This technical report summarizes the GLOBE Observer dataset from 1 April 2016 to 1 December 2019. GLOBE Observer is an ongoing NASA-sponsored international citizen science project that is part of the Global Learning & Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. GLOBE Observer is the largest citizen science project in the Earth Science Division at NASA. Participants use the GLOBE Observer mobile app (launched in 2016) to collect atmospheric, hydrologic, and terrestrial observations. 38,000 participants have contributed 320,000 observations worldwide, including 1,000,000 geotagged photographs. It would take an individual more than 13 years to replicate this effort. Comparing the same data types between the GLOBE Observer app and the formal GLOBE Program, the app doubled data volume and substantially increased geographic coverage over the study period. GLOBE Observer data are publicly available at observer.globe.gov.

Forests are becoming drier due to a warming climate thus increasing the risk of wildfires. In recent years, wildfires have grown larger and more severe. In the U.S., over 80% of wildfires are human-caused and such events can substantially extend the fire season. At the same time, more and more people are living in areas where wildfires can burn. Recent fires have illustrated the devastating consequences of fires in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). In this context, the ability to rapidly assess fuel load is crucial in assessing and managing the risk of wildfires. Current methods for monitoring fuel loads (e.g., FIREMON, Brown’s Transect) are accurate but time- and personnel-intensive. The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Observer Fire Fuel app is being developed using the Photoload Sampling Technique to offer options in rapidly assessing fuel loads by 1) providing citizen scientists with a fast and easy method to monitor WUI fuel loads, enabling them to contribute to the knowledge of fuels in their communities, and empowering them to think more about how fuels might be managed in their area; and 2) offering natural resource managers and fire science researchers a detailed, scientific application that primarily aids experts already studying fuels to better collect the fuels data they need. This poster will provide an overview of the GLOBE Observer Fire Fuel app and the current app development status. We will highlight the value and opportunity the power of smartphones and tablets offer to rapidly assess fuel loads via an app-based method compared to collecting the data on paper. We greatly welcome input from the fire science community at this point of the fire fuel app development.