NASA Launches Airborne Study of Arctic Atmosphere, Air Pollution
- From: baalke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2008 17:56:18 -0700 (PDT)
April 1, 2008
Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@xxxxxxxx
RELEASE: 08-091
NASA LAUNCHES AIRBORNE STUDY OF ARCTIC ATMOSPHERE, AIR POLLUTION
WASHINGTON -- This month, NASA begins the most extensive field
campaign ever to investigate the chemistry of the Arctic's lower
atmosphere. The mission is poised to help scientists identify how air
pollution contributes to climate changes in the Arctic.
The recent decline of sea ice is one indication the Arctic is
undergoing significant environmental changes related to climate
warming. NASA and its partners plan to investigate the atmosphere's
role in this climate-sensitive region with the Arctic Research of the
Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS)
field campaign.
"It's important that we go to the Arctic to understand the
atmospheric
contribution to warming in a place that's rapidly changing," said Jim
Crawford, manager of the Tropospheric Chemistry Program at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. "We are in a position to provide the most
complete characterization to date for a region that is seldom
observed but critical to understanding climate change."
The campaign begins this week in Fairbanks, Alaska. NASA's DC-8, P-3
and B-200 aircraft will serve as airborne laboratories for the next
three weeks, carrying instruments to measure air pollution gases and
aerosols and solar radiation. Of particular interest is the formation
of the springtime "arctic haze." The return of sunlight to the Arctic
in the spring fuels chemical reactions of pollutants that have
accumulated over the winter after travelling long distances from
lower latitudes.
"The Arctic is a poster child of global change and we don't
understand
the processes that are driving that rapid change," said Daniel Jacob,
an ARCTAS project scientist at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
"We need to understand it better and that's why we're going."
ARCTAS is NASA's contribution to an international series of Arctic
field experiments that is part of the International Polar Year. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of
Energy also are sponsoring research flights from Fairbanks this month
in collaboration with NASA.
The wealth of data collected also will improve computer models used
to
study global atmospheric chemistry and climate. This ultimately will
provide scientists with a better idea of how pollutants are
transported to and around the Arctic and their impact on the
environment and climate.
"We haven't looked at pollution transport in a comprehensive
fashion,"
said Hanwant Singh, an ARCTAS project scientist at NASA Ames Research
Center, Moffett Field, Calif. "We can see Arctic haze coming in but
we don't know its composition or how it got there. One goal of ARCTAS
is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the aerosol
composition, chemistry and climate effects in the Arctic region."
The new aircraft observations also will help researchers interpret
data from NASA satellites orbiting over the Arctic, such as Aura,
Terra, and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite
Observation (CALIPSO). Interpreting satellite data can be difficult
in the Arctic because of extensive cloud cover, bright reflective
surfaces from snow and ice, and cold surface temperatures. For
example, it's difficult for researchers to look at satellite data and
distinguish between light reflected by clouds and light reflected
from white ice cover.
"NASA has invested a lot of resources in satellites that can be of
value for diagnosing effects of climate change," Jacob said.
"Satellites orbit over poles with good coverage and good opportunity,
but you really need to have aircraft observations supporting those to
make good interpretations of what satellites are telling you."
The new airborne view of the Arctic atmosphere combined with
satellite
data will provide scientists with a better understanding of the
atmospheric side of the climate question.
"We're interested in data that will help models better characterize
the current state of the atmosphere, to set a benchmark for them so
we can gain confidence in their ability to predict future warming in
the Arctic," Crawford said.
A second phase of the ARCTAS campaign takes place this summer from
Cold Lake in Alberta, Canada, where flights will focus on
measurements of emissions from forest fires. Researchers want to know
how the impact of naturally occurring fires in the region compares to
the pollution associated with human activity at lower latitudes.
Understanding the relative influence of each is important to
predictions of the Arctic's future climate.
For more information about the ARCTAS field campaign on the Web,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/arctas
-end-
.
- Prev by Date: Advanced LIGO Project Funded by National Science Foundation
- Next by Date: NASA Nobel Prize Recipient to Focus on Telescope Science Activities
- Previous by thread: Advanced LIGO Project Funded by National Science Foundation
- Next by thread: NASA Nobel Prize Recipient to Focus on Telescope Science Activities
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
