Robotic Planes Chase After Climate Data

NASA has newly begun to fly an unmanned aircraft, controlled completely by a robot and outfitted with scientific instruments that observe Earth's atmosphere with extensive detail. These newly fitted robo planes will help scientists and researchers on Earth to collect and analyze an even greater amount of data to help predict our climate and weather, more accurately. The three aircraft, have been named the Global Hawks, and can fly for up to 30 hours and travel for huge distances and at high altitudes; they can also gather more precise data than satellites and can be stationed to monitor an area for extended periods of time. They are able to obtain certian tymes of atmospheric and earth science data critical to helping us better understand nature's weather patterns. According to Robbie Hood, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration committee, "they could fly over a hurricane to monitor its intensity changes or fly over the arctic to monitor sea ice changes in higher detail". The planes will be equipped with 11 different instruments to take measurements and map aerosols and gases in the atmosphere, profile clouds, and gather meteorological data such as temperatures, winds, and pressures. The instruments onboard for the first mission include: a LIDAR instrument that uses a laser pulse to measure the shape, size, and density of clouds and aerosols; a spectrograph that measures and maps pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and aerosols; an ultraviolet photometer for ozone measurements; a gas chromatograph to calculate greenhouse gases; a handful of other instruments that can accurately measure atmospheric water vapor and ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons ; and high-definition cameras to image the ocean colors and learn about their biological processes. NASA acquired the aircraft from the U.S. Air Force in 2007. They were originally developed for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Now researchers are modifying them for their first extensive earth science missions. The researchers will also be able to sample parts of the atmosphere that they have not been able to reach or monitor for long durations--the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. That part of the atmosphere is "a crucial region that responds to and contributes to climate change at the surface, and we have come to realize that it is highly undersampled," says David Fahey, co-project scientist and a research physicist at NOAA's Earth Science Research Lab in Boulder, CO.
The planes are really robotic satellite-aircraft hybrids thatwill hopefuully revolutionize the way we do science. One of the eventual targets will be to study hurricanes in the Caribbean, and will include a new suite of instruments for the planes. These may be a critical component in helping us to better predict and prepare for future weather disasters.