NASA scientists study pollution's origins and air quality impact(Forwarded)

Rob Gutro
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. March 9, 2006
(301) 286-4044

Anatta
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder
(303) 497-8604

PRESS RELEASE: 06-020

NASA SCIENTISTS STUDY POLLUTION'S ORIGINS AND AIR QUALITY IMPACT

In Mexico City, a team of researchers from NASA and other institutions
have kicked off the first phase of one of the most complex field campaigns
ever undertaken in atmospheric chemistry. Researchers will use data from
research satellites, aircraft and ground-based instruments to investigate
the transformation of air pollution as it flows downwind from Mexico City
and learn more about impacts of air pollution on human health and climate.

From March 1 through May 15, NASA and its partners will carry out the
Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-B). The experiment
is the second of a broader two-phase NASA project to study the transport
and evolution of gases and tiny particles, called aerosols, across
continents and to assess their impact on regional air quality and climate.
During INTEX-B, researchers will pursue the origins of pollution that
ultimately finds its way to North America and affects air in the
troposphere, the lower part of the atmosphere where we live and breathe.

As part of INTEX-B, NASA will participate in a field study today through
March 29 called Megacity Impacts of Regional and Global Environments
(MIRAGE), led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR),
Boulder, Colo. The results are expected to be applicable to the world's
megacities, those with 10 million or more inhabitants. Other participants
include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S.
Department of Energy, several U.S. universities, and more than a dozen
Mexican partners.

"There has been significant growth in the size and number of megacities
like Mexico City, the second largest in the world with 18 million
residents," said atmospheric chemist Hanwant Singh, lead mission scientist
for INTEX-B at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. "These
cities generate atmospheric concentrations of pollutants that routinely
exceed international standards. We must determine how this pollution from
other regions affects our air quality. Ultimately, this is very much tied
to human health."

Both high-flying NASA DC-8 and DLR Falcon-20 aircraft and low-flying
aircraft like the National Science Foundation (NSF)/National Center for
Atmospheric Research's (NCAR) C-130 and the U.S. Department Of Energy's
(DOE) G-1, will be used to provide a comprehensive radiation, chemical,
physical, and visual measurements of gases and aerosols. INTEX-B
researchers will also closely coordinate their observations from planes
with that of NASA satellites, especially Aura, Aqua, and Terra, as well as
the European Envisat.

"There is tremendous value in linking data from the 40 instruments aboard
the DC-8 aircraft to that captured by our research satellites to get a
comprehensive picture of the composition of the air transported to and
from the U.S.," said Bruce Doddridge, director of the Tropospheric
Chemistry Program at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "With the experience
gained in comparing the aircraft and satellite measurements made during
this campaign, we can more confidently apply our satellite measurements to
studying air quality all over the world."

"The world is urbanizing," said NCAR scientist Sasha Madronich, one of the
principal investigators for MIRAGE. "If we can understand the pollution
impacts of Mexico City, we can apply this new knowledge to other urban
areas across the globe."

Last year's first phase of INTEX explored the makeup and transport of air
from the U.S. to Europe. The second part of NASA's INTEX-B project will be
completed in April when Asian pollution transport to North America is at
its peak. The INTEX-B and MIRAGE field studies are components of a set of
simultaneous field campaigns collectively called Megacity Initiative:
Local and Global Research Observations (MILAGRO).

For more detail on NASA's involvement in INTEX-B on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/...transport.html