NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

The ocean absorbs the extra carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels, like coal, oil, and natural gas, and that changes the chemistry of the ocean. We call this “ocean acidification.” The change in chemistry is reducing the amount of calcium carbonate in the ocean. Just as humans need calcium to build their bones, sea creatures need calcium carbonate to build strong skeletons and shells. Ocean acidification changes the chemistry of the ocean and causes “osteoporosis of the sea,” which prevents animals at the bottom of the food chain from building and maintaining the protective shells they need to survive.

CoCoRaHS (pronounced KO-ko-rozz) is a grassroots volunteer network of backyard weather observers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail, and snow) in their local communities. By using low-cost measurement tools, stressing training and education, and utilizing an interactive website, CoCoRaHS aims to provide the highest quality data for natural resource, education, and research applications. The only requirements to join are an enthusiasm for watching and reporting weather conditions and a desire to learn more about how weather can affect and impact our lives. Anyone can use CoCoRaHS data, even if you aren't a data collector.

Help track changes in river herring populations over time by counting the number of fish passing through the fish ladder at Jenney Grist Mill dam located on Town Brook in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Video recordings from the dam allow people anywhere, at any time, to participate in this project. With these video counts, are used to estimate in real-time the total number of herring that have migrated so far this year. Every video count matters, and helps to get one step closer to an accurate estimate of the total herring run. Let's start counting!

When you go outside and are moving around, use CrowdMag to measure the magnetic data along your path. Save, list, export or delete data to create a complete magnetic field map of your area. Share your data with a research group at NOAA. Multiple recordings along the same path are very helpful to reduce the noise and produce a more accurate magnetic field map. Get started with a tiny tutorial! https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/data/tiny-tutorials/crowdmag

The FISHtory Project has two ways to help collect information from historic dock photos. FISH & PEOPLE: Count is an easier project where you can mark the number of fish and people in a photo. FISH: Classify is a more challenging project where you can identify four common species using a draw tool. After the common fish are marked, you will be given a list of less common fish and asked to identify the remaining fish in the photo. If you're not a fish expert, don't worry! All skill levels are welcomed and encouraged to use a given field guide to help identify fish and provide your best guess.

Help improve the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) by participating in GPS on Benchmarks (GPS on BM). GPS on BM has three important steps: recover, observe, and report. Recover: Using web maps or other desktop tools to look up the description of an existing benchmark and visit the benchmark of your choice and submit a mark recovery. Observe: Record field notes, take digital photos, and collect GPS observations for the bench mark you visit. Report: Use online tools to send the information to the National Geodetic Survey.

In most years, thunderstorms, tornadoes and lightning cause hundreds of injuries and deaths and billions in property and crop damages. To obtain critical weather information, the National Weather Service (NWS) established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is a volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.

The Marine Debris Tracker mobile app allows you to help make a difference by checking in when you find trash along our coastlines and waterways. This tool is a great way to get involved in local and global data collection. This app pairs well with the Marine Debris Monitoring Toolkit for Educators. https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/curricula/marine-debris-monitoring-toolkit-educators

The NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory collects public weather reports through a free app available for mobile devices. Reporters select the type of weather that is occurring, and tap “submit.” mPING reports are immediately archived into a database at The University of Oklahoma, and are displayed on a map accessible to anyone. Weather radars cannot “see” at the ground, so mPING (Meteorological Phenomena Identification Near the Ground) reports are used by the National Weather Service to fine-tune their forecasts. NSSL uses the data in a variety of ways, including to develop new radar and forecasting technologies and techniques.

NOAA scientists need your help to count fish and improve data used in management of the Hawaiʻi “Deep 7” bottomfish fishery! NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center deploys camera systems on the seafloor to help monitor populations of deep-water snappers and groupers. Each camera can record tens of thousands of images! Human observers annotate the images to count and measure each species. This can take months using only a small team of researchers. With your help, we can speed up the work and train machine vision algorithms to improve our analysis. This will make us one step closer to improving fish stock assessments, which are used by fishery managers.