This is part of a new series of posts that highlight the importance of Earth and space science data and its contributions to society. Posts in this series showcase data facilities and data scientists; explain how Earth and space science data is collected, managed and used; explore what this data tells us about the planet; and delve into the challenges and issues involved in managing and using data. This series is intended to demystify Earth and space science data, and share how this data shapes our understanding of the world.

By Rebecca Fowler

The popular science storytelling event Ignite@AGU returned to the 2015 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco, CA last December. Sponsored by the NASA Applied Sciences Program and held in partnership with the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) and AGU’s Earth and Space Science Informatics (ESSI) Focus Group, the event featured 13 scientists sharing ideas and stories that made the audience laugh, cry and better understand our world.

Ignite talks are not traditional scientific conference talks—speakers pack humor, creativity and inspiration into fast-moving, five-minute presentations. The 2015 talks cover a variety of science topics, from the impact of climate change on residents of Greenland to measuring lakes from space using the Lake Level Automated Monitoring Algorithm (LLAMA) developed by researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center.

Watch all of the talks, learn more about the 2015 event and get inspired. Later this year ESIP will recruit speakers for the 2016 AGU Fall Meeting Ignite.

— Rebecca Fowler is a science communicator and the Director of Communications and Outreach at the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP).