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Hi, I'm Matt and
this is NASA Now.
Have you ever thought
about the air we breathe?
What affects it?
What's it made of?
Today we are going to
discover what's been hanging
around in our atmosphere.
That's ahead.
But, first here's what's
happening at NASA Now.
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Scientists announced
a major breakthrough
in mapping Antarctica's
ice flow.
NASA funded researchers have
created the first complete map
of the speed and
direction of the ice flow
on the world's southernmost
landmass.
As one scientist said,
"this is like seeing a map
of all the ocean's
currents for the first time.
It's a game changer."
The new maps, which show
glaciers flowing thousands
of miles from Antarctica's
deep interior to its coasts,
will give researchers
critical knowledge
in predicting variations in sea
level caused by climate change.
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Now let's take a
look at the past.
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October 1998, The American
Geological Institute organized
the first series
of international events
called, Earth Science Week.
This year's theme is
our ever-changing Earth.
You can find out more
on the NASA Explorer
Schools Virtual Campus.
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For decades scientists
have been working
to gain a better
understanding of our atmosphere.
It's no secret that we
humans are having an impact
on the air we breathe.
So how do scientists
measure this effect
and what can they learn?
Here to fill us in
on the science
of studying our atmosphere
is Dr. Kenneth Pickering
from NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center.
Hello Dr. Pickering
can you tell us
about the different
parts of the atmosphere?
Well, the atmosphere is
the, you know, layer of air
that completely surrounds
the Earth.
It really changes quite a
bit with altitude as you go
up from the Earth's surface.
There are several
layers of the atmosphere
that each has its
own importance.
The lowest layer,
closest to the ground,
is what we call the troposphere.
This is where all
the weather occurs.
The second layer is
the stratosphere.
It strongly absorbs
ultraviolet radiation
and allows only just a
very small amount to reach
down to the Earth's
surface, where we live.
If it were not for the
stratospheric ozone,
we would suffer terrible
sunburns
and horrendous rates
of skin cancer.
Next, we have the mesosphere,
and there are many important
chemical reactions that go
on there that are, you know,
really driven by sunlight.
And then above that
is the thermosphere,
where most of the molecules
have become charged.
So they're ions, and
that extends out to
at least a hundred
kilometers or more.
Why is it important to
study the atmosphere?
The atmosphere is a
very important part
of the overall study of Earth
Science, because it interacts
so strongly with both
the oceans and the land.
There is a lot of
transfer of heat
between the surface
and the atmosphere.
When the sun strikes the Earth's
surface, it heats the layer
of air right above
the surface, and,
if there's sufficient moisture,
this will cause clouds to form,
as that warm air rises.
Over the oceans, a large amount
of water vapor that evaporates
from the ocean's surface, also
leads to a considerable amount
of water vapor that
gets transported
through the atmosphere.
What's in the atmosphere?
The largest component
is molecular nitrogen.
It makes up almost
80% of the atmosphere,
and then second is
oxygen, which, of course,
is very important for plant and
animal life to exist on Earth.
That's just something we
absolutely need to breathe.
Then there are many other
trace gases in the atmosphere
and probably the
two most important
of those are water vapor
and carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide, of course,
has been increasing as more
and more fossil fuels
are being burned.
Then there are much
more minor components,
and these are the things
that we call air pollutants.
What kind of atmospheric
studies are going on right now?
DISCOVER-AQ is a NASA
sponsored field project
that was conducted
during July 2011.
During that project, we
flew two NASA aircraft
to study the chemical
composition of the atmosphere,
in the Baltimore/Washington
area.
This is a highly
polluted region,
where there's a tremendous
amount of emissions
from automobile traffic, also,
other sources of air pollution,
such as, power plants
also contribute.
One aircraft was a plane that
carried about nine instruments
and measured everything from
nitrogen dioxide, ozone,
carbon monoxide, to carbon
dioxide, and may types
of measurements for
atmospheric particulate matter.
The second aircraft was
a remote sensing aircraft
that had instruments that looked
down from a much
higher altitude,
such as a satellite would.
The overall goal was to
be able to use these data
to better interpret what
satellites are measuring
from space, and to be able
to better forecast air
quality down the road.
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Did you know that according
to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
that the average adult breathes
in 3000 gallons of air per day?
Now you know.
Now it's time to
check out what's up.
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NASA doesn't only launch
rockets into space;
they also track hurricanes.
For the latest hurricane
information,
check out this website.
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A picture is worth
a thousand words
and photography can
play an important role
in scientific research.
Now here's a contest where
you can get some practice.
Time is running out for you
to enter the Earth Science
Week photography contest.
Visit their website
for more information.
Well that's it for NASA Now.
Be sure to tune in next time
when we'll break
the sound barrier.
We'll see you then on NASA Now.
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NASA Now comes to you
from the Virtual Campus
at NASA Explorer Schools.
