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NOAA ESRL Scientists Received NASA Group Achievement Award |
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Global Monitoring Division - ESRL-GMD This story entered on 24th Feb, 2009 08:51:31 AM PST Twenty-five scientists from NOAA ESRL (including GMD and CSD) received notification from the NASA Administrator that they are recipients of a NASA Group Achievement Award, certificates delivered February 6, “for outstanding achievements in atmospheric science during the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling (TC4) Mission in Costa Rica and Panama in 2007”. NOAA scientists receiving the award are James W. Elkins, David W. Fahey, Ru-Shan Gao, Brad D. Hall, Ken Kelly, Daniel Murphy, Rich McLaughlin, Mark Paris, Karen Rosenlof, Thomas L. Thompson, and Adrian Tuck, and NOAA/University of Colorado, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), scientists Geoff S. Dutton, Karl Froyd, Dale F. Hurst, Fred L. Moore, J. David Nance, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Peter Popp, Eric Ray, Todd Sanford, Joshua Schwarz, Ryan Spackman, David Thomson, Troy Thornberry, and Laurel Watts. Background: Many of the chemical, dynamic, and physical processes in the tropical upper troposphere are not well understood. For example, this is a key region where trace gas pollutants and aerosols rise and cross the tropopause into the stratosphere and are subsequently destroyed in photochemical reactions or transported poleward into both hemispheres. Identifying the key processes in the tropics is essential for understanding global climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, water vapor budgets, and general atmospheric chemistry. Importance: This mission addresses two of NOAA’s four goals – Climate, and Weather and Water. NOAA scientists provided critical measurements of aerosol properties, air pollutants, greenhouse gases, ozone depleting gases, and radiation on two of the four NASA aircraft flown on this mission (WB-57F and DC-8). These mission flights occurred in July-August 2007 during the tropical wet season when convective activity is the strongest. The 2007 data will be compared to earlier missions undertaken during the dry season. More information: http://www.espo.nasa.gov/tc4/ Contact information |