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Up, up and, well, tethered

This summer, Millersville students conducted scientific research for NASA to learn about pollution.

At Maryland’s Aberdeen Proving Ground this summer, Dr. Rich Clark and eight undergraduate meteorology students conducted field research for a high profile NASA project.

People usually try to avoid pollution, but for a scientific project this summer, eight undergraduate meteorology students put themselves in the thick of it. The students worked under the guidance of Dr. Richard Clark, chair of the Department of Earth Sciences and professor of meteorology at Millersville, on a project for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This semester, they will share their knowledge of their field experience with other students as part of an advanced-level course titled Meteorological Instruments, Measurement and Observing Systems.

The NASA project, known as DISCOVER-AQ, focused on improving the interpretation of satellite observations to diagnose near-surface conditions relating to air quality.

While NASA satellites track air quality in the atmosphere and ground-monitoring stations evaluate surface pollutants, the challenge has been to measure pollutants between the ground and the satellites. To fill this void, the project employed a schedule of low-flying research aircraft and the expertise of Millersville University’s meteorology program.

“NASA contacted us because of our expertise in boundary layer field studies using tethered aerostats,” said Clark. “This year marks 20 years of field research using tethered balloons as our principal observing facility.”

To collect the needed data, military planes – carrying scientists and special instruments – flew low-flight patterns along the congested area of the Baltimore Beltway and the Interstate 95 corridor on select days throughout the month of July. On the ground, at Maryland’s U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground, were Clark and his team of student researchers.

“This is a great location for the project,” said Clark, who remembers another project in the Philadelphia area and the issues with obtaining waivers from the Federal Aviation Administration for using tethered balloons in commercial airspace. “On a military base, the airspace is restricted and waivers need only be approved by range operations.”

Throughout the project, air quality measurements at the surface were continually collected and analyzed by a number of university groups including Millersville. When the team received notification that the plane had taken off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague, Va., the Millersville crew went into high gear.

Millersville’s tethered aerostat (balloon) carried sensitive equipment to measure air quality at an altitude of 2,500 feet.

The real choreography started with maneuvering the tethered aerostat from its protective shelter – a huge tarped Quonset hut the size of a three-car garage. The balloon itself is the size of a car but shaped liked an oblate spheroid (e.g., a bagel without a hole), and required all hands on deck including those of the professor. Meanwhile, students would prepare select instruments to be carried aloft with the balloon. For example, one instrument, the Moly converter, had to be quickly heated to a temperature of 325 degrees Celsius in order to obtain accurate measurements aloft. This and other sensitive equipment were carefully packed into an insulated container, which was then carried to an altitude of 2,500 feet by the balloon.

The balloon carried instruments to measure temperature, pressure, altitude, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, particle scattering, condensation nuclei, ozone, and oxides of nitrogen (NO, NO2 and NOX) at various times and heights throughout the low flying aircraft’s missions.

At the field site, each student had assigned responsibilities with specific instruments and equipment. Mike Charnick, a senior, was in charge of an instrument that sent sound waves signals 500-1,000 meters high into the atmosphere. The acoustic sodar, as the instrument is called, produced a loud pulse that was influenced by variations in air density and measured wind speed and temperature. Fortunately, an insulated enclosure cushioned the intense chirping sound from nearby personnel.

Clark and his students prepared the site, set up different instrument platforms, built several of the instrument shelters from scratch and jerry-rigged units to carry expensive and sensitive instruments aloft to meet the objectives of the project under the unique field conditions.

There were 15 different instruments monitored by Millersville students dotting the site – far more than the normal one or two on many sites. This meant more learning opportunities for students, which they can now share with fellow students this semester in a classroom setting.

For most of the students, it was their first field experience, but certainly not their last. “Nothing else has taught me more than this field experience,” said Gina Mazzuca, a junior. When asked if she would sign on for another field project, the answer came back quickly, “in a heartbeat.”

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