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From the Eclipse Across America to Mosquitoes in Madagascar, 2025 Publications Reflect Global Science

2026-04-15

Communicating results is the final, and perhaps the most important, step in the scientific process. One way that scientists and researchers share their findings is by publishing peer-reviewed papers. Here are five papers from 2025 that mention GLOBE Observer.

Uniting Under the Eclipse: A Mega-Collaboration to Activate Science Learning Across the Penumbra and Beyond

Chambers, L., Connolly, R., Kirk, M. S., Fischer, H., Aranda, A., Bowden, M. L., Cass, M., Cominsky, L. R., Czajkowski, K. P., Edson, L. B., Gardner-Vandy, K., Higdon, R., Holland, A., Keller, J. M., Kohl, H., Leavell, C., MacDonald, E., McCarthy, C., Mead, C., … White, V.

The goal of NASA’s Science Activation Program (SciAct) is to connect people of all ages and backgrounds to authentic science by funding teams to develop engaging resources and experiences, including GLOBE Observer. This paper documents the various ways in which SciAct-funded projects and teams collaborated to bring eclipse science to learners across the nation. Of the 48 Science Activation teams active during the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses, three quarters contributed to eclipse engagement. For example, the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative (NESEC) team created resources explaining the science behind eclipse effects on the atmosphere and how to collect air temperature and clouds data with GLOBE Observer. These resources were used by 17 other SciAct projects, including NASA@ My Library, which distributed bilingual eclipse kits to 5,200 libraries. Another SciAct team, Eclipse Soundscapes, asked volunteers to collect and analyze sound recordings during the eclipse. Eclipse Soundscapes and GLOBE Observer worked together to encourage learners to participate in both projects. Ultimately, SciAct’s collaborative efforts resulted in over 85 thousand measurements and observations and 66 million learner interactions related to the 2024 eclipse alone!

The interactive graphic below shows the connections between teams that provided resources and teams that used these resources, highlighting the extensive sharing that happened across SciAct. NASA HEAT and NESEC were the top resource providers.

Artificial Intelligence and Citizen Science as a Tool for Global Mosquito Surveillance: Madagascar Case Study

Carney, R. M., Azam, F., Gehrisch, K., Bhuiyan, T., Rafarasoa, L. S., Riantsoa, V., Low, R. D., Zohdy, S., Andrianjafy, T. M., Ramahazomanana, M. A., Rasolofo, R. N., Subramani, P. A., Ogbondah, M., Uelmen, J. A., Jr., & Chellappan, S.

Back in March 2020, citizen scientists in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar, were collecting mosquito data with the GLOBE Observer app. They were specifically looking for Aedes albopictus, a Zika-vector. However, in a pair of discarded tires, they found a different species, which they photographed and identified as an Anopheles mosquito. The photo was rediscovered years later, when a researcher from the University of South Florida was looking for observations of an invasive malaria-vector, Anopheles stephensi. These mosquitoes are particularly dangerous because they breed in containers, allowing them to thrive in urban areas, while being more difficult to detect. However, A. stephensi had not been previously documented in Madagascar. Anopheles species are difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, and without a specimen genetic testing isn’t possible, so the team turned to artificial intelligence. Using hundreds of photos of lab-grown larvae, the team trained a model to identify A. stephensi and then analyzed the photo from Madagascar. The model suggested that the larva was indeed A. stephensi. Fortunately, no additional A. stephensi larvae have been detected in Antananarivo, but photos from GLOBE Observer and other citizen science projects are automatically analyzed with the AI model, allowing for early detection of this dangerous mosquito.

Two discarded tires leaning against a wall and a magnified image of a mosquito larva.
These photos submitted to the GLOBE database were collected in Antananarivo, Madagascar in March 2020. The larva was later identified as A. stephensi using AI.

Use of GLOBE Observer Citizen Science Data to Validate Continental-Scale Canopy Height Maps Derived from ICESat-2 and GEDI

Lu, M., Popescu, S., Malambo, L., & Campbell, B.

ICEsat-2 and GEDI use pulses of light, or lidar, to measure the heights of trees around the world from space. In this study, researchers explored how data from the GLOBE Observer Trees tool might be used to validate satellite (ICESat-2) and instrument-derived (GEDI) models of canopy height. Measuring tree heights from the ground can be expensive and time-consuming for research teams, so measurements collected by volunteers have great potential. The researchers compared GLOBE Observer tree height observations with data from three canopy height models. While the team successfully demonstrated a process for using citizen science observations to validate spaceborne lidar-derived models, the specific GLOBE Observer data used was not accurate enough to use for this purpose due to height and location errors, showing the importance of verifying the location of and distance to the tree being measured. Check out the GLOBE Observer news story about this work: New Science Publication Analyzes GLOBE Trees Data.

Map showing the continental U.S. colored in various shades of green and orange representing different biomes.
This map of the continental U.S. shows nine major biomes, along with red dots representing GLOBE data and teal squares representing validation sites. One challenge the researchers faced was that GLOBE observations are often concentrated in urban areas, rather than natural landscapes.

GLOBE Eclipse 2024: A Case Study of the Effects of the April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse on Cirrus Clouds and Contrails in the United States of America

Autore, A. M., Dodson, J. B., Duda, D. P., Robles, M. C., Weaver, K. L., Taylor, J. E., Rogerson, T. M., & Kohl, H.

Previous research has found that low-level cumulus clouds begin to dissipate during a solar eclipse; but what happens to high-level clouds, like cirrus and contrails? For the 2024 eclipse, a team of researchers compared satellite and model data with ground observations from weather stations and citizen scientists. By comparing data from multiple sources, the researchers were able to address the limitations of individual data sets. For example, moving weather station equipment is difficult, and ground stations might not collect data often enough to capture changes that occur over a short timeframe. Volunteers can easily relocate and take more frequent measurements. This is especially important when studying a short-term event, like an eclipse. On the day of the eclipse over 2,100 people collected more than 7,000 cloud observations with the GLOBE Observer app. The researchers focused on 6 cities both within and outside of the path of totality. Volunteers in 5 of the 6 cities noticed increasing contrails approaching maximum eclipse, suggesting that the eclipse may make conditions more favorable to high level cloud formation. Check out the GLOBE Observer news story about this work: April 2024 Eclipse Science Results.

A map showing the path of totality in blue, crossing North America diagonally from the Pacific coast of Mexico to the Atlantic coast of Canada.. Red lines represent a partial eclipse.
This map shows the path of the 2024 total eclipse over North America. Black dots representing GLOBE observations are concentrated around cities and the path of totality. Red points show the cities selected for this study.

Mangrove biomass productivity and sediment carbon storage assessment at selected sites in Mauritius: the effect of tidal inundation, forest age and mineral availability

Doodee, M., Rughooputh, S.D.D.V., & Jawheer, S.

Mangroves are carbon sink superstars, with some studies estimating that they remove up to 5 times more carbon from the atmosphere than rainforests! Because of this, monitoring and assessing the health of mangrove forests is incredibly important. In this study, researchers examined five mangrove forests in Mauritius using field measurements and satellite data. They used tree height measurements collected with GLOBE Observer, along with trunk diameter measurements and Landsat images, to estimate the age of the forests and the amount of plant material, or biomass, in each forest. By comparing this information with measurements of water quality and soil composition, the researchers were able to find correlations between environmental factors and mangrove density. For example, while tidal flooding allowed mangroves forests to establish faster, too much salt from seawater negatively impacted forest density. Older forests with lower salinity can store more carbon.

Satellite image of a coastline showing green vegetation partially covered by clouds and a deep blue ocean. Where the land and sea meet, there is bright turquoise water dotted with vegetation and outlines by barrier islands.
This Landsat image shows the southeastern coast of Mauritius, where two of the five study sites were located.

See publications from previous years on our Publications page.

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