Use, Quality, and Availability of GPS Data Recorded in the GLOBE Pre-College Science-Education Program

W. Whit Smith

Abstract:	K-12 grade schools are recording GPS data as a part of the international GLOBE science-education program. Participating students record a suite of hydrology, biology, and atmospheric biosphere measurements designed by a group of area scientists who chose the measurements to be relevant scientifically and suitable for pre-college students. These measurements are reported via Internet to a publicly available central location for use by scientists and students. In an attempt to correlate these measurements with multi-band LANDSAT satellite images and to teach geographic and geometric principles, the schools try to identify the LANDSAT pixel location of their biosphere measurements using GPS techniques. This paper discusses the reasoning behind the use of GPS in a K-12 grade science-education program, attempts to reduce measurement and recording errors in the pre-college environment and for science use, suitability for science use, and the public availability of the schools' GPS and other biosphere measurements. With sponsors including NSF, NASA, NOAA, US State Department, and private sector sources, the environmentally oriented GLOBE Program began in 1994 and includes more than 3500 schools in more than 45 countries. More than 10,000 participant schools are expected by the end of the decade. Implicit in these figures is the size and geographic scope of the GLOBE Program's measurement database. The author is the GLOBE Program's GPS scientist.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 10th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1997) September 16 - 19, 1997 Kansas City, MO
Pages:	1357 - 1361
Cite this article:	Smith, W. Whit, "Use, Quality, and Availability of GPS Data Recorded in the GLOBE Pre-College Science-Education Program," Proceedings of the 10th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1997), Kansas City, MO, September 1997, pp. 1357-1361.
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