Only one of the balloons has been retrieved, after it drifted with its parachute back to Earth. It was found by a Clarkston couple riding horses in the Blue Mountains. They spotted the Styrofoam box of research equipment dangling from a tree and mailed it back to Richland. The box, insulated to keep a small motor running at temperatures of minus 50 degrees, holds equipment that sucks in air and bubbles it through a solution. An electrical current measures the ozone concentration in the solution.
Researchers there can watch the data change second by second on a computer screen.
Researchers say about six months will be needed to check the data and consider whether it shows any trends. So far, they are noting relatively high ozone measurements in the atmospheric layer below the stratosphere where natural and man-made ozone may mix. Copyright 2000 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.