February 21, 2001 By Kevin Conner Staff Writer

WATKINSVILLE -- A Canadian scientist who visited Malcom Bridge Middle School this week told students their school would play an integral role in a worldwide study of weather patterns.

Malcom Bridge is one of 14 middle schools on the planet where a Global Forest weather station has been installed. The station records local weather patterns and sends that data via the World Wide Web to Canadian climatologist Andrew Weaver at the University of Victoria. Other weather stations have been installed at schools in Israel, Australia, Canada and England.

Reese Halter, a Canadian biologist, spoke to Malcom Bridge kids Monday and Tuesday about his organization, Global Forest, which sets up the weather stations.

"We believe you guys are the future, and we have selected 14 spots on Earth -- 14 middle schools -- for their level of excellence and their science teachers' commitment to science," Halter told students Tuesday.

Global Forest comprises a group of scientists from varying disciplines who research climatic and other changes that could be harmful to the planet. In the process, they hope to involve children as much as possible.

Malcom Bridge students help in transmitting the weather data, which can be observed on the World Wide Web at www.gfawesome.org, a site primarily for children.

Students update the site daily, and weather conditions can be checked retroactively for five months. The main Global Forest site on the Web is www.globalforestscience.org.

"(Malcom Bridge students) are part of a long-term experiment to see if and to the extent that a climate change is occurring," Halter said.Halter believes that the world's increasing dependence on fossil fuels is raising carbon dioxide levels, trapping heat and causing global warming. Halter bluntly stated his concerns about global warming and its long-term effect on the Earth.

"The polar ice caps, particularly in Antarctica, are diminishing," he told the students. "That means we're getting more water in our oceans. Many of our biggest cities throughout the world are on the coast and in an extreme situation they could flood."

Halter said the weather stations allow students to get hands-on experience in understanding weather patterns. He mentioned a middle school in Arcata, Calif., where he keeps a weather station that helped students determine a wind shift that caused an intended controlled burn to get out of hand.

The fire, started by local forestry officials, erupted into a full-scale fire that scarred thousands of acres, Halter said.

"The kids in the weather class were able to determine that the fire escaped because the wind patterns had changed 180 degrees," he said. "The (U.S.) Forest Service didn't know that. They claimed they did, but they didn't."

Halter's presentations fit in with the recent statewide proclamation of this week as "Severe Weather Awareness Week" -- a week designated by Gov. Roy Barnes that encourages people to be prepared for severe weather. A statewide tornado drill will be held at 11:30 a.m. today.