NASA Conducts Experiments to examine Human Impact on Planet Earth

NASA is sending scientists around the world this year including the edge of the Greenland ice sheet to the coral reefs of the South Pacific to study how our planet is changing due to the alarming impact of humans on planet Earth.

Earth science field experiments are not new for NASA, with the next six months to be an active period with major new campaigns taking researchers around the world on a wide range of science investigations.

"Combining the long-term global view from space with detailed measurements from field experiments is a powerful way of deciphering what's happening in our world, Scientists worldwide use NASA Earth science field data together with satellite data and computer models to tackle many of today's environmental challenges and advance our knowledge of how the Earth works as a complex, integrated system" said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in Washington.

 With the first new project currently to be examined at Greenland to the extent of which oceans around the region are melting the edges of the ice sheet from below. The team however are already conducting its first airborne survey of the ice edge around its entire coast of Greenland. Some other projects included air quality survey with the help of Korea-US air quality campaign in South Korea scheduled to begin in May.

This joint study between the USA and Korea will advance the ability to monitor air pollution from space, ground sites, ships and satellites. Throughout the remainder of the current year, the team of scientists are working in the tundra and forests around Alaska and north-west canada studying the role of climate in wildfires, thawing permafrost, wildlife migration habits and insect outbreaks.

The Coral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL) project team will begin testing airborne and in-water instruments in Hawaii to assess the condition of threatened coral-based ecosystems. Three airborne research campaigns will take to the skies this summer, focusing on critical climate-related components of the atmosphere.

A better understanding of how the smoke particles alter stratocumulus clouds that play a key role in regional and global surface temperatures and precipitation will help improve current climate models.