GLOBE Observer vs GrowApp

The GLOBE Observer app enables you to make observations of your environment. GLOBE Observer is the app of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. The GLOBE Program is an international science and education program that provides students and people of all ages worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. By using the GLOBE Observer app, you contribute scientific data to your community, students and scientists worldwide, including researchers at NASA, NOAA, and other science research institutions. GLOBE Observer allows all users to contribute observations of clouds, mosquito habitats, land cover, and trees. Trained and certified users can also use the app to submit additional environmental measurements from all GLOBE protocols. GLOBE Clouds allows observers to make regular observations of Earth’s cloud cover and compare them to satellite observations. With GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper, users locate mosquito habitats, observe and identify mosquito larvae, and reduce the potential threat of mosquito borne disease. GLOBE Land Cover is designed to allow users to document what is on the land (trees, grass, buildings, etc.). GLOBE Trees asks users to estimate a tree’s height by taking pictures of trees with their device and answering a few questions. Additional capabilities may be added. Visit us at https://www.globe.gov and https://observer.globe.gov.

GrowApp helps you track and visualize changes in the appearance - the 'phenology' - of trees and other vegetation. The phenology of a particular tree at a certain location and a certain moment in time is stored in the GrowApp cloud-database by adding a photo taken with this app. The app presents a geographic map with the locations of all photos taken by all users. A photo can be viewed by tapping the corresponding photo location. If the photo location happens to be near your current location, you can add new photos of the same subject. The app then shows a semi-transparent version of the previous photo on top of the camera view so that camera and photo can be visually aligned. Once more than one photo of the same subject at the same location has been taken, the app automatically constructs time-lapsed versions of these photos. If enough photos are taken over sufficiently large intervals, the resulting animations should clearly show all aspects of the changing vegetation phenology over time.