A community network and simple sensor platform for systematic monitoring of local environmental conditions. DEW involves individuals, schools, organizations and communities in a systematic monitoring project of their local environment, especially vegetation health. The project offers people the means to share their digital photographs on the Picture Post website, and to study and analyze their own findings using DEW software. Picture Post participants can study change over time in their local area, compare digital images with satellite imagery and contribute towards improving their own communities. The Picture Post network strengthens observations of phenological and other time-series events for citizens, scientists and decision makers to understand and adapt to environmental change.
Digital Earth Watch and Picture Post are being developed by a collaborative effort led by the University of New Hampshire with the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Southern Maine. Funding has been provided by NASA.
The key concepts behind Digital Earth Watch (DEW) are that plants are like "green canaries" and act as sensitive indicators of changing environmental conditions. By monitoring the health of plants, we are measuring the environmental conditions that affect us all. These conditions, when observed and measured at the local scale, are indicative of changes taking place at regional and global scales that are routinely monitored by NASA's Earth Observing System. Digital images contain valuable data to understand conditions and changes in the local environment.
A key message in DEW is that although plants are dynamic and respond continuously to their environment, they do so either on a time-scale that most people don't notice or with a subtlety our senses can't detect. DEW has created simple tools for monitoring vegetation as a means towards understanding the connection between global climate change and local effects.
The DEW Picture Post network offers people the means to make and share their own observations. A Picture Post is an easy-to-use and inexpensive platform for repeatedly taking digital photographs as a standardized set of images of the entire 360° landscape, which then can be shared over the Internet on the Picture Post website. This simple concept has the potential to create a wealth of information and data on changing environmental conditions, which is important for a society grappling with the effects of climate change.
Picture Posts may be added by anyone interested in monitoring a particular location. The value of a Picture Post is in the commitment of participants to take repeated photographs - monthly, weekly, or even daily - to build up a long-term record over many years. The Picture Post network is new and we invite individuals, schools, informal education centers, groups and communities to join.
To be posted when available.
| Project Email | Contact Us (picturepostsupport@picturepost.unh.edu) |
| Project Lead | Annette Schloss, University of New Hampshire (annette.schloss@unh.edu) |
| Project Lead | Jeffrey Beaudry, University of Southern Maine (jbeaudry@usm.maine.edu) |
| Project Lead | Brian Rogan, Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) (brogan50@gmail.com) |
| Project Lead | Fabio Carrera, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (carrera@WPI.EDU) |
| Project Website | http://picturepost.unh.edu |
Picture Post web site.
Examples of Picture Posts.
Picture Post brochure.
Picture Post network.
