Science Done by Volunteers Highlighted at December’s American Geophysical Union Meeting

More than 30,000 scientists gathered in Washington, D.C. during the second week of December – many to show off the work of NASA’s science volunteers! The American Geophysical Union held its annual meeting of professionals this month – the world’s largest gathering of Earth and Space Scientists. Here’s what they were talking about.

• Eighteen NASA-sponsored project team members presented discoveries made with volunteers on topics from solar eclipses to global freshwater lake monitoring and  exoplanet research.
• Overall, 175 posters and presentations featured the work of volunteers (up from 137 in 2023).
• Overall, 363 scientists and presenters at the conference described themselves as being involved in citizen science research (up from 201 in 2023).

Two dozen scientists at the meeting gathered for lunch in the atrium of the National Portrait Gallery to talk about doing NASA science with volunteers. They discussed projects about asteroids, landslide hazard prediction, solar eclipse science, water quality, martian clouds, and more. Science done with volunteers is often called citizen science or participatory science – it does not require citizenship in any particular country. “Between the immense datasets being collected by NASA missions and the perennial need to open wide the doors to science so everyone can experience the joy and rewards of doing research together, citizen science is needed now more than ever!” said Sarah Kirn, the participatory science strategist at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland.” You can join one of NASA’s many participatory science projects right here!