Contact: Dane Konop FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(301) 713-2483 10/26/95
In one of the largest-ever experiments to determine the effects of atmospheric pollution on global climate, an international team of scientists will measure gasses and airborne particles over the Pacific Ocean south of Australia, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today.
In the experiment, which begins Nov. 15, scientists from NOAA and 43 other research institutions from 11 countries will measure the varying amounts of microscopic particles and gasses in the atmosphere, called aerosols, that can cool the Earth's surface by reflecting sunlight back into space. The experiment will provide more accurate and reliable information about the extent and distribution of these aerosols to scientists and policy makers concerned with human-induced changes in the global atmosphere.
Aerosols are visible as haze when present in large quantities. Although chemically complex, this haze is increasingly made up of sulphate particles, principally from fossil fuel combustion.
In the first phase of the experiment, dubbed ACE-1 for Aerosol Characterization Experiment, scientists will measure aerosols in the minimally polluted atmosphere south of Australia. These measurements of the "natural" chemical makeup of the atmosphere will serve as a baseline to compare with later measurements of other, more polluted areas of the globe.
Scientists will make measurements and collect air samples for one month using a sophisticated suite of instruments and vessels, including the NOAA Ship Discoverer, the Australian research vessel Southern Surveyor, the National Center for Atmospheric Research C- 130 aircraft, four satellites, and balloons carrying sampling instruments launched from Hobart, Australia. Land-based measurements will also be made at Cape Grim and Macquarie Island, Australia, and Baring Head, New Zealand.
Timothy Bates, a researcher from NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle who is aboard the Discoverer enroute to Hobart, reports, "We are continuously making atmospheric and seawater measurements along the ship's cruise track to Australia to obtain data on the physical size, chemical composition and solar reflectivity of atmospheric particles. The data set collected enroute will be extremely valuable in testing global aerosol climate models and in determining the processes controlling the distribution of these particles."
The NCAR C-130 will leave the United States Nov. 1 and make similar measurements enroute to Australia.
The atmospheric measurements in the Southwest Pacific Ocean in ACE-1 will be followed by measurements of the more polluted atmosphere of the North Atlantic in ACE-2 from June 15-July 31, 1997.
Major funding for ACE-1 is provided by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Bureau of Meteorology, and Antarctic Division, and the New Zealand National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research.
###Note to editors: Dr. Timothy Bates can be reached for interviews aboard the NOAA Ship Discoverer enroute to Australia via the Internet at Bates@Disco.PMEL.Gov. The Discoverer is expected to arrive in Hobart on or about Nov. 10.