David R. Brooks, PhD

President
Institute for Earth Science Research and Education
2686 Overhill Drive
Eagleville, Pennsylvania 19403 USA
Phone: 610-584-5619
E-mail: brooksdr@drexel.edu

Visiting Research Profesor
Drexel University
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics
Much of the work described on this site has been made possible by support from the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

Pyranometer kit from the Institute for Earth Science Research and Education, for measuring solar radiation at Earth's surface. $20, including shipping in U.S.
Also, NEW two-channel (broadband-near IR) radiometer/reflectometer from IESRE.

Red-bellied woodpeckers, Melanerpes carolinus
March, 2008. The "red bellied" refers to the faint reddish coloration on this bird's underside, which
you can't see in these photos. The female has a smaller amount of red, restricted to the nape of its neck,
plus a small tuft of red at the base of its bill. These birds love suet, which is what they are eating here.
This is a nesting pair, as we often see them together near the feeder.

Links to some other useful and interesting sites:  
NEW:
Notes from a Temperate Climate. A site dedicated to students, teachers, and my friends living in Thailand's tropical climate.


In light of recent controversy surrounding poor siting of many "official" weather stations around the country, this link to information about sites in Pennsylvania, with photos from 1983 and 2003, is very interesting: http://pasc.met.psu.edu/PA_Climatologist/cooptan/. Almost without exception, the quality of these sites is good and the surrounding environment has not changed significantly.



Insolation data from McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

These data were collected with an Institute for Earth Science Research and Education pyranometer taken to Antarctica by Ann Linsley, a teacher at Bellaire High School, Bellaire, Texas. It is not surprising that, under these extreme conditions, the pyranometer data do not agree perfectly with a clear-sky solar noon insolation model that assumes a much different atmosphere. Thanks, Ann!


Intute, a site maintained by a consortium of UK universities, is an excellent site for searching for information about science topics, among other things. It contains brief but helpful descriptions of each site referenced.
Presentations from the Asia-Pacific Regional GLOBE Learning Expedition, Hua Hin, Thailand, 13-18 November, 2007:
      Student Climate Change Research (3.9 MB Word document)
      Student Climate Change Research (10.1 MB PowerPoint document)
      Solar Car Activity (7.7 MB PowerPoint document)
Spreadsheet model for "designing" your own planet
Some Thoughts on Religious Extremism Here and Elsewhere
Our Fox Family, 2006
Calculate solar position and the time of solar noon at your coordinates.
Set your watch or clock accurately. Use the UTC "time zone" to display the internationally accepted time for reporting scientific data.
Link to current weather conditions in Pennsylvania (Get other states by changing "pa" to another two-letter state code.)
Link to weather during past 24 hours at Wings Field, Blue Bell, Montgomery County, PA
My local weather and forecasts
(Look here for weather during past 24 hours at other places.)
Historical weather data around the globe
More historical climate data around the globe
Link to satellite overpass predictor
The GLOBE Program, an international K-12 environmental education program
Link to DEP air quality monitoring information for Pennsylvania
Naval Research Lab's Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System Global Aerosol Model (NAAPS)