| NASA's DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory |
By Kim Se-jeong
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will monitor air quality here this month in collaboration with the Korean National Institute of Environmental Research (KNIER).
A NASA DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory, which arrived in Osan Air Base last week, carries 20 different types of equipment, designed to measure ozone and other greenhouse gases. Six pieces of equipment will be used by Korean scientists to measure ozone composition and the density of black carbon particles.
The joint mission called KORUS-Air Quality (AQ) is a month long collaboration, and the aircraft will fly all over Korea ― onshore and offshore.
Two additional smaller craft ― one belonging to NASA and another to Korea ― were also mobilized with different measuring equipment onboard.
The DC-8, will fly at up to nine kilometers high, according to NASA.
Scientists explained the project will be critical to creating air quality policies and greenhouse gas mitigation strategies.
"Chemical reactions between gases happen in the air, and that creates new pollutant gases or particulates," a senior researcher Park Jeong-hoo at the KNIER said. "Having a deeper understanding about chemical reaction patterns will allow us to make better forecasts."
Air pollution monitoring is usually done at ground level, and this project is expected to make the process more complete.
The project is also important for Korea because it is working to launch the nation's first environmental satellite in 2019. The satellite will measure air pollution over the Korean peninsula, and the data from this project will serve as reference points for the scientists.
NASA said it has chosen Korea because the area is influenced heavily by local emissions as well as those from China.
The project comes when air pollution, particularly by particulate matter (PMs) is causing concern. Studies have found a higher concentration of PMs in the region, compared to other major global cities. China is partly to blame, but major sources are local coal power plants, factories and gas-powered vehicles in Korea.
The government releases monitoring results, issues warnings and inspects emission sources, but the measures are far from sufficient.
Two weekends ago, thousands of people in Seoul ran for an inner-city marathon event on an extremely foggy day. It forced some to give up, but the government was accused of staying quiet.