NASA, Air Resources Board to Examine California Air Quality

PALMDALE, Calif., June 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA and scientists from
the California Air Resources Board are conducting a series of research flights
this month that are examining the atmosphere over the state to better
understand the chemical dynamics of smog and greenhouse gases.

NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory is flying from the NASA Dryden Aircraft
Operations Center, Palmdale, over an area from San Diego as far north as
Trinidad Head along the coast north of Eureka. The DC-8 is configured for
atmospheric composition measurements as part of a large environmental science
campaign to study the impact of air pollution on the Arctic's atmospheric
chemistry and changing climate. It will use the same suite of instruments for
the California Air Resources missions. NASA is also sending a specially
outfitted P-3 aircraft from the NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View,
Calif., and an ER-2 from NASA Dryden to fly over the state for additional
sampling during the same time period.

The flights will gather samples aimed at helping the Air Resources Board
obtain a better picture of greenhouse gas emission sources throughout the
state. Other goals of the flights are to understand what type of pollution is
being blown into the state from off-shore vessel traffic and to distinguish
the differences in air mass chemistry between urban and rural areas.

"We will provide highly advanced capability to develop critically needed
information on pollutant emissions and atmospheric concentrations both
offshore and onshore over California, allowing us to better model air quality
and future climate change," said Hanwant Singh, an Ames project scientist.

"This collaboration will give us information on how pollution is created,
transported and even destroyed," said Bart Croes, chief of the Air Resources
Board's Research Division. "The use of highly sophisticated technology, data
gathered at levels far beyond our normal reach and collaboration with NASA's
very knowledgeable technicians and scientists, combine to create a rare
opportunity."

NASA Dryden's DC-8 mission manager Frank Cutler said the airborne laboratory
will fly four flights of varying altitudes between June 18 and 25, including
low-level passes over California's Central Valley and coastal areas. One
mission will take the aircraft over the ocean off Santa Barbara to investigate
areas of natural methane seepage.

Flights will be coordinated with a series of NASA Earth observing satellites
as they pass over the state. Researchers can use these simultaneous
measurements to validate satellite data and improve modeled predictions of the
impact of atmospheric pollution on California.

The Air Resources Board, a department of the California Environmental
Protection Agency, has been a leader in developing and implementing aggressive
pollution control measures to combat smog and particulate matter for 40 years.
The agency is also working to reduce 25 percent of the state's greenhouse gas
emissions by 2020, as required by the Global Warming Solutions Act that
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed in 2006.

For additional information about California's Air Resources Board, contact Leo
Kay at 916-849-9843.

For more information about ARCTAS, visit: http://www.espo.nasa.gov/arctas

For more information about NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and its research
projects, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden

To receive status reports and news releases on major projects or topics at
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SOURCE NASA

Beth Hagenauer of NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, +1-661-276-7960,
beth.hagenauer@nasa.gov, or Robin Croft of NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett
Field, Calif., +1-650-604-6787, deborah.r.croft@nasa.gov