Nation’s newest environmental satellite successfully launched

NPP is vital for NOAA’s weather forecast mission.

America’s newest polar-orbiting satellite roared into orbit this morning, setting the stage for enhanced weather data NOAA scientists will use to develop life-saving severe weather forecasts days in advance.

The NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force, Calif., at 2:48 a.m. PDT aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. At approximately 3:45 a.m. PDT, the spacecraft separated from the Delta II to the delight of NOAA and NASA officials.

NPP is a NASA Earth-observing satellite and features five new instruments that will collect more detailed information about Earth’s atmosphere, land and oceans. NASA will use NPP as a research mission, while NOAA will use the data for short and long-term weather forecasting and environmental monitoring.

“This year has been one for the record books for severe weather,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The need for improved data from NPP and the next generation satellite system under development by NASA and NOAA has never been greater. They will enhance our ability to alert the public with as much lead time as possible.”

In 2011, data from polar-orbiting satellites like NPP allowed emergency managers and communities to prepare for severe weather events . Five days before a destructive and deadly tornado outbreak in Alabama and parts of the Southeast in April, NOAA forecasters were able to see the early atmospheric signs of the storm system developing and issue timely warnings.

NPP will orbit Earth every 102 minutes, flying 512 miles above the surface, monitoring atmospheric conditions below. The first of the NPP data will become available in about 90 days and begin replacing data from the NOAA-19 satellite in the afternoon orbit, passing over the United States during full daylight hours.

NPP is also the bridge that links NOAA’s current polar-orbiting satellites to the next generation of advanced spacecraft called the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), which is currently set to launch in late 2016, pending funding. NPP will test how the new instruments perform before they are formally added to the JPSS satellites. NOAA’s Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Md., will process and distribute the data from NPP.

The originally planned launch of JPSS has been setback due to delays in funding over the past couple of years. This means there will be a data gap between the time NPP begins to degrade from the harsh space environment and the time JPSS is succsessfully placed into operation. The length of that gap depends on future years funding and the agency remains optimistic that current year Congressional support will carry over into a final appropriation and outyear funding.

Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction and NOAA deputy administrator, hailed the successful launch of NPP as a credit to the long-standing partnership between NOAA and NASA.

“This partnership works,” Sullivan said. “For more than 40 years, we have worked together fielding observation satellites to provide the nation with critical environmental intelligence to protect lives and livelihoods.” Source: www.noaa.gov

NOAA, NASA reports Significant ozone hole remains over Antarctica

The Antarctic ozone hole, which yawns wide every Southern Hemisphere spring, reached its annual peak on September 12, stretching 10.05 million square miles, the ninth largest on record. Above the South Pole, the ozone hole reached its deepest point of the season on October 9 when total ozone readings dropped to 102 Dobson units, tied for the 10th lowest in the 26-year record.

Ozone levels in the atmosphere above the South Pole dropped to a seasonal low of 102 Dobson Units Oct. 9, tied for the 10th lowest in the 26-year record. The ozone layer helps protect the planet’s surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Every year, an ozone hole forms above the Antarctic for several weeks, because of environmental conditions and the presence of ozone-depleting chemicals. Credit: NOAA

The ozone layer helps protect the planet’s surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation. NOAA and NASA use balloon-borne instruments, ground instruments, and satellites to monitor the annual South Pole ozone hole, global levels of ozone in the stratosphere, and the manmade chemicals that contribute to ozone depletion.

“The upper part of the atmosphere over the South Pole was colder than average this season and that cold air is one of the key ingredients for ozone destruction,” said James Butler, director of NOAA’s Global Monitoring Division in Boulder, Colo. Other key ingredients are ozone-depleting chemicals that remain in the atmosphere and ice crystals on which ozone-depleting chemical reactions take place.

“Even though it was relatively large, the size of this year's ozone hole was within the range we'd expect given the levels of manmade, ozone-depleting chemicals that continue to persist," said Paul Newman, chief atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Levels of most ozone-depleting chemicals are slowly declining due to international action, but many have long lifetimes, remaining in the atmosphere for decades. Scientists around the world are looking for evidence that the ozone layer is beginning to heal, but this year’s data from Antarctica do not hint at a turnaround.

In August and September (spring in Antarctica), the sun begins rising again after several months of darkness. Circumpolar winds keep cold air trapped above the continent, and sunlight-sparked reactions involving ice clouds and manmade chemicals begin eating away at the ozone. Most years, the conditions for ozone depletion ease by early December, and the seasonal hole closes.

NOAA researchers at the South Pole release a ballonsonde, a massive balloon carrying instruments that measure ozone, temperature, humidity and more from the surface of the snow to about 20 miles high. Credit: NOAA

Levels of most ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere have been gradually declining since an international treaty to protect the ozone layer, the 1987 Montreal Protocol, was signed. That international treaty caused the phase out of ozone-depleting chemicals, then used widely in refrigeration, as solvents and in aerosol spray cans.

Global atmospheric models predict that stratospheric ozone could recover by the middle of this century, but the ozone hole in the Antarctic will likely persist one to two decades beyond that, according to the latest analysis by the World Meteorological Organization, the 2010 Ozone Assessment, with co-authors from NOAA and NASA.

Researchers do not expect a smooth, steady recovery of Antarctic ozone, because of natural ups and downs in temperatures and other factors that affect depletion, noted NOAA ESRL scientist Bryan Johnson. Johnson helped co-author a recent NOAA paper that concluded it could take another decade to begin discerning changes in the rates of ozone depletion.

Johnson is part of the NOAA team tracks ozone depletion around the globe and at the South Pole with measurements made from the ground, in the atmosphere itself and by satellite. Johnson’s “ozonesonde” group has been using balloons to loft instruments 18 miles into the atmosphere for 26 years to collect detailed profiles of ozone levels from the surface up. The team also measures ozone with satellite and ground-based instruments.

This November marks the 50th anniversary of the start of total ozone column measurements by the NOAA Dobson spectrophotometer instrument at South Pole station. Ground-based ozone column measurements started nearly two decades before the yearly Antarctic ozone hole began forming, therefore helping researchers to recognize this unusual change of the ozone layer.

NASA measures ozone in the stratosphere with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard the Aura satellite. OMI continues a NASA legacy of monitoring the ozone layer from space that dates back to 1972 and the launch of the Nimbus-4 satellite.

A new satellite scheduled to launch this month, the NPP satellite, features a new ozone-monitoring instrument, the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite, which will provide more detailed daily, global ozone measurements than ever before to continue the task of observing the ozone layer's gradual recovery. The NPP satellite is part of Joint Polar Satellite System, a program of NOAA, NASA and the Department of Defense (formerly known as the NPOESS Preparatory Project). It is scheduled to launch October 27 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources.

Source: NOAA

Antarctic ozone hole is now 16.17 million Sq. Kms.

In April the WMO announced the Arctic ozone hole had reached record proportions – perhaps even doubling the previous depletion record of 2005, a Nature publication recently added. On the southern hemisphere the story seems much the same.

New data released by NASA and NOAA show in September the ozone hole over Antarctica was the 9th largest on record – stretching over 16.17 million square kilometers (10.05 mln sq miles).

Earlier this month over Antarctica the 10th lowest ozone concentration was measured: 102 Dobson units, according to their joint release. Seasonal ozone breakdown over the poles

CFC-induced ozone breakdown has two additional requirements: extremely low stratospheric temperatures – and sunlight. That’s why the ozone layer over the poles is most vulnerable – just after winter, when temperatures 10 kilometers up in the sky can be low enough [<90C] for polar stratospheric ice clouds to form, and the onset of spring adds a little UV radiation to get the catalytic breakdown reaction going.

Once conditions are met, and you have enough of the nasty fluorocarbons floating around, chemical reactions can swiftly burn a hole in the protective layer. The ozone hole, resuming a crisis

We owe it to watchful atmospheric scientists that by 2011 agriculture is still possible and we are still safe to walk outdoors in the sunshine for hours on end. By intelligence, perseverance and chance the Dutch atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen realized CFCs could be bad news – and researchers of the British Antarctic Survey found out indeed they were. That was in the eighties – and it was just as likely these few clever minds had not noticed what refrigerating industries were setting in place. The possible backlash of having a double crisis

If we had waited it out and kept to business as usual, by now the problem would have become lethal – and unsolvable. Many don’t realise but the ozone crisis was the single most threatening to life on Earth – the one near miss. Although it was of course science that designed the harmful chemicals – we owe it to other scientists [and why not acknowledge climatology?] to keep us safe – and to geopolitics for showcasing international environmental cooperation can in fact be achieved – to great success: the Montreal Protocol – and the series of subsequent updates of this special UN climate treaty.

Despite the success of these environmental summits in mitigating the source of the problem, emissions of CFCs and comparable chemicals, we are still stuck with the fact that many of these gassy agents have very long atmospheric lifetimes.

This means the ozone crisis isn’t over. And before the last CFCs and HCFCs are phased out – it could even become worse. That’s because paradoxically a rise in greenhouse gas concentrations could lead to a lowering of stratospheric temperatures. Almost all GHGs are in the troposphere, that’s below the layer with the highest ozone concentrations. So while the GHGs keep the Earth’s surface warm, they also help isolate the much thinner part of the atmosphere above it.

And as long as catalytic breakdown components are plentiful up high, the longer the polar springs will experience temperatures below -90 C, the more polar stratospheric clouds could form, the more often ozone holes could pop up.

Such holes can migrate, by the way – so it’s not necessarily just polar bears that will be walking around with an extra spring tan.

Source: http://www.bitsofscience.org

BOULDER, Colo., Oct. 20 (UPI) -- NASA says its monitoring of ozone holes in the atmosphere over the North and South poles found a significant hole remaining over Antarctica.

The Antarctic ozone hole reached its annual peak Sept. 12, stretching more than 10.05 million square miles, the ninth-largest on record, NASA said in a release Thursday.

NASA and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration use balloon-borne instruments, ground instruments and satellites to monitor the ozone layer, which helps protect Earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation.

"The upper part of the atmosphere over the South Pole was colder than average this season and that cold air is one of the key ingredients for ozone destruction," James Butler, director of NOAA's Global Monitoring Division in Boulder, Colo., said.

Ozone-depleting chemicals that remain in the atmosphere are also a key factor in the finding, scientists said.

"Even though it was relatively large, the size of this year's ozone hole was within the range we'd expect given the levels of manmade, ozone-depleting chemicals that continue to persist," said Paul Newman, chief atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

South Pole station worker OK

Initial tests show an American woman airlifted from the South Pole to Christchurch this week suffered a stroke in Antarctica seven weeks ago.

But the tests have ruled out Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station winter site manager Renee Douceur having a brain tumour.

Doctors at the station believed Douceur had a stroke on August 27 and had recommended urgent medical evacuation. However, the United States Antarctic Programme deemed a winter evacuation too dangerous.

They did not consider her condition urgent so she was forced to wait until scheduled flights started this week.

The 58-year-old nuclear engineer landed in Christchurch on Monday night after an arduous 12-hour journey from the South Pole via McMurdo Station.

After tests on Tuesday, Douceur saw a private Christchurch neurologist yesterday to discuss preliminary results and was relieved to be told she had had a minor stroke.

"As far as strokes go, it is minimal," she told The Press yesterday.

American medical specialists would review her case overnight and she would hear today when she could fly home to New Hampshire. She hoped to leave in a few days.

Once there, she would have further tests.

It was unclear whether delays in getting assessment and treatment had affected her condition, which included problems with speech, vision and memory.

"I think [the neurologist] basically said I had done remarkably well being in the South Pole nearly eight weeks."

Her neurologist expected she would have a "very good recovery though not 100 per cent" with minor lifestyle changes plus proper treatment and rehabilitation.

"I asked him if I could restart jumping out of airplanes again. He said, 'give it at least six months."'

- The Press

Kites to power Belgian Antarctic record attempt

(Reuters) - Two Belgian explorers will attempt to set a world record for the longest ever polar expedition without the outside support or motorized aid, traveling over 6,000 km (3,728 miles) in 100 days across Antarctica.

Veteran adventurer Dixie Dansercoer, who crossed the southern continent in 1997, and 26-year-old Sam Deltour aim to take advantage of the specific wind patterns around the continent to cover large distances using kites to help sail their heavy sleds across the ice and snow.
This will allow them to travel up to 300 km in a day and an average of 60 km, to break the current world record of Norwegian Rune Gjeldnes who trekked 4,800 kilometers in 90 days five years ago.

"It would be impossible if we had to pull the sleds all by ourselves," Dansercoer, who will start his expedition on Nov 4, explained at a news conference on Tuesday.
Their route will take them in a loop from the Russian Novolazarevskaya research station to the South Pole before returning across yet unchartered territory between the Vostok research station and the Shackleton ice shelf.

The pair will each have a sled initially weighing 190 kg (420 pounds), which will contain food supplies, tents, kites and scientific equipment.

During their trip they will measure wind patterns and supply information about the quality of the ice they encounter to scientists studying climate change back in Belgium.
As they will have no new supplies from outside, the largest part of their luggage consists of frozen food rations to provide each of them with the crucial 5,000 calories needed each day to undertake such a physically challenging trip.

For Deltour, being a polar explorer became his dream after he discovered a book about the first polar expeditions in his local library as a 12-year-old. He said he was aware that exploration was no easy task.

"The human species wasn't designed for Antarctica," Deltour said. "You have to trust your instincts."

Dansercoer and Deltour plan to reach the South Pole around Dec 14, 100 years to the day after Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first to set foot there.
Amundsen reached the South Pole in 1911 and was also part of the first expedition to Antarctica in winter in 1897 on a ship called "Belgica."
(Reporting By Robert-Jan Bartunek, editing by Paul Casciato)

Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, encapsulating the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.0 million km2 (5.4 million sq mi), it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. For comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages at least 1.6 kilometres (1.0 mi) in thickness.

Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200 mm (8 inches) along the coast and far less inland. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89 °C (−129 °F). There are no permanent human residents, but anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent. Only cold-adapted organisms survive there, including many types of algae, animals (for example mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades), bacteria, fungi, plants, and protista. Vegetation where it occurs is tundra.

Although myths and speculation about a Terra Australis ("Southern Land") date back to antiquity, the first confirmed sighting of the continent is commonly accepted to have occurred in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The continent, however, remained largely neglected for the rest of the 19th century because of its hostile environment, lack of resources, and isolation. The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by 12 countries; to date, 47 countries have signed the treaty. The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining, prohibits nuclear blasts and power, supports scientific research, and protects the continent's ecozone. Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists of multiple nationalities.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica