The Russell team goals are to study smoke, haze, water vapor and ozone, and to better understand their effects on the African climate. Scientists expect to present a wrap-up news briefing regarding the first week of the airborne campaign. The briefing will be at the Pietersburg Gateway International Airport sometime during the afternoon of Aug. 18. In that case, additional scientists may agree to be interviewed. The southern African atmosphere is particularly vulnerable to air pollution due to a persistent high-pressure system there.
African smog is a soup of smokes from industry, mining, agricultural burning and other sources.
We want to better understand the effects that smoke, haze and trace gases have on the African and global climate. We also want to help improve remote measurements of the Earth's surface, for example, measurements of vegetation and ocean color. Flights and science activities are based in Pietersburg, Republic of South Africa. Russell's team is measuring and analyzing sunlight with an airborne sunphotometer carried on the University of Washington CV-580 aircraft. The sunphotometer measures the amount of sunlight that penetrates smoke and other aerosols in the atmosphere at different wavelengths, including ultraviolet, visible and infrared light.