![]() |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]()
NASA AIRBORNE EXPEDITION CHASES
CLIMATE, OZONE
QUESTIONS The
study will begin the
week of July 16 with coordinated observations from satellites,
high-flying NASA
research aircraft, balloons and ground-based radar. The targets of
these measurements
are the gases, aerosols and ice crystals that flow from the top of the
strong
storm systems that form over the warm tropical ocean. These storm
systems pump
air more than 40,000 feet above Earth’s surface, where it can
influence the composition
of the stratosphere, home of our planet’s protective ozone
layer. The
outflow of these storms
also produces vast swaths of icy cirrus clouds that play an important
role in
how much infrared energy is trapped in Earth's atmosphere. Scientists
want to
document the full life cycle of these widespread clouds -- down to the
size and
shape of their tiny ice crystals -- to better understand how Earth will
react
to a warming climate. "This
campaign is an
unprecedented opportunity to use NASA's complete suite of satellite and
airborne Earth-observing capabilities to investigate a largely
unexplored
region of the atmosphere," said Michael J. Kurylo, a TC4 program
scientist
at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "This tropical transitional layer of
the
atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere plays a key
role in
both climate change science and atmospheric ozone chemistry. The data
will
yield new insights into the composition of this layer and the impact of
the
deep clouds that penetrate the atmosphere up into this layer." The
effort
runs through Aug. 8. It is NASA's largest Earth science field campaign
of the
year. "A
mission this complex, with three aircraft, deployment sites in Costa
Rica and
Panama, and more than 400 people involved, can be a real challenge,"
said Mission
Project Manager Marilyn Vasques of NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett
Field,
Calif. Soaring
high above the cloud systems will be a NASA ER-2 aircraft, which can
reach an
altitude of 70,000 feet, or 3 miles into the stratosphere. A NASA WB-57
aircraft
will fly into the cirrus clouds and sample the chemical make-up of the
storm
systems’ outflow. NASA's DC-8 aircraft will probe the region
between the
troposphere and the stratosphere (known as the tropopause transitional
layer)
with remote-sensing instruments. It also will sample cloud particles
and air
chemistry at lower altitudes. A weather radar and meteorological
balloons will
be deployed in Observations
from seven satellites will complement the aircraft measurements with
large-scale views of many different features of the atmosphere. For
example, the
Aura spacecraft will focus on the chemical composition of the
tropopause
transitional layer and measure ozone, water vapor, carbon monoxide and
particles. NASA's Aqua satellite will map thin cirrus clouds, some of
which are
so faint they are nearly invisible to the naked eye. Instruments on the
CALIPSO
and CloudSat satellites will pierce the atmosphere to provide vertical
profiles
of clouds and aerosol particles that can change how clouds form. Along
the coasts of These
tropical convective
systems also may play a role in the recovery of the ozone layer.
Estimates of
ozone destruction in the stratosphere typically minimize the impact of
short-lived chemical compounds that presumably could not survive the
long
journey there. The Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters is
sponsoring the $12
million mission. For
more information about NASA's TC4 mission,
visit: ### Contact:
Recommend this Article to a Friend Back to: News |
Subscribe to the Earth Observatory About the Earth Observatory Contact Us Privacy Policy and Important Notices Responsible NASA Official: Lorraine A. Remer Webmaster: Goran Halusa We're a part of the Science Mission Directorate |