Balloon launches to study air pollution

Fri, April 21, 2006 |

As part of a NASA research project, a Valparaiso University professor is launching balloons from campus to study air pollution in the northern Indiana region and, in particular, the contribution of Asian pollution to the United States.

Dr. Gary Morris, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, said the VU-Tropospheric Ozone Pollution Project will run through May 17 with balloon launches every weekday, weather permitting. Information collected from the balloon launches, along with other data collected by NASA, will help determine the amount of air pollution being carried from Asia to North America.

“Over the last 10 years, it’s become apparent that pollution can’t be managed on just a local level,” Dr. Morris said. “These balloon launches will help us quantify how much pollution is transported into our region from other areas, even as far away as China.”

Dr. Morris said the balloon launches are important because they help show whether pollution is coming from a local source or has been transported from a distant source.

While ground-based instruments show surface pollution levels and satellites collect information about pollution in the upper atmosphere, the balloons Dr. Morris will launch, known as ozonesondes, collect data from each layer of the atmosphere as they rise up to 130,000 feet. Dr. Morris said that data shows whether pollution is concentrated near the ground, which indicates a local source, or further up in the atmosphere, which means the pollution was transported from elsewhere.

“If you're in rural Indiana, you’re probably not generating a lot of pollution from local sources,” Dr. Morris said. “It’s likely coming from Chicago, Indianapolis or even more distant regions. With the recent public and federal interest in air quality, knowing the sources of pollution will become increasingly important.”

Dr. Morris and his team of undergraduate students will launch approximately 30 ozonsondes from Valparaiso’s campus in April and May.

Dr. Morris and his students also were involved this spring in a related NASA research project studying the transport of air pollution from Mexico to the United States. Dr. Morris and two students traveled to Rice University in Houston in March to launch 30 ozonesondes.

The ozonesondes primarily collect information about ozone pollution, which causes both health problems and economic losses.

“Studies have shown that more children have asthma in areas with chronically high levels of ozone pollution, as well as a significant impact on mortality,” Dr. Morris said. “Yields of corn, wheat, rice and other crops also are significantly affected by chronically high levels of ozone, which costs farmers millions of dollars in lost crops each year.”

Dr. Morris said his research should eventually provide a better understanding of how to deal with air pollution and guide updates to federal air pollution legislation.

“To this point in time, no such pollution profile measurements have been obtained over an extended period of time above Northwest Indiana,” Dr. Morris said. “Without such profiles, we cannot know the full magnitude of the problem, so formulating effective solutions will be difficult.”

The upcoming launches will take place in a field across from VU’s Chapel of the Resurrection weekdays between noon and 3 p.m. Data from each flight and more information on the project can be found online.

After the balloons burst, a parachute returns the payload to Earth. Many of the payloads are expected to come down in eastern Indiana and southern Michigan, and a $30 reward is offered for the return of the data collection instruments, with return instructions attached to each payload. The contents are not dangerous, although the battery may emit an unpleasant odor. Simply store the instruments in a dry, outdoor location until they can return them.