Community-Based Rain and Hail Studies - Practical Geoscience Education for All Ages

PielkeRain是复杂的大气过程的简单结果，是水文循环中最普遍的明显部分，也是农业的命脉。冰雹是一种不太常见但更具戏剧性的降水形式，可能会损坏财产和农作物，偶尔还会伤害动物和人类。1998年，在科罗拉多州启动了一个项目，利用感兴趣的4-12年级学生以及成人和老年人观察和记录与夏季降水有关的详细的当地雨和冰雹模式。这个项目非常成功地让孩子们与科学家和社区领袖一起参与到简单但非常重要和实用的当地研究中，研究雨和冰雹的小范围变化及其后果。该项目将在备受推崇的1998年示范的基础上再接再厉。学生和教师的热情，以及成年人和老年人普遍的天气好奇心，将被用来帮助建立基于社区的雨雹观测网。志愿者、教师、学生领袖、社区商业伙伴、当地科学家和感兴趣的政府官员将共同努力，使用互联网通信和其他有用的工具，生成地图，显示与每一次经过的风暴相关的非常详细的当地降雨和冰雹模式。这些地图，以及制作这些地图的过程，成为课堂教育、应用研究、商业和公用事业应用、媒体分发以及社区兴趣和支持的科学信息源。这个项目被称为合作社区雨雹研究(Coco Rahs)。将开发各种工具，以便全国各地的社区可以建立自己的地方项目。工具和材料将包括一段宣传培训视频，一本详细说明建立项目步骤的领导手册，用于测量雨雹的高质量但简单的低成本仪器，用于处理数据的计算机软件，以及一个可可·拉赫斯网站。将为教师编写教材和教案，以利用这一独特的参与性科学教育项目，并帮助实现几项教育标准，这些标准现在是科学教育的基础。将制定鼓励社区参与和支持的战略，以帮助当地科学家和从业者获得课堂教学机会，为学生提供与科学家合作进行研究发现的机会，并展示观测到的雨和冰雹模式对当地直接和直接的影响。将强调一项具有国家重要性的科学应用。近年来，多普勒雷达越来越多地被用于远程估计降雨率，定位山洪暴发地区，确定冰雹发生的位置，并确定其他恶劣天气事件的位置。这项技术非常有用，但仍然容易出错和不确定。通过与雷达科学家与国家科学基金会支持的CSU-CHILL国家雷达设施的合作，将测试用于远程区分雨雹的新算法，并将从偏振雷达(CSU-CHILL)和传统多普勒雷达(NEXRAD)的角度评估降雨估计程序。这个项目将证明，科学并不需要复杂到令人费解的程度才具有重大意义。它将表明，所有年龄段的社区成员都可以做出科学贡献，帮助他们的社区，并支持国家的研究努力。该项目将有助于推动新一代具有应用意识的年轻科学家。

9907671PielkeRain is the simple outcome of complex atmospheric processes, the most universally apparent portion of the hydrologic cycle, and the lifeblood of agriculture. Hail is a less common but more dramatic form of precipitation that can damage property and crops and, on occasional, injure animals and humans. In 1998 a project was initiated in Colorado using interested students grades 4-12 along with adults and senior citizens to observe and record the detailed local rain and hail patterns associated with summer precipitation. This project was very successful in getting kids involved with scientists and community leaders in simple but very important and practical local research examining small-scale variations in rain and hail and their consequences. This project will build on the successes of the highly regarded 1998 demonstration. The enthusiasm of students and teachers, and the universal weather curiosity of adults and senior citizens, will be tapped to help create community-based rain and hail observation networks. Volunteers, teachers, student leaders, community business partners, local scientists, and interested government officials will work together, using internet communications and other helpful tools, to generate maps showing very detailed local patterns in rain and hail associated with each passing storm. These maps, and what goes into making them, become the scientific information source for classroom education, applied research, business and utility applications, media distribution and community interest and support. This project is called the Collaborative Community Rain and Hail Study (CoCo RaHS). A variety of tools will be developed so that communities across the country can set up their own local projects. Tools and materials will include a promotional training video, a leadership handbook detailing steps in setting up a project, high quality but simple low-cost instruments for measuring rain and hail, computer software for handling data, and a CoCo RaHS website. Educational materials and lesson plans for teachers will be written to take advantage of this unique participatory science education project and help achieve several of the educational standards that are now a foundation for science education. Strategies for encouraging community participation and support will be developed to help connect local scientists and practitioners with classroom teaching opportunities, to provide student opportunities to work with scientists in research discovery, and to demonstrate the direct and immediate local impacts derived from observed rain and hail patterns. One scientific application of national importance will be emphasized. Doppler radar has been used increasingly in recent years to remotely estimate rainfall rates, locate areas of flash flooding, determine where hail is occurring and locate other severe weather events. This technology is extremely useful, but is still prone to error and uncertainty. Through collaboration with radar scientists with the National Science Foundation-supported CSU-CHILL National Radar Facility, new algorithms for remotely distinguishing rain from hail will be tested and rainfall estimation procedures will be evaluated from the perspective of polarimeteric radar (CSU-CHILL) and conventional Doppler radar (NEXRAD). This project will demonstrate that science does not need to be incomprehensibly complex to be significant. It will show that community members of all ages can make scientific contributions that help their community and also support national research efforts. This project will help propel a new generation of application-minded young scientists.