{"id":11295,"date":"2024-06-21T12:03:25","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T16:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/coordinating-an-airborne-lab-across-the-globe-with-nasas-earth-science-project-office\/"},"modified":"2024-06-21T12:03:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T16:03:25","slug":"coordinating-an-airborne-lab-across-the-globe-with-nasas-earth-science-project-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/coordinating-an-airborne-lab-across-the-globe-with-nasas-earth-science-project-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Coordinating an Airborne Lab Across the Globe with NASA\u2019s Earth Science Project Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coordinating an Airborne Lab Across the Globe with NASA\u2019s Earth Science Project Office<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\n
ASIA-AQ DC-8 aircraft flies over Bangkok, Thailand <\/strong>to monitor seasonal haze from fire smoke and urban pollution. Photo credit: Rafael Luis M\u00e9ndez Pe\u00f1a.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Tracking the spread of harmful air pollutants across large regions requires aircraft, satellites, and diverse team of scientists. NASA\u2019s global interest in the threat of air pollution extends into Asia, where it works with partners on the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ<\/a>). \u00a0This international mission integrates satellite data and aircraft measurements with local air quality ground monitoring and modeling efforts across Asia.<\/p>\n

Orchestrating a mission of this scale requires complicated agreements between countries, the coordination of aircraft and scientific instrumentation, and the mobilization of scientists from across the globe. To make this possible, ARC\u2019s Earth Science Project Office (ESPO<\/a>) facilitated each phase of the campaign, from site preparation and aircraft deployment to sensitive data management and public outreach.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuccessfully meeting the ASIA-AQ mission logistics requirements was an incredible effort in an uncertainty-filled environment and a very constrained schedule to execute and meet those requirements,\u201d explains ASIA-AQ Project Manager Jhony Zavaleta. \u201cSuch effort drew on the years long experience on international shipping expertise, heavy equipment operations, networking and close coordination with international service providers and all of the U.S. embassies at each of our basing locations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Map<\/a><\/figure>
\n
Map of planned ASIA-AQ operational regions<\/strong>. Yellow circles indicate the original areas of interest for flight sampling. The overlaid colormap shows annual average nitrogen dioxide (NO2<\/sub>) concentrations observed by the TROPOMI satellite with red colors indicating the most polluted locations.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Understanding Air Quality Globally<\/strong><\/p>\n

ASIA-AQ benefits our understanding of air quality and the factors controlling its daily variability by investigating the ways that air quality can be observed and quantified. The airborne measurements collected during the campaign are directly integrated with existing satellite observations of air quality, local air quality monitoring networks, other available ground assets, and models to provide a level of detail otherwise unavailable to advance understanding of regional air quality and improve future integration of satellite and ground monitoring information.<\/p>\n

ESPO\u2019s Mission-Critical Contributions<\/strong><\/p>\n