain a data entry page for snowflakes and for the archive of weather site images. ( For example the site http://weather.unisys.com and http://en.allmetsat.com/images/meteosat_sembach.html). The site will also contain instruction on the nature of the information derived from the satellite images.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Snowflake enables both physical and social Polar-Global linkage.The program will be a coherent education piece, will engage communities, and enable global sharing (On the web) of results. The consequences of multi-year climate fluctuations can be addressed in the snowflake record. Human societies: New understanding of the role of snowflakes in Arctic contamination. (Human populations in the Arctic are known to be exposed to significant health hazards from a number of environmental pollutants as a result of long- and short-range transport of pollutants and biomagnification.)- Investigating new Frontiers: New understanding of the dynamics of snow and snowflakes in the transport and deposition of pollutants in the polar environment and resulting health effects.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
Broad international collaboration is essential to this project. The network will consist of high school level students and adults supervising younger students in all countries experiencing snow as precipitation. Presently we have the Winter Olympic cities, Poland, NASA Goddard Earth Science & Technology Center, Yakutsk Scientific Center of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Association of World Reindeer Herders (WRH), Russian Union of Reindeer Herders, Union of Yakutia Reindeer Herders, Institute of Biological Problems of the North of Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP)

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Presently our research is located in the Northeastern USA. In 2005/2006 Using the Winter Olympic Cities, Poland, NASA Goddard Earth Science & Technology Center, Yakutsk Scientific Center of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Association of World Reindeer Herders (WRH), Russian Union of Reindeer Herders, Union of Yakutia Reindeer Herders, Institute of Biological Problems of the North of Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) Winter Olympic Cities, Poland .Scandinavia, Russia and Northeastern USA presently and we expect to network anywhere where the snow falls.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 2005-2006            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
The observational network requires people and instruction that will happen via multimedia on the web, mail or e mail. Travel funding and in house web support will likely be the major needs.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
We expect that upon completion of the 2008/2009 winter program an extensive observational network will be in place and operational with web based support in the NASA Goddard education Office.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Consortium
Own support
Other sources of support

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Project is endorsed at the NASA Goddard level. ORDA will enhance endorsement with the Winter Olympic Cities involvement. .We anticipate broad endorsement as we evolve the international network as planned.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Exp
This is a legacy program within HOW (History of Winter) which has been in existence since 2001.Health and contaminants studies component of the project will be a new effort but connected to and building on ongoing or proposed work in NASA/World Reindeer Herders Association Project “Reindeer Mapper”, the RENNET project (Arctic Vulnerability Network Program), NEESPI (Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative).

How will the project be organised and managed?
The organization structure which is the legacy of the History of Winter (HOW), exists at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Web based support will come from in-house Education Office personell and contractors. The program will be managed by the lead contact-Peter Wasilewski

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
SNOWFLAKE will contribute to education through partnerships across the Arctic who will comprise the collection network, including indigenous peoples, so that useful knowledge is gained about the relationships of the snowflakes to local and regional weather patterns, development of a communications system for information sharing, sample collection and then dissemination of results back to communities through local and regional workshops and communications networks.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
Within 6 months the web based framework for SNOWFLAKE will be complete and tested. The ongoing progress leading up to IPY and the IPY results will be accessible to all on a near real time basis q3_5_Funding : HOW and internal web support exists presently.The NASA Goddard Directors Discretionary Fund (DDF) will be solicited. Science, Education , and International programs within the NASA organization will be solicited.

How is it proposed to fund the project?

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
We plan to have thousands collecting and identifying snowflakes and the weather systems responsible. Consequently the launch of such a program is an educational-outreach effort. The major goal is the creation of a science resource that will only happen if the validation of the network activity is realized. To this end we are testing a minor version of such a network.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Peter Wasilewski
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Code 691
Greenbelt Maryland
20771
USA

Tel: 301-286-8317
Mobile:
Fax: 301-286-0212
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation

Other Information