During the first two weeks of April, 2003, numerous fires occurred in eastern Russia and northeast China, and produced a large amount of smoke that rose to form a thick layer of tiny atmospheric particles, or aerosols seen here by NASA Terra spacecraft.
Smoke from Asian Fires Traverses the Pacific
Climate researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and several universities install and perform functional checkouts of a variety of sensitive atmospheric instruments on NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory prior to beginning the ARCTAS mission.
Eric Scheuer of the University of New Hampshire installs the Soluble Acidic Gases and Aerosol instrument in NASA's DC-8 for the ARCTAS mission
NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory lifts off the runway at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., on its first flight in the ARCTAS atmospheric science mission.
NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory lifts off the runway at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., on its first flight in the ARCTAS atmospheric science mission
Climate researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and several universities install and perform functional checkouts of a variety of sensitive atmospheric instruments on NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory prior to beginning the ARCTAS mission.
Deedee Montzka of the National Center for Atmospheric Research checks out the NOxyO3 instrument on NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory before the ARCTAS mission
Climate researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and several universities install and perform functional checkouts of a variety of sensitive atmospheric instruments on NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory prior to beginning the ARCTAS mission.
Jingqiu Moa and Xinrong Ren check out Pennsylvania State University's Airborne Tropospheric Hydrogen Oxides Sensor instrument during the ARCTAS mission upload
Climate researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and several universities install and perform functional checkouts of a variety of sensitive atmospheric instruments on NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory prior to beginning the ARCTAS mission.
Eric Apel and Alan Hills of the National Center for Atmospheric Research install the Trace Organic Gas Analyzer's sensor probe on the exterior of NASA's DC-8
Climate researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and several universities install and perform functional checkouts of a variety of sensitive atmospheric instruments on NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory prior to beginning the ARCTAS mission.
Lee Mauldin inspects the National Center for Atmospheric Research CIMS instrument probe on the exterior of NASA's DC-8 flying lab prior to the ARCTAS mission
Climate researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and several universities install and perform functional checkouts of a variety of sensitive atmospheric instruments on NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory prior to beginning the ARCTAS mission.
Chris Cantrell and Becky Anderson of the National Center for Atmospheric Research assess the CIMS instrument's operation during ARCTAS mission preparations
A thick layer of haze blanketed the North China Plain on October 9, 2014, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image at 2:50 Coordinated Universal Time (10:50 a.m. local time). The haze obscured many features usually visible in MODIS imagery of the area, including China’s largest city, Beijing. On the day this image was acquired, measurements from ground-based sensors at the U.S. Consulate in Beijing reported PM2.5 measurements of 334 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Fine, airborne particulate matter (PM) that is smaller than 2.5 microns (about one thirtieth the width of a human hair) is considered dangerous because it is small enough to enter the passages of the human lungs. Most PM2.5 aerosol particles come from the burning of fossil fuels and biomass (wood fires and agricultural burning). The World Health Organization considers PM2.5 to be safe when it is below 25. Haze in this region tends to worsen in the fall and winter, when cold, heavy air traps pollutants near the surface. In this case, the haze was likely trapped by a temperature inversion. Normally, air is warmest near the surface of the Earth. Occasionally, a mass of warm air will move over cooler air so that the atmosphere actually warms with altitude. Since the cool air does not have the energy to rise through the warm air, vertical circulation slows and air becomes trapped near the surface. Any pollutant that enters the air gets trapped as well, and haze builds up over time. Daily satellite images of the North China Plain show that visible haze began to accumulate on October 7, 2014. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Adam Voiland. Read more: <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=84530&amp;eocn=home&amp;eoci=nh" rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=8453...</a> Credit: <b><a href="http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NASA Earth Observatory</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Haze over Eastern China