Earth Science Gallery
2002 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES
Tape Title
Record ID
Date Produced
TRT:
Synopsis
STUDENTS JOIN SCIENTIST IN SEARCH OF ASTHMA TRIGGERS G02-051 6/26/02 00:12:30
Students and teachers in more than 20 Baltimore, Md. elementary, middle and high schools will be helping NASA scientists, and doctors and researchers from the University of Maryland, School of Medicine to better understand the causes of pediatric asthma in Baltimore City. The students will be gathering data on aerosol particles that will help experts track particulates in relation to incidence of asthma. The student's portion of the research is called the Baltimore Student Sun photometer Network (BSSN). It is the first city scale network ever established to monitor small-scale variations in aerosol optical depth.
Severe asthma events leading to hospitalization for children under the age of 18 in the Baltimore area occur at much higher rates in the fall than during the rest of the year. Scientists believe this may, in part, be triggered by tiny airborne particles called aerosols.
TAPE CONTENTS:
ITEM (1): Baltimore Area Asthma Emergencies Data - Generally, asthma related emergencies in the Baltimore, Maryland area peak in the October / November time frame, with a smaller peak during the spring. Yet, data compiled from Baltimore area hospitals of asthma related emergencies admissions shows a more complex pattern of variability within the Baltimore area. By taking aerosol measurements at ground level, the Baltimore Student Sun photometer Network (BSSN) may help researchers understand what is causing this localized variability.
Image 1: This data visualization of the Baltimore, Maryland area shows the variability of asthma emergencies within area zip codes during 2000. The data is based on the asthma patent's home zip code and was statistically balanced to account for zip code population. Brighter yellow shows zip code areas with the greatest number of asthma related emergencies during the month.
Image 2: This image is a zip code based average of asthma related emergencies for the entire year of 2000.
Credit: NASA
ITEM (2): Baltimore Area Students Help Collect Particle Data - Baltimore area students use the hand held Sun photometers to provide information about the quantity and particle size of aerosols in the air. These measurements will provide local, ground based data that may provide insight into local variability. The data will also be used to verify the accuracy of data NASA collects from instruments aboard NASA's Terra satellite.
NASA scientists teach students to use the photometers properly, how to visually calibrate sky conditions, record the data and via computer, transmit the data daily to NASA for analysis. The hand-held Sun photometers are on loan from the USDA Forest Service.
Credit: NASA
ITEM (3): Maryland Science Center Exterior B-Roll - NASA's AERONET program network is scientifically and geographically anchored by a full-scale sun photometer located on the roof of the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore that is part of. The AERONET program is an inclusive federation of ground-based remote sensing aerosol networks established by various federal agency, institute and university partners. The network's goal is to assess aerosol optical properties and confirm the accuracy of aerosols as measured by satellites.
Credit: NASA
ITEM (4): NASA Super Computers - NASA computers will help analyze the aerosol data. Combining the ground data collected from students, satellite data and asthma incidence data.
Credits: NASA
ITEM (5): TERRA Satellite Animation - Terra's primary objective is to study Earth's lands, oceans, air, ice and life functions as a planet-wide system. The student aerosol data will help provide "ground truth" for the satellite data.
Credits: NASA
ITEM (6): Interview Excerpt - Brent Holben, Atmospheric Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Credits: NASA
ITEM (7): Interview Excerpt - Dr. Elissa Levine, Soil Scientist, NASA Biospheric Sciences Branch
Credits: NASA
ITEM (8): Interview Excerpts - Doug Fireside, Science Teacher, Robert Poole Middle School
Credits: NASA
[Sampling Movie]
[Baltimore Asthma Movie (1 Month Emergency Data)]
NOTE: The material advertised on this page is a "Video File" and is strictly recommended for the media and production companies. This is NOT a finished production but does contain some narration.
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[Return to the Earth Science Catalog]
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Earth Science Gallery
2002 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: | Synopsis |
| STUDENTS JOIN SCIENTIST IN SEARCH OF ASTHMA TRIGGERS | G02-051 | 6/26/02 | 00:12:30 | Students and teachers in more than 20 Baltimore, Md. elementary, middle and high schools will be helping NASA scientists, and doctors and researchers from the University of Maryland, School of Medicine to better understand the causes of pediatric asthma in Baltimore City. The students will be gathering data on aerosol particles that will help experts track particulates in relation to incidence of asthma. The student's portion of the research is called the Baltimore Student Sun photometer Network (BSSN). It is the first city scale network ever established to monitor small-scale variations in aerosol optical depth. Severe asthma events leading to hospitalization for children under the age of 18 in the Baltimore area occur at much higher rates in the fall than during the rest of the year. Scientists believe this may, in part, be triggered by tiny airborne particles called aerosols. |
TAPE CONTENTS: |
||||
| ITEM (1): Baltimore Area Asthma Emergencies Data - Generally, asthma related emergencies in the Baltimore, Maryland area peak in the October / November time frame, with a smaller peak during the spring. Yet, data compiled from Baltimore area hospitals of asthma related emergencies admissions shows a more complex pattern of variability within the Baltimore area. By taking aerosol measurements at ground level, the Baltimore Student Sun photometer Network (BSSN) may help researchers understand what is causing this localized variability.
| ||||
| ITEM (2): Baltimore Area Students Help Collect Particle Data - Baltimore area students use the hand held Sun photometers to provide information about the quantity and particle size of aerosols in the air. These measurements will provide local, ground based data that may provide insight into local variability. The data will also be used to verify the accuracy of data NASA collects from instruments aboard NASA's Terra satellite. NASA scientists teach students to use the photometers properly, how to visually calibrate sky conditions, record the data and via computer, transmit the data daily to NASA for analysis. The hand-held Sun photometers are on loan from the USDA Forest Service. Credit: NASA | ||||
| ITEM (3): Maryland Science Center Exterior B-Roll - NASA's AERONET program network is scientifically and geographically anchored by a full-scale sun photometer located on the roof of the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore that is part of. The AERONET program is an inclusive federation of ground-based remote sensing aerosol networks established by various federal agency, institute and university partners. The network's goal is to assess aerosol optical properties and confirm the accuracy of aerosols as measured by satellites. Credit: NASA | ||||
| ITEM (4): NASA Super Computers - NASA computers will help analyze the aerosol data. Combining the ground data collected from students, satellite data and asthma incidence data. Credits: NASA | ||||
| ITEM (5): TERRA Satellite Animation - Terra's primary objective is to study Earth's lands, oceans, air, ice and life functions as a planet-wide system. The student aerosol data will help provide "ground truth" for the satellite data. Credits: NASA | ||||
| ITEM (6): Interview Excerpt - Brent Holben, Atmospheric Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Credits: NASA | ||||
| ITEM (7): Interview Excerpt - Dr. Elissa Levine, Soil Scientist, NASA Biospheric Sciences Branch Credits: NASA | ||||
| ITEM (8): Interview Excerpts - Doug Fireside, Science Teacher, Robert Poole Middle School Credits: NASA | ||||
[Sampling Movie] [Baltimore Asthma Movie (1 Month Emergency Data)]
NOTE: The material advertised on this page is a "Video File" and is strictly recommended for the media and production companies. This is NOT a finished production but does contain some narration.
[HOME] [Return to the Earth Science Catalog] [How to order videotapes]