Ask-A-Scientist with Camp Internet

Timothy - Director - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 11:42AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Camp Internet makes use of new tools like GPS and the creating of GIS maps to teach science, math and teamwork. Our students are involved in building databases for their Garden GIS maps and many other special projects. Explore the GIS maps at: button Two of the maps, the Student Garden and the Oak Tree Count, as Youth Technology Corps lead projects. Good examples of student developed science projects. The Student Garden GIS map is at button - keep an eye on that GIS over the next few weeks as a new database is added for the Spring planting. The Student Oak Tree Count GIS is at: button

Timothy - Director - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 11:59AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Camp Internet makes use of a lot of video - delivered to classrooms via the Internet and via Camp cd-rom's. A recent interview with Ben Waltenberger, discussing the GIS consortium which Camp is part of, is at: button . It provides a great introduction to Ben, GIS and one of the multi-agency Consortia which partner with Camp Internet.

Marcy Montgomery, Camp Internet, Ed Devel Dir: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 0:25PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Welcome Explorers - CHAT WILL BE OPEN 3-4PM PST TODAY -please post your questions for our TRAIL GUIDES in the message box below and be sure to add your name and school affiliation in the 'Your Handle' box before posting.

Timothy - Director - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 0:25PM PST (-0800 GMT)
The Global-Garden Project brings together many parts of your curriculum. We explore math, science, history, sustainable agriculture and the literature and art of farming while creating classroom indoor or outdoor gardens and GIS maps of those gardens. Goto: button for the most current Briefing for the Global-Garden Expedition to get an idea of what the course is about.

Remote Access Astronomy (RAAP) Telescope at UCSB: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 0:33PM PST (-0800 GMT)
...This roof top telescope receives commands from your desk top computer to search the night sky for bright stars and galaxies - captures their image - and then makes those images avaiable to you online ... a wonderful learning tool!! ......At Camp Internet, we feature this project every year and host FAMILY NIGHT open houses where schools open their doors, set up telescopes, and bring families on campus for a fun ASTRONOMY NIGHT that features a gallery of images students have reqeusted from RAAP - plus the students and parents report live, online about the stars and planets they observe themselves during the FAMILY NIGHT event.

Camp Internet and RAAP Collaboration: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 0:37PM PST (-0800 GMT)
The scientists at RAAP also come online as our expert TRAIL GUIDES for live CHATS with Camp Internet students - creating a true classroom-without-walls. Here is an example of an image from the RAAP telescope ... ... And this button will take you to an archive of a recent Camp Internet FAMILY Astronomy Night that features classroom-requested images from RAAP.

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 0:44PM PST (-0800 GMT)
.. Learn more about the amazing National Marine Sanctuary System at button and visit the online resources about California's fascinating Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary at button

Camp Internet and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Collaboration: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 0:49PM PST (-0800 GMT)
..... Every year, CINMS staff from many different disciplines serve as distinguished TRAIL GUIDES on Camp Internet. From Ben Waltenberger, their GIS expert, to Robert Schwemmer, their Shipwrecks expert, to Julie Goodson their edcuation coordinator who recently took Camp teachers on a great Saturday low tide walk, CINMS is an excellent partner working with Camp to build an education-rich classroom-without-walls....

Timothy - Director - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 1:01PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here is a special update on Camp Internet videos to be produced this spring. First, comming up March 5 is an interview with Dr. James Childress, marine biologists and environmental scientists at UCSB. His current research work is reviewed at button Dr. Childress recently brought back several species of very deep sea worms, crabs and fish. Bringing them to the surface for study, alive, has proved a challenging and valuable research effort by Dr. Childress, acomplished using a 3 person submersible and some very high tech equipment. Keep posted on the main Camp web page for the video broadcast time. Following the deep sea video will be a special interview with Robert Schwimmer, specialists in shipwrecks for NOAA. He recently demonstrated the serious value of environmental record keeping / databases in solving what had been a random oil leak off of Monterey for the past 10 years killing over 40,000 sea birds. Through the use of Schwimmer's shipwreck database, GIS and his special skills as a diver off the California coast, it was discovered that a merchant ship had been lost in the late 1960's and had begun leaking oil 10 years ago, killing large numbers of sea birds each time the leak occured. The boat has been located now and once it is raised or sealed the problem will be over. A good example for students of the value of their school GIS and data gathering projects.

: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 1:02PM PST (-0800 GMT)
hello

Camp Internet DIGS: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 1:06PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Any of our viewers today who would like to try out one of our very POPULAR INTERNET DIGS can visit the Live Online Digs to answer a question or two and see what a great research tool they are...... Every week week we feature a new selection of research Digs orgnaized by learning tracks - this week Ancient Southwest is exploring DINOSAURS button , Channel Islands is on its second week of exploring PIRATES and BURIED TREASURE button , and Backcountry is learning about GRIZZLY ADAMS and GRIZZLY BEARS button .............. We are also hosting a READING OLYMPICS button this month complete with engraved medals for participating classrooms.

Timothy - Director - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 1:11PM PST (-0800 GMT)
In April the Camp Internet video team will be recording several very special days of interviews with Dr. Robert Mueller, past Asst. Secretary General of the United Nations. Dr. Mueller will be discussing his work with the U.N., with world peace and then he will explore Camp Internet with a group of students. A very special series of videos which will be available in the Camp Internet video library and on the Camp cd-rom.

Camp Internet DIGS: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 1:13PM PST (-0800 GMT)
*********** INVITATION TO ATTEND the next CAMP INTERNET FAMILY NIGHT - tomorrow - February 28th - 6-8pm. The theme is "AMAZING WOMEN of the WEST" as prepartion from March and Women's History month. Selections from Willa Cather, author, Georgia O'Keefe, painter, and Laura Gilpin, photographer will be online. PLUS, Families are asked to post a short story about an Amazing Woman in their own Family history. The pdf announcement can be opened at button ************

Timothy - Director - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 1:27PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Helping gather data. Becoming part of the source of information as well as the receiver is an important thing for Camp Internet students. Many of our projects guide students into valuable information and data gathering projects which ultimately end up as GIS maps and datasets. One place we always start is with observing. Learning to observe, take accurate notes and then report. So this time of year Camp Internet students make use of the "Signs of Spring" field report form a lot to record weather, animal and bird sightings. This will become the Signs-of-Spring Camp GIS in May. Take a look at the form at : button and remember that all the Field Report Forms, GIS and Garden forms are always easy to get to from the main Camp Internet portal at button

Sarah Hastings, Franklin Middle: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:11PM PST (-0800 GMT)
To RAAP - how did you originally come up with the idea for the remote access telescope? Is it based on telescope set ups in other places ? Or did you have to invent the entire set up ?

Sarah Hastings, Franklin Middle: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:13PM PST (-0800 GMT)
To CINMS - how many square miles does the Sanctuary protect ? How many Sancturies are there in the country or territories?

Jerome Miles, Franklin Middle: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:15PM PST (-0800 GMT)
To RAAP - do you allow teacehrs to come on campus and use your facilities or is it all done by remote ? To CINMS - What is the hardest part of the Sanctuary to protect and from what ?

Mrs Hasting's Students, Franklin Middle: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:18PM PST (-0800 GMT)
RAAP - what did you study in order to get a job like yours? If an astronomer's job is to study the night sky, what do you do at work during the day?

Mr Mile's Students, Franklin Middle: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:19PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Has anyone on your team ever identified something in the sky no one else has ever seen before? When people do discover something up there - how do they report it to get credit for it ? This is for RAAP

Mrs Hasting's Students, Franklin Middle: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:21PM PST (-0800 GMT)
For CINMS - is it true there is a giant squid living down in the canyons of the sanctuary ? how do people know this if it is ? how deep are the canyons?

Mr Mile's Students, Franklin Middle: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:22PM PST (-0800 GMT)
CINMS - What is the biggest creature that lives in the sanctuary ? and the smallest? How do they get along?

Simon Lewis, San Bernardino: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:37PM PST (-0800 GMT)
How is the Sanctuary like or not like a National Park ? How does GIS help the Sanctuary protect resources ?

Timothy - Direct - Camp: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:38PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mr. Miles students - Franklin Middle: the "biggest and smallest" is a great question. We study the whales and the plankton the whales feed on each year to learn more about the marine biology of the channel islands. That's the answer to the biggest and smallest in the channel.

Simon Lewis, San Bernardino: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:38PM PST (-0800 GMT)
I read that the Dept that sponsors RAAP includes Astrophysics. Do the images taken with the RAAP telescope get used in any astrophysics research ? If so, what kind ?

Ayami - Paradise HomeSchool - 8th: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:45PM PST (-0800 GMT)
To Ben - we heard on a TV show about the Monterey Aquarium that water is brought in for the aquarium from several miles off shore in order to avoid pollution in coastal water. Do we face the same problem with water off the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura?

Ayami - Paradise HomeSchool - 8th: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:48PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - how do Marine Biologists use GIS? I intend to study marine biology in college and am curious what areas to emphasise in my study.

Ayami - Paradise HomeSchool - 8th: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:52PM PST (-0800 GMT)
To the folks at RAAP: do you know of any current applications of astronomy which relate to the study of Marine Biology?

Carl, Camp Trainer: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 2:52PM PST (-0800 GMT)
We are here at the Tech Ed symposium in Long Beach, checking in. Teachers are speaking, presenting here. Once they are through, in a few minutes, we will join this chat. Looking forward to it.

Timothy - Camp Director: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:11PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Carl - good to see you online. Take a look at the brand new Camp Student Garden GIS at: button

Timothy - Camp Director: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:13PM PST (-0800 GMT)
And for those who want to see the entire collection of maps for this year goto: button . If you are new to GIS check out the introduction flash made by one of our students at: button

edc: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:16PM PST (-0800 GMT)
How do you access the remote telescope?

Mr. Ryan @ Fremont H.S.: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:21PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mr. Lubin, Among astronomers is the super string theory gaining acceptance?

Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:21PM PST (-0800 GMT)
CINMS - what is the news on Sanctuary boundaries? Any changes ahead to protect more areas ? And what is seen as the greatest threat to the fisheries out there?

Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:23PM PST (-0800 GMT)
TO OUR GUESTS at TECH ED - all of our Trail Guides have confirmed today they will be online so keep posting your questions and we will see the Trail Guides come on with answers soon.

Group at Tech Ed.: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:25PM PST (-0800 GMT)
When is the next Camp Internet family night? What will the topic be, and what is the password so we can check it out?

Group at Tech Ed.: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:27PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mr. Waltenberger, What is GIS?

Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:28PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Next Family night is TOMORROW NIGHT and it will be accessed from the main Camp page by going to: Internet Digs and then selecting Family Room. A password will be provided at the gate. Or email camp@campinternet.net if you have trouble getting in. Will be active 6-8pm and we welcome guests! See invitation above in chat room today.

Group at Tech Ed.: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:28PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mr. Lubin, Is Jupiter still visible?

Tom Fuller (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:29PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Jerome Miles: Generally, accessing RAAP is done remotely. At times we conduct workshops to show teachers the system, and answer questions.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:29PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hi everyone! I'm Ben Waltenberger, a Physical Scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Most of what I do involves Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing using satellites, aircraft, and underwater sensors. I'm looking forward to answering as many of your questions as I can in the next 30 minutes. Please be patient with me as I scan through your questions and type up my answers as fast as I can! To get you started, here is a 3D representation of the bathymetry in the Santa Barbara Channel: A larger image can be found here: button

Philip Lubin (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:30PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Sarah Hastings We were interested in builing a modern robotic telescope for our undergraduates to use for research. There was no such instrument available when we designed RAAP in 1989 and we had to design everything from scratch. hence RAAP was born. It was initially designed for our underfrad Physics majors but rapidly became an outreach tool for secondary schools in 1991. It has evolved since then with on-line curricula.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:31PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Oops! Try this:

Philip Lubin (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:33PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mr Mile's Students, Franklin Middle: Our students often discovery something "new" to them but then after careful research find it is known. However, astronomy is full of discovery and new events are constantly taking place. For example when stars die in a supernova explosion, this can be as bright as an entire galaxy and visible whereas the original star was too dim to see.

Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:34PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - that Bathymetry map is great - the depth of those canyons is amazing .. and one can easily see how giant squid COULD live down there undetected ... has any never- before-seen life been found recently out there ?

Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:35PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dr. Lubin - thanks for joining us online today. Can you say a little please about science projects for homeschoolers ?

Tom Fuller (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:35PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mrs Hasting's Students- Astronomers need to know a lot about math, physics and computers. Different kinds of astronomers work at different times of day. Theoretical astrophysicists work day or night, while observers work in the afternoon and night. Instru- mentalists work either during the day or whenever they need to test their equipment. Generally they work when it is best for their effectiveness, and when they can communicate with others.

Philip Lubin (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:36PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Simon Lewis, San Bernardino: RAAP is primarily used for astrophysics research at the undergraduate level. It is possible to use it for active galactic nuclei monitoring, searches for black hole flares etc at the graduate level but now generally. We use it mostly as a teaching tool.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:38PM PST (-0800 GMT)
I scrolled back a bit and saw some questions, so I'll start answering them now: As to the CINMS boundaries, There are several options out there now from status quo (keeping the current 6 nautical mile boundary, to a new boundary stretching from Point Sal in the North, to Point Dume in the South, and out to Santa Barbara Island. Our current status is that all the options have been put together and sent to Washington DC. We are waiting for their recommendation as to what alternative we will move forward with in our draft Environmental Impact Statement. As to GIS: it stands for Geographic Information System. It's a way of combining the processing power of computers with the visualization powers of maps. It lets us combine and analyze lots and lots of data into realtime map overlays.

Larry Evans: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:38PM PST (-0800 GMT)
How far away can the RAAP telescope capture images clearly ?

Philip Lubin (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:39PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mr. Ryan @ Fremont H.S Are you from Fremont Ca? My wife went to Petersen High. Super string theory is potentially useful in theories of the early universe. WE lack a unified quantum theory of gravity and this will be needed to fully understand the earliest moments of the universe.

Larry Evans: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:39PM PST (-0800 GMT)
What is the hardest part in managing the telescope - technically speaking ? Is it possible to set up a small telescope at home to do a similar digital imaging?

Tom Fuller (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:40PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ayami - Paradise HomeSchool- Applications of astronomy relating to Marine Biology? I'm not aware of active research in this area, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Have you done a web search on "astronomy" and "marine biology"? There might be better keywords to use. There are certainly tidal effects from the Moon and Sun that effect biological systems, but the tides are pretty well understood. It might be interesting to look at the effects of solar storms on biological systems on Earth.

Philip Lubin (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:41PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Group at Tech Ed.: . . . Jupiter should still be visible. If you try a web search for visibility times for the planets you should be able to find the rise and set times.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:42PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Marcy, one of the really interesting things we're doing now is investigating the natural oil seeps in the channel. We have the second largest natural seep field in the world. Only Russia has a larger one. Gases and oils are constantly output from the seeps. We are now also learning that, believe it or not, these are also BIOLOGICAL communities. We recently discovered that crabs will seek out gas bubble vents, lay on top of them, and apparently "get drunk." we have no idea why they are doing this yet, but we are working with Ira Liefer at UCSB to findo out what's going on. Part of these investigations means diving the gas and oil outputs -- an interesting (and sticky!) experience!

Larry Evans: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:42PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Phil Lubin and Tom Fuller - what special research projects are you working on now ?

Tom Fuller (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:42PM PST (-0800 GMT)
edc: Access the remote telescope at button

Larry Evans: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:44PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - how deep are those canyons west of the islands ? And how do scientists estimate the depth ?

Philip Lubin (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:45PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Marcy, Camp Internet: Interesting you should ask. All my four children were homeschooled. The oldest ones are now 21 and 24 and in graduate school in physics and biochem. I have two more who are 13 and 15 in junior and senior high now. Most of our children went thru 8th or 9th grade at home. I suggest web based science activities that you can then do at home. There is so much available. If you have a university nearby ask them if someone will help you.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:45PM PST (-0800 GMT)
We of course don't just use underwater sensors to study the ocean, we also use airborne and orbital platforms. Here's a link to a Sea Surface Temperature animation of the Santa Barbara Channel. It shows monthly sea surface temperatures for the year 2000 and was recorded using a NOAA AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) satellite. You'll need Quicktime to view the animation: button

Samantha Early, DPHS: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:46PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - what is the laterst news on the Sustainable Seas Expedition ? Will it be coming back to California? When here, did they go down into any of those deep canyons out there ?

Group at Tech Ed.: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:47PM PST (-0800 GMT)
To the Astronmers, We have a teacher who would love your thoughtful comments about String Theory.

Samantha Early, DPHS: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:48PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Phil and Tom - does your program have any current relationships with NASA or JPL ? of NSF? Sounds like your program is really unique.

Tom Fuller (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:48PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Larry Evans: The RAAP telescope can see objects as dim as 18th magnitude, perhaps 20th magnitude. So we could see Quasars billions of light years away. It's sharpness is limited by turbulence in the atmosphere to about 2 arc-seconds of resolution. With your own, unaided eyes on a dark night, you should be able to see the great galaxy in Andromeda, which is about 2 million light-years away.

Philip Lubin (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:48PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Larry Evans: . RAAP is built by undergraduates at UCSB but has worked for 10 years. The most demanding part is training people to use it and doing curriculum development. Setting up a small telescope at home is possible now with commercial robotic telescopes from Celestron or Meade and then using a CCD camera. See the web for some ideas on using an inexpensive webcam coupled to a small telescope.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:50PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Larry: The deepest canyons in the image are about 3600 meters! The data used to make the image you saw were derived from a compilation of methods. The oldest data, from the 1930's, were collected using leadline sinkers. That's basically dropping a lead weight down to the bottom of the ocean and hauling it back up for every point location! That's ione of the reasons some of the very deepest parts look angualr. The model didn't have enough data there to smooth the surface, because you can't sample more than every few hundred meters horizontally because of the time involved. Our new methods involve using sonar and LIDAR ( a kind of laser radar) that can penetrate shallow water and give us accuracy to a couple of centimeters.

Philip Lubin (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:52PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Larry Evans: We are working on expanding the system to have a larger CCD camera and additional telescopes. We encourage our students to study a range of projects such as planet detection with small telescopes. See the web site at www.astro.caltech.edu/~jc Most of our work is on cosmology using millimeter wavelength telescopes. We fly them on balloons, use them at the South Pole and operate them in the eastern Sierras at 13,000 feet.

Tom Fuller (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:53PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Samantha Early: RAAP is currently working on some astronomy activities through NASA. RAAP was funded for a long time through the NSF Center for Particle Astrophysics, and continues to develop new funding relationships. Are you at Dos Pueblos High School? If you are that close, are you interested in coming to visit the RAAP Lab at UCSB?

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:54PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Samantha: We're not doing Sustainable Seas here this year. Instead, we're working on a project called Baja to Bering, in which NOAA is studying the ocean along the Western continent of North America. One of our ships, the McArthur, will be out at the end of this month and we will be using ROV's (Remotely Operated Vehicles) to explore around the Sanctuary to a depth of 2000 feet. In fact I'll be going out to navigate the robot while the ship is in our area. We've used this ROV (owned by the US Navy) before, and we've brought back some really amazing video footage!

Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:54PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Group at Tech Ed- there is a short response about the String Theory question above - Dr. Lubin - can you comment any further on that ?

Philip Lubin (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:55PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Group at Tech Ed. String theory is a class of ideas to try to view the universe as a collection of one dimensional objects, called strings. It is not clear if this type of approach is correct physically but it seems to have great promise. There is also an theorectical object (ie not seen yet) called a cosmic string that is one dimensional and has enormous mass per unit of lenght. These may have been responsible for seeding the formation of galaxies. It is still very speculative.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:56PM PST (-0800 GMT)
We also have a great archeological program looking at the shipwrecks of the Channel Islands. Here's an image of some artifacts that were exposed, and that we recovered, from the Winfield Scott of Anacapa Island: button

Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:57PM PST (-0800 GMT)
TEACHERS --- LOOK what we have discovered in this chat - BOTH of our guest TRAIL GUIDES are using remote robotics - one to explore the heavens and one to explore the bottom of the sea. Important for the students we work with to realize this as a new field that they can consider working in as they grow up ....

Timothy - Camp: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 3:58PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Phil and Ben - would you each explain why GIS is important to your work.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 4:03PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Timothy: Because of the vast and varied amount of data we deal with in marine studies, a way to collect, quantify, analyze, and visualize data is simply a neccesity. Being able to link relational data to geographic anchors is a phenomenal way to find correlations and variations over a spatial (geographic) extent. The ability to mine data based on map points lets me not only efficiently analyze data, but also gives me a way to present data to students and laypeople in an intuitive format. That is, it's much easier for someone to understand what my data means if they look at those data in a visualization field versus the fields of an excel spreadsheet, which would mean nothing to anyone who didn't participate in the data collection.

Tom Fuller (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 4:03PM PST (-0800 GMT)
All- Thank you very much for your questions. It is a pleasure to see that you are interested in the universe around you at many different scales. We look forward to seeing you at the RAAP web site at button

Philip Lubin (RAAP): . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 4:03PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Timothy - Camp We do not normally use the term GIS in astrophysics though the ideas are similar to terrestrial mapping. WE just invert the problem and look up. Rather than latitude and longitude we use declination and right ascension. There has not been enough coordinating between the terrestrial mapping GIS community and the astronomy community as there should be. There are no doubt many techniques in each that would benefit the other. The image formats are usually completely different and cannot be viewed by the other community, unfortunately.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 4:06PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here's another image of one of the tools we use to collect marine geographic data. THis is me setting up a differntial GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, that, by using ground stations, improves the signal from the GPS satellites so that I can get accuarte positions to within a foot. Using post processing software, that can be refined to centimeter accuracy.

Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 4:09PM PST (-0800 GMT)
A BIG THANKS to The RAAP Team of Phil and Tom , and Ben from CINMS for joining us online for this Symposium session. And a specila thanks to Carl, our lead trainer, for making it through traffic to get there in person as the session Host. It is great to see the technology really link thinkers and doers. Thanks everyone for participating from Tech Ed and other locations. This session will soon be available to review in the Camp Internet Chat Archives. Good questions and answers tht students can also view and learn from.

Ben@NOAA: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 4:12PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thanks Marcy and Tim for having me stop by -- a pleasure as always!

Timothy - Camp: . . . . Wed, Feb 27, 4:13PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, Phil, Tom and the RAAP Team, thanks for a great chat session. And everyone in the Tech ED group - great questions. Goto: button for the Camp Internet Chat Archives, very interesting material from the past few years. Todays chat will be in the archives for review in a few days.

Questions about Camp Internet--click here