THE SCHOOLS OF THE PACIFIC RAINFALL CLIMATE EXPERIMENT - COMBINING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

Climate change is a major environmental concern, both regionally and g lobally. The Schools of the Pacific Rainfall Climate Experiment (SPaRC E) was started primarily to increase measurement of rainfall across th e Pacific at a relatively low cost by involving interested local schoo ls and technical centers. Rainfall measurements taken by SPaRCE partic ipants are adding to the Comprehensive Pacific Rainfall Data Base (CPR DB), which is being used by researchers primarily for satellite algori thm verification. Through active involvement of local students in the analysis of the data they collect, both quality and quantity of the da ta are enhanced. A goal of the SPaRCE program is to help students in t he region understand more about the importance of global and regional climate and climate change. Under the terms of this project, students in participating schools receive science enrichment videos and data co llection experience and play a crucial role in university research. Be sides gaining a better understanding of basic science concepts, these students become an integral part of the global climate research effort .