Posted on 04/22/2007 5:44:05 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
LA JOLLA – To explore the link between climate change and air pollution, a La Jolla scientist and his colleagues will launch a trans-Pacific journey Tuesday with an unusual goal: to maneuver the nation's most advanced environmental research plane into the middle of a giant cloud of dust and soot. This and other plumes of polluted air from Asia can be the size of California. Their increasingly frequent appearance in recent years has generated substantial scientific scrutiny.
But the latest venture is believed to be the first in which researchers will follow a plume across the Pacific and take air samples at numerous elevations. The roughly $1 million project is led by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, part of the University of California San Diego, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Co-chief scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan of Scripps and his team aim to produce what a layman might think of as a cross-section or MRI of the cloud. The results are expected to boost the accuracy of climate models and enhance understanding of global warming.
“It will . . . help us examine how the dust and soot modify storm tracks and cloud systems across the Pacific, which influence North American weather patterns in major ways,” Ramanathan said. “(The project) will shed light on one of the major environmental issues of this decade.”
The study, titled the Pacific Dust Experiment, involves scientists from Korea, China, Japan and several U.S. agencies and universities.
It relies on a Gulfstream V jet aircraft packed with scientific gadgets. Among its special features: inlets to capture samples of outside air, particle counters to calculate the air's size and concentration, and spectrometers to measure solar radiation.
“There are some important new instruments available that do make better, more accurate measurements. They are faster so you can get from (the) aircraft more detailed data,” said Lynn Russell, a professor of atmospheric chemistry at Scripps, who helped outfit the Gulfstream V for experiments.
The plane has a nonstop range of about 6,000 miles and can reach an altitude of 51,000 feet, which is important for assessing the dust plume from top to bottom.
Each plume blows out of Asia, particularly in the spring, when sandstorms in the Gobi desert combine with smog and airborne metals from rapidly industrializing China and then float over the Pacific Ocean. Once there, the plume gets broken up by storm systems and continues its march toward North America.
An earlier study led by Ramanathan showed that more than three-quarters of the high-altitude soot particles that waft over the West Coast each spring are from Asia. He and others said those particles may play an important role in warming Earth's atmosphere by changing weather conditions above the Pacific Ocean.
Based on that study, Ramanathan and others are assessing how much soot is deposited over the Sierra Nevada and whether it alters snow-melt patterns.
But come Tuesday, the focus will be on the skies above the Pacific. Plans are for the Gulfstream V, owned by the National Science Foundation, to fly from near Boulder, Colo., to Anchorage, Alaska. From there, it will head to Japan and then reverse course.
“This is not the first (study) to look at Asian emissions, but it is the first one to go across the Pacific,” said Jeff Stith, co-chief scientist from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “We are not sure we are going to succeed yet.”
This trip also would be the first international journey for the plane. A follow-up mission could take place by early June.
In related studies, scientists are examining how dust particles from Asia might influence global temperatures and the water cycle. For instance, some of the dust in the plumes could help cool Earth by blocking or reflecting solar radiation. However, dark particles in those plumes might soak up heat and create the opposite effect.
At Scripps, Russell is interested in how the dust plumes alter the ocean. When they absorb sunlight, for example, these clouds dim the Pacific's surface and can diminish evaporation.
“We expect that if you reduce the evaporation enough, . . . then you don't have enough water (in the clouds) to provide rain or snow,” Russell said.
I thought it came from deserts ... At least it looks like it from the satellite photos I have seen. Last year they blamed the dust blowing off Africa for the non-existant hurricane season -- Why is that bad?
apparently it has some effect on the atmosphere, I reckun, maybe deadens or short circuits it perhaps.. just a thought, keep in mind I make no claim to be a rocket scientist or meteorologists nor do I hang out with them ,, well, except at FR, that is. ;-)
I’ve recently read that 25% of the pollution in the LA basic is from China.
This can’t be.
America is the cause of everything like this.
Celebrities would have told us about it by now right????
China has a huge pollution problem, but I seriously doubt it makes it across the Pacific. Volcano, yes that might, but doubtful surface air pollution would. You can see a lot of the satellite photos by looking around the MODIS site. Dust shows up, so does air pollution.
In the case of the dust quelling 2006 hurricane formation, I believe that most of this action took place closer to Africa than the US. The fact that the Sun is dead quite now means the weather is not going to heat up the oceans as much as normal. This sunspot cycle is particularly low -- so far. Space Weather is a good place to monitor the sun's going on.
Go here. Not the article I referenced but gives the general idea.
"In fact, on any spring or summer day, almost a third of the air high over Los Angeles, San Francisco and other California cities can be traced directly to Asia, researchers said."
"More stuff starting up over there means more stuff ending up over here," said UC Davis atmospheric scientist Steven Cliff."
"Usually, dust and industrial pollutants take from five days to two weeks to cross the Pacific to California."
Serious question, why should I believe anything written up in the LATimes.
I use the satellites(MODIS) and the real climate researchers for reference. Take a look at some of the MODIS observations.
Even the climate researchers are not telling the truth anymore. Show me where their money comes from. Just call me skeptical.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.