“ … the
power of citizen science is not going to be kept in a tidy box. The potential
of citizen science will still surprise us.”
-Sharman Apt Russell
Power and surprise: two intriguing elements of any person’s
life. There are reasons why people
revel in the unexpected and yearn for power; such heady feelings offer welcome
interruptions to the repetition of daily life. And according to OSU Press
author Sharman Apt Russell, the field of citizen science offers both.
The aforementioned quote appears in Russell’s provoking Diary of a Citizen Scientist, 
published
in 2014. A teacher and amateur scientist herself, Russell uses her own
experiences to demonstrate the growing field’s immense personal and public benefit.
Diary of a Citizen Scientist encourages
readers to pursue their passions, all the while contributing to something
bigger than themselves. Luckily for her readers, there is no dearth of diverse
opportunities. In fact, a growing project facilitated in part by Oregon State
University researchers centers around the very idea of “bigger.”
Introducing “the blob”: an abnormally warm section of the
Pacific Ocean, located just off the western coast of the United States.
Researchers at OSU and the University of Oxford believe the warmer water may
correlate with current drought conditions and unusual weather patterns. Based
upon the knowledge that ocean temperatures affect continental weather
conditions, the scientists theorize that the blob and Oregon’s current heat wave
are far from mutually exclusive. In order to prove—or disprove—their
hypotheses, however, a computer model comparing historic data with present
conditions must be run thousands of times. That’s where you come in!
The research team is looking for capable volunteers
willing to download and run the climate model on their personal computers. The
program, according to a report by the Oregonian,
runs while the computer is not in use, but pauses automatically whenever the
owner begins utilizing his or her device. Thanks to an accompanying set of
detailed graphics, volunteers can watch the project and data coalesce
instantaneously.
“People can watch the results unfold in real time,” Phil
Mote, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, told the Oregonian. “Volunteers can find out at
the same time we do.”
To participate in the project, simply put on your citizen
scientist cap and follow the instructions on www.climateprediction.net. Within
minutes, you’ll be contributing to a study that may solve the mystery of
western North America’s persistent drought.
GIF from www.climateprediction.net
Russell explains the prevalence and importance of such
projects at the very beginning of Diary
of a Citizen Scientist by noting that “citizen science projects are
proliferating like the neural net in a prenatal brain,” completely reshaping
the way research is conducted. Who knows: maybe it’s time for you to spark some
synapses yourself and be a part of the research revolution.