LPS 2019 Climate Detectives School Award: and the winners are…
ESA and ASI are happy to announce that four Climate Detectives pupil teams have been selected as the recipients of the LPS 2019 Climate Detectives School Award, and will have the unique opportunity to present their project to a professional audience on 14 May at the 2019 Living Planet Symposium (LPS), in Milan, Italy.
The ESA 2019 Climate Detectives school project challenged pupils from all ESA Member States to team up and make a difference in understanding and protecting Earth’s climate. To do this, during several months, the teams investigated a local climate problem using Earth Observation data.
Thirty teams from eight European countries, out of the 118 teams participating in the 2019 edition of the Climate Detectives project, submitted the results of their investigation to the LPS 2019 Climate Detectives School Award.
A joint ESA-ASI evaluation panel, composed of education and Earth observation experts, had the difficult role of selecting the four projects that will be presented in Milan. The projects were evaluated based on their relation to climate, the use of Earth observation data, their scientific correctness, and clarity and comprehensiveness.
The evaluation panel was so impressed with the overall quality of the entries that, in addition to the winning teams, also ‘highly commended’ teams have been identified, and will receive a special certificate.
Winning teams
- 9K Lauttasaari, Finland – The team analysed satellite images of the last 60 years to investigate the loss of forest in their local area and its relation to algal blooming in the oceans.
- Rafina Space Team, Greece – The team compared several remote sensing indices of the burned area before and after a big wildfire close to their hometown.
- Hot Inspectors, Italy – The team analysed long-term weather and air pollution data and studied the relation to extreme weather events happening in their home region.
- Tsunami Team, Spain – The team investigated the long-term effects of acid rain on soil and vegetation by studying the precipitation history of Madrid and satellite imagery.
Highly commended teams
- Music climatologists, Greece – The team analysed long-term temperature and rain data to find indications of climate change in their home region and investigated how a local river changed using satellite images.
- Vianu Climate Detectives, Romania – The team analysed the daily temperature and the rainfall amount for the last 20 years to investigate the relation between climate changes and deforestation.
- Aloha Climate College, Spain – The focus of this project was to look at environmental conditions that affect the local beach profiles and to investigate how sand distribution can be affected by human activity and climate change.
- Defensores del Clima, Spain – The team did a statistical study regarding temperature values, levels of precipitation and rivers for over more than 40 years to find out if climate is changing in their home town.
- Climate Quixotes, Spain – The team investigated how a forest regenerates after a wildfire and if this process is affected by droughts and global warming.
ESA would like to express their sincere appreciation to all the teams, teachers and pupils, who participated and for their great work. Congratulations to all!
There is more news coming for all Climate Detectives, stay tuned for more information about exciting things to happen in May 2019!
