NASA
BEGINS NEW YEAR WITH INTERNATIONAL ARCTIC OZONE STUDY
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1 | Click
for animation - 2.3 MB | NASA
researchers, and more than 350 scientists from the United States, European Union,
Canada, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Poland, Russia and Switzerland, are working together
this winter to measure ozone and other atmospheric gases. The scientists will
use aircraft, large and small balloons, ground-based instruments and satellites. The
Arctic campaign runs from Jan. 8 through Feb. 6, 2003. Flights of large balloons
will augment the aircraft campaign, extending the measurement period to late March
2003.
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2 | | This
second SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE II) campaign will
be conducted in close collaboration with the European Commission. It is sponsored
by the VINTERSOL (Validation of International Satellites & Study of Ozone
Loss) campaign. (SAGE III stands for the third Stratospheric Aerosol & Gas
Experiment.) SOLVE takes place in Kiruna, Sweden, the site of the first winter
(1999-2000) international effort (SOLVE I). NASA's
SAGE III satellite instrument is being used to quantitatively assess ozone loss
in the higher latitudes. SAGE III was launched onboard a Russian Meteor-3M spacecraft
on December 10, 2001. The validation of the SAGE III observations is a principal
goal of SOLVE II. SOLVE II is sponsored by NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, dedicated
to better understanding and protecting our home planet.
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3 | Click
for animation - 4 MB | "The
primary goals of the joint SOLVE II-VINTERSOL campaign are to further understanding
of ozone loss processes in the Arctic, and provide coincident observations between
the airborne and SAGE III measurements. This comparison will enable the satellite
scientists to critically and quantitatively assess the in-space performance of
their instruments to measure profiles of ozone, aerosols, and water vapor over
the Earth," said Michael Kurylo, SOLVE II co- Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters,
Washington. Ozone
studies are important, because the ozone layer prevents the sun's harmful ultraviolet
radiation from reaching the Earth's surface. Ultraviolet radiation is a primary
cause of skin cancer. Without protective upper-level ozone, there would be no
life on Earth.
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4 | | During
the campaign of 1999-2000, record ozone losses of 70 percent were observed at
altitudes around 18 kilometers (11 miles), and a great deal was learned about
the processes leading to the rapid ozone loss in the Arctic. The SOLVE II campaign
will add to that body of knowledge. During
the coming winter, scientists in SOLVE II-VINTERSOL will work toward verifying
the accuracy of measurements from current Earth observing satellites. The in situ
and remote sensing measurements taken aboard these aircraft will provide a unique
data set for comparison with the SAGE III instruments and other satellite instruments.
Teams from the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (France's National Center for
Space Studies) and NASA will launch research balloons carrying payloads weighing
up to several hundred pounds from Kiruna. A network of over 30 stations of ground-based
instruments will take atmospheric readings over a wide area to show how the chemical
composition of Arctic stratosphere evolves through the whole winter.
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5 | | VINTERSOL
is a pan-European campaign involving researchers supported by the European Commission
and national research agencies. Although
the previously scheduled Media Week has been canceled, the press may schedule
interviews with key scientists by contacting Cynthia O'Carroll at 301/614-5563.
NASA
JOINS INTERNATIONAL OZONE STUDY IN ARCTIC
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Image
6 | | NASA
researchers will join more than 350 scientists from the United States, the European
Union, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Poland, Russia and Switzerland this winter
to measure ozone and other atmospheric gases using aircraft, large and small balloons,
ground-based instruments and satellites. This
second SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE II) campaign will
be conducted in close collaboration with the European Commission, sponsored by
the VINTERSOL (Validation of International Satellites and Study of Ozone Loss)
campaign. (SAGE III stands for the third Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment.)
SOLVE will take place in Kiruna, Sweden, the site of the first international effort
during the winter of 1999-2000.
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|
Image
7 | | "The
primary goals of the joint SOLVE II-VINTERSOL campaign are to further understanding
of ozone loss processes in the Arctic, and verify that satellite observations
of the ozone layer are accurate from space," said Michael Kurylo, SOLVE II
co-Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters, Washington. Ozone
studies are important because the ozone layer prevents the sun's harmful ultraviolet
radiation from reaching the Earth's surface. Ultraviolet radiation is a primary
cause of skin cancer. Without protective upper-level ozone, there would be no
life on Earth. The
Arctic campaign will run from Jan. 8 through Feb. 6, 2003. Flights of large balloons
will augment the aircraft campaign, extending the measurement period from late
November 2002 to late March 2003. During
the campaign of 1999-2000, record ozone losses of 70 percent were observed at
altitudes around 18 kilometers (11 miles) and a great deal was learned about the
processes leading to the rapid ozone loss in the Arctic. The SOLVE II campaign
will add to that body of knowledge. During
the coming winter, scientists in SOLVE II-VINTERSOL also will work toward ensuring
the accuracy of measurements from current Earth observing satellites. Scientists
will take measurements of the stratosphere using a large suite of instruments
aboard NASA's DC-8 aircraft and the European high-flying aircraft M55 Geo-physica,
the German DLR Falcon. An instrument from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, Calif., will also fly on the M55 Geophysica. These planes will be based
in Kiruna. Research
balloons, carrying payloads weighing up to several hundred pounds will be launched
from Kiruna by teams from the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (France's National
Center for Space Studies) and NASA. A network of over 30 stations of ground-based
instruments will take atmospheric readings over a wide area, which will show how
the chemical composition of Arctic stratosphere evolves through the whole winter.
VINTERSOL
is a pan-European campaign involving researchers supported by the European Commission
and national research agencies. NASA's SAGE III satellite instrument is being
used to quantitatively assess ozone loss in the higher latitudes. SAGE III was
launched onboard a Russian Meteor-3M spacecraft on December 10, 2001. The validation
of the SAGE III observations is a principal goal of SOLVE II. SOLVE
II is sponsored by NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, dedicated to better understanding
and protecting our home planet.
NOTE TO EDITORS: The
SOLVE campaign will hold a media week beginning Monday, Jan. 27, 2003. During
that week, members of the media may schedule appointments for interviews with
specific researchers. Also, a "Media Day" open house will be held at
the Arena Arctica Hangar on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2003. Researchers will be available
throughout Media Day to answer questions and provide tours of the hangar and operations.
All
media visiting Arena Arctica must coordinate their visit during media week or
the open house with NASA Public Affairs and Kiruna Airport Security. Back
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