Looking online at NASA’s website, I saw that they released an app called Earth Now. I was interested and downloaded the app (its free). Earth Now shows you recent global climate data from Earth Science satellites. You can choose to see different elements including surface air temperature, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, water vapor, and gravity and sea level variations. The 3D model of Earth will show a color-coded visualization of the relative strength or weakness of an environmental condition. The app tells you the latest events going on around the world as well. It is real time and will show the most up to date data that it has. You can also go back in time to see how the environmental conditions have changed. This is a really great app because it allows you to stay up to date by checking on your phone (especially when everyone seems to be on their phones these days). This is app is very beneficial because it is an easy way for people to stay up to date and informed about the current environmental conditions of our Earth. 

I have posted screenshots from my phone of Sea Level Variation and Day Air Temperature. The third photo shows the Earth when you open the app, and it has its latest event: Phytoplankton bloom off South Africa. It also provides further information about each environmental condition and other options for viewing the data.

For those interested in learning more about the biosphere, National Geographic’s page on the Biosphere provides a plethora of useful information. This could be a tool utilized by geographers as a reference, particularly for those who either are just beginning In their field or those who are interested in becoming geographers. The page begins by defining the biosphere, which is made up of the parts of earth where life exists. The webpage is broken up into three parts. It begins with an introduction, followed by information regarding the origin of the biosphere, and concluding with information regarding the biosphere reserves. Another useful tool the site provides is a vocabulary tab, which defines various key words which are used throughout page.

Shark Attack Data is a cool website that complies human and shark interactions around the world. It logs shark attacks by either provoked, unprovoked, fatal, or non-fatal. It describes each attack by date, location, type and size of shark, and the activity the person was doing at the time of the incident. The main goal of the website is to increase understanding, and to promote informed discussions on shark attacks. The data comes from the Global Shark Attack File and is compiled by the Shark Research Institute. The website helps you understand where and how shark attacks occur and how they have changed over time on a global scale. You can click on any country to find their statics and data on shark attacks. However, there are some gaps and missing information in some of the logs, but regardless it still provides useful information.

Interested in visualizing how the earth has changed over time in terms of sea temperature, air quality, or flood hazard? NASA’s interactive website, Worldview, uses satellite imagery taken over the past 40+ years to help communities visualize the changes that have taken place over time.

Worldview was created using NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) to create 800 satellite imagery layers, allowing individuals to view time-stamped changes in critical focus areas such as wildfire management, volcanic eruptions, tropical storms, and more. Layers are categorized based on topic, as shown below. Users can even view layers based on ‘Science Disciplines’– which separates layers into categories such as Atmosphere, Biosphere, etc.

Worldview also allows users to interpret data using different scales! While global data may be valuable for some users, others may benefit from more smaller, more localized scales. Worldview’s zoom capabilities allow users to visualize data from the scale that meets their individual need!

Check out Worldview yourself: https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov

USAID, the US State Department’s foreign aid program, offers a number of initiatives focused on conservation and limiting climate change. They list goals to promote biodiversity in all areas, not just in wealthy countries. Poor countries deal with issues like poaching and destruction of wilderness for fuel which may not be as prominent in wealthier countries. The site goes in depth into statistics of the importance of conservation and biodiversity. They offer suggestions and examples of the implementation of their efforts in foreign countries. For example, their efforts helped secure indigenous peoples land in the Amazon, limit restaurants serving shark fins, and create sustainable forests through promoting sustainable cutting and selling of wood products in Cambodia. There are a number of cool, interesting, and in depth links on the USAID site under the Environment and Global Change tab. https://www.usaid.gov/biodiversity/policy lists the strategic plan of the organization to conquor biodiversity loss. It is interesting to see such a globally influential organization at work. These are goals that are being implemented globally. These policies have the change to affect very diverse lands. Some further topics on the website include sustainable urbanization, property rights, and sustainable tourism. All of these relate to conservation and the protection of the biosphere. With efforts like these, the biosphere will be more heavily protected against threats.

Movebank is an online database that provides an international space for the collection of animal tracking data. Thousands of researchers input data they have collected on animal movement. They fit animals with trackers and plot the point on a map to look at their spatial relation. This database uses GIS technology to track the movement of animals, on a local level as well as across continents. This information helps scientists learn more about climate change, habitat loss, and other environmental issues we have discussed in this class. The way animals migrate can  This is similar to the research of the interviewing professors who used GIS technology to track the impacts of climate change on our environment. National Geographic featured this database on their website to talk about key species which are endangered. Scientists can use this information to track a species’ ability to recover from the endangered list. This database is super helpful and lets