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Press Releases Keeping an eye on the ozone Joel F. Harris Democrat Staff Writer July 29, 2002 PORTSMOUTH - Making a rare stop in New England where it is measuring the region's air pollution, the research vessel Ronald Brown tied up at the state pier on Saturday to take a two-day break.
The project's goals are to analyze and document current trends in regional air quality; determine the influence of local emissions versus pollutants transported from other regions; and investigate the relationship between weather and air quality. Other goals are to develop computer models to simulate atmospheric transport and air quality and to forecast air quality; and to provide data to New England residents and policy-makers. "The New England Air Quality Study is enormously important to all of us," said UNH President Ann Weaver Hart in a released statement. "The studies this summer ... will enable scientists to unravel many of the complex factors affecting our region's air quality." The project began more than two years ago with the collection of air samples at four land-based locations in New Hampshire. The Ronald Brown and a NOAA airplane, the Battelle's Grumman Gulfstream I, were brought in to help with the project. "The advantage is that the boat and the plane can steer into the wind patterns," said Jim Meagner of the vessel's aeronomy lab. "A lot of times when pollution comes here from the East Coast of the United States it comes here over the water." The research boat, with a crew of 25 people and 35 scientists from universities across the country - including four from UNH, has been measuring coastal pollution levels from New York City to Maine for two weeks. It is a rare sight to see the Ronald Brown, named after a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, in New England waters. The boat, which is the lar gest of NOAA's fleet of approximately 20 vessels, spends most of its time conducting research in other parts of the world. The 274-foot boat, the only naval vessel equipped with a state-of-art Doppler radar system, is a floating science laboratory and considered a technological marvel. After it leaves Portsmouth today, the Ronald Brown will continue to measure levels as it returns home to Charleston, S.C. The boat's scientists are measuring for levels of ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and other chemicals that can be dangerous in large amounts. The project is funded by a $10 million federal research grant. The region is of great interest because New England lies directly downwind of major urban and industrial centers in the United States. At times, New Hampshire's air quality is significantly affected by pollution transported into the region from areas such as the Midwest, New York City and Boston. "We believe that a lot of the pollution that occurs here is not made in New England - it's made elsewhere and transported in here," Meagner said. While the Ronald Brown will soon complete its portion of the AIRMAP study, the program will continue as long as funding is available. |
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