NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

For more information contact:

Gretchen Cook-Anderson Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-0836)

Kathleen Burton
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
(Phone: 650/604-1731)

Beth Hagenauer
Dryden Research Center
(Phone: 661/276-7690)

Rob Gutro
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-4044)

Chris Rink
Langley Research Center Langley, Va.
(Phone: 757/864-6786)

Jana Goldman
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(Phone: 301/713-2483 x181)

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Caption for Item 1: THE INTEX MISSION FLIGHT TRACKS

Several aircraft will fly during INTEX, including the DC-8 and the WP-3. Their flight paths are depicted by the thin red line and the thick black lines over the U.S. and out into the North Atlantic Ocean. CREDIT: NASA Ames

Caption for Item 2: KEY ELEMENTS OF THE INTEX MISSION

In Summer, 2004 several coordinated experiments will study air quality, intercontinental transport, the carbon cycle, climate change and radiation balance in air masses carried across the US, over the Atlantic, and onward to Europe. It will involve satellites, airplanes, ships and 3-D computer models. INTEX will also serve to make sure satellite data is correct. CREDIT: NASA Ames

Caption for Item 3: VIEWING AIR QUALITY IN NEW ENGLAND

NOAA / University of New Hampshire, AIRMAP program is part of the INTEX mission. AIRMAP maps New England ís changing climate and air quality. Above is a photograph of the White Mountains, from the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire, one of the monitoring stations. CREDIT: NOAA

Caption for Item 4: MAPPING EMISSIONS

These images were created from computer modeling, to show 3-dimensional emissions of Formaldehyde (HCHO) which is a precursor of carbon monoxide. These computer model outputs enable scientists to see how much HCHO lingers from the surface to the upper atmosphere. The darker areas on the top map indicate higher concentrations. The bottom image maps isoprene. It is emitted from plants and trees, has been detected in tobacco smoke and automobile exhaust, and was identified in human breath. Isoprene is a cancer-causing agent. Yellow and red in this image, indicate higher levels. CREDIT: Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling Group, Harvard University

Caption for Item 5: HOW INSTRUMENTS WORK TOGETHER

These images show how satellites, planes and data gathered on the ground all work together to provide the most accurate information during the ICARTT portion of the INTEX mission. ICARTT is a coordinated atmospheric chemistry campaign over eastern North America and the North Atlantic in summer 2004. CREDIT: Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling Group, Harvard University

Caption for Item 6: NASA's DC-8 AIRCRAFT

NASA's DC-8 aircraft will be used during INTEX. NASA's large Airborne Science research aircraft, a modified DC-8 airliner, displayed new colors in a check flight Feb. 24, 2004, over its home base, the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, California. CREDIT: NASA Dryden

High resolution image

Caption for Item 7: NOAA'S RONALD H. BROWN VESSEL SAMPLES AIR QUALITY

NOAA's Ronald H. Brown vessel is using state-of-the-art instrumentation to collect samples as part of a New England Air Quality Study. The vessel is shown here at the NOAA site is Docking in Portsmouth, NH. CREDIT: NOAA

Caption for Item 8: THE INTEX MISSION LOGO

The Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-NA) is a major NASA science campaign to understand the transport and transformation of gases and aerosols on transcontinental and intercontinental scales and their impact on air quality and climate. A particular focus in this study is to quantify and characterize the inflow and outflow of pollution over North America. The experiment will be supported by forecasts from meteorological and chemical models, surface and satellite observations, and ozone probe releases. CREDIT: NASA Ames

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June 28, 2004 - (date of web publication)

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INTEX-NA objectives include identifying the quantity of gas and aerosols that flow from North America to the Atlantic Ocean, understanding the transport and chemical changes of the gases over the ocean, and assessing the global impact of this flow on air quality and climate. The detailed observations made possible by INTEX-NA will support the enhanced validation of data from NASA's Terra and Aqua and the European Space Agency's Envisat satellites.

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The experiment will quantify the North American import and export of ozone and associated pollutant gases, aerosols and long-lived greenhouse gases. Scientists will make sensitive measurements from airplanes, satellites, balloons, and ground-based networks. Researchers will use sophisticated models to analyze data to propose a big picture view of pollutant transport, transformation, and impact on air quality and climate.

"This effort is important, because it is the first time a coordinated worldwide campaign has been launched to establish a benchmark reading from which global atmospheric policies can be developed," said lead scientist Dr. Hanwant Singh of NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

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The NASA DC-8 long-range aircraft is equipped as a flying laboratory carrying a suite of highly sensitive instruments. Other agencies' aircraft will fly over North America and the Atlantic to gather data. NASA's satellites will provide large-scale context for the airborne observations. Observations of carbon monoxide made from the Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument aboard NASA's Terra spacecraft and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) onboard the Aqua spacecraft, will show the locations of polluted air from fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning.

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Observations of aerosols from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer (MODIS) and Multi-Angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) will allow scientists to observe the distribution and transport of particulate matter over the North Atlantic.

"Understanding the transport and transformation of gases and aerosols on transcontinental and intercontinental scales is essential for the scientific understanding of air quality and its relationship to climate change," said Dr. Jim Gleason, INTEX-NA program manager.

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Scientists will conduct a second field experiment in spring 2006 to study pollution movements from Asia towards North America, to determine implications for North American air quality. The timing of the two phases will allow scientists to look for seasonal variations in the global flow of pollution.

The INTEX-NA mission is coordinated under the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT). The United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and France will conduct concurrent airborne campaigns. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.; the U.S. Department of Energy, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y.; California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.; and the Meteorological Service of Canada, round out the INTEX-NA North American partners.

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NASA's Earth Science Enterprise is dedicated to understanding the Earth as an integrated system and applying Earth System Science to improve prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards using the unique vantage point of space.

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For more information visit these websites:

NASA’s INTEX-NA campaign

NOAA Aeronomy laboratory

NASA’s Earth Science enterprise

NASA’s Atmospheric Sciences Data Center

NASA’s Sunphotometer/Satellite Team

NOAA Aeronomy Laboratory

New England Air Quality Study

International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT)

Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation of Anthropogenic Pollution (ITCT) program

New England Atmospheric Investigation, Regional Modeling, Analysis and Prediction (AIRMAP) program

Harvard University Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling Group

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