Federal award (DELIVERY ORDER, fiscal year 2024)
Recipient: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AEROSPACE ASSOCIATES
Awarding agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration / National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Funding agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration / National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Period of performance: 2019-05-09 to 2019-10-31
Current total value of award: $87646
Description: RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS OF IN SITU AND ON-ORBIT OBSERVATIONS OF THE ASIAN TROPOPAUSE AEROSOL LAYER (BATAL - ATAL). THE ASIAN TROPOPAUSE AEROSOL LAYER (ATAL) IS AN ENHANCEMENT OF AEROSOLS IN THE UPPER TROPOSPHERE AND LOWER STRATOSPHERE (UTLS) ASSOCIATED WITH DEEP CONVECTION OF BOUNDARY-LAYER POLLUTION DURING THE ASIAN SUMMER MONSOON. THE PRESENCE OF ATAL HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR CLOUD FORMATION, PRECIPITATION, UTLS CHEMISTRY, AND REGIONAL CLIMATE. A BALLOON MEASUREMENT CAMPAIGN OF THE ATAL (BATAL) IS A UNIQUE AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO VALIDATE SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS AND OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION ON THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ATAL THROUGH BALLOON-BORNE INSTRUMENTS. UNDER FUNDING FROM THE NASA HEADQUARTERS EARTH SCIENCE DIVISION UPPER ATMOSPHERE RESEARCH PROGRAM (UARP) AND ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION MODELING AND ANALYSIS PROGRAM (ACMAP) RESEARCH&ANALYSIS PROGRAMS THIS TASK BUILDS UPON PRIOR WORK TO THE ACQUIRE, PROCESS, ANALYZE, INTERPRET AND DISSEMINATE OBSERVATIONAL DATA FROM SATELLITES, BALLOONS AND AIRCRAFT TO ILLUMINATE THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES, COMPOSITION, AND POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF THE ATAL ON THE UTLS REGION.