LA and HOLLYWOOD sign from UCIrvine 7 Mar h Downtown Los Angeles Air pollution began as a local problem

LA and HOLLYWOOD sign from UCIrvine 7 Mar h After we cleaned up local pollution, we found we were just exporting global pollution: Ozone (O 3, tropospheric) Methane (CH 4 ) Black Carbon (BC) Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Hydrocarbons (HCs)

LA and HOLLYWOOD sign from UCIrvine 7 Mar h Where does pollution go? What does it do? Ozone (O 3, tropospheric) Methane (CH 4 ) Black Carbon (BC) Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Hydrocarbons (HCs)

ATom: Atmospheric Tomography Palmdale CA NASA’s DC-8 Flying Laboratory

The NASA EVS-2 Atmospheric Tomography mission (ATom) A University-led Project Lead PI: Steve Wofsy, Harvard U. 22 primary instrument investigators, 4 global chemistry modeling groups, and a management team Participants from NASA, NOAA, and Universities NASA DC-8 Aircraft

Breathing in the air; and finding the origins of Ozone (O 3 ), Methane (CH 4 ), and Black Carbon (BC): and learning where they are transported, how they are removed NASA’s DC-8 Flying Laboratory

ATom answers the big questions using a 3-part science strategy 1.Global atmospheric sampling reaching the far corners of the Earth 2.Comprehensive real-time measurements and sample collection, using cutting-edge scientific instruments 3.Deep analysis of the data using advanced scientific models of the chemistry of the atmosphere

4 seasons ’s of chemicals How much pollution is found in the remote corners of the world, where does it come from, what are the impacts? 1. Global atmospheric sampling reaching the far corners of the Earth: ATom slices through the whole atmosphere, Pole-to-Pole, Atlantic & Pacific

4 seasons ’s of chemicals How much pollution is found in the remote corners of the world, where does it come from, what are the impacts? 2. Comprehensive real-time measurements and sample collection: our cutting-edge scientific instruments

Climate Forcing (W m -2, since 1750) CO #2 CH * #3 trop-O #4 BC0.40 CFCs 0.33 N 2 O0.17 HFC+PFCs 0.03 Credit: IPCC 2013 Why CH 4, tropospheric O 3 and BC? { } 3. Deep analysis of the data and models

The challenge for ATom is that atmospheric chemistry is Complex, Diverse, and Ever-changing C 2 H 3 OONO 3 C3H6OC3H6O HOOH HNO 4 HNO 3 NOx CH 3 OOH CH 2 O CO O3O3 H2OH2O Complex: In order to understand the rates controlling CH 4 and O 3, ATom must measure this suite of trace gases in each parcel of air. + other chemicals p T u,v,w

The challenge for ATom is that atmospheric chemistry is Complex, Diverse, and Ever-changing UCI model simulation Diverse: ATom’s tomographic slice down the Pacific and Atlantic will find a wildly-varying range of chemical signatures and human pollution.

The challenge for ATom is that atmospheric chemistry is Complex, Diverse, and Ever-changing Ever-changing: The atmosphere fluctuates hourly; ATom must measure all chemical signatures and environmental conditions on its one pass through. Each deployment is a unique measure of that season and that year. Chemical model snapshot of CH 4 loss.

Palmdale CA (28 Jul) equatorial Pacific Palmdale CA Anchorage AK Kona HI Pago Pago, Am. Samoa Christ Church, NZ Punta Arenas, Chile Ascension Island, BOT Terceira, Portugal Kangerlussuaq, Greenland Minneapolis, MN Palmdale CA (23 Aug) ATom’s grand tour of the ocean basins: Arctic to Antarctic; Pacific to Atlantic Volcanoes, Vog, and Vortices, Hawaii, ISS Expedition 42: February 8, 2015