Apr 6, 2008 4:11 pm US/Mountain
'Hurricane Hunter' Plane In Colo. For Research
By Catherine Tsai, AP Writer
DENVER (AP) ―
Loaded with nearly 30 state-of-the-art instruments, a plane that usually does hurricane research dipped five times as if it were almost landing, while five scientists on board collected data on air across the Front Range.
Air-quality scientists hope the information gathered during the six-hour research flight last week will help them better understand air pollution.
The "hurricane hunter" plane flew from Pueblo to the Wyoming border Tuesday to measure data that will help scientists understand emissions of pollutants, how they change in the air, and levels of ozone and other particles in the air, said Daniel Murphy, a lead scientist on the project for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"It is very important work because air pollution causes tens of thousands of premature deaths every year in the United States and costs the U.S. tens of billions of dollars," Murphy said.
NOAA said Colorado offered project scientists a chance to test air affected by a booming oil and gas industry, vehicles, an international airport and agriculture, with terrain ranging from mountains to plains.
Three similar, previous flights were on coastal areas in the summer, when ozone levels are at their highest. The Colorado flight was NOAA's first such study of air quality in an inland region in the spring.
Murphy said it would take months to analyze data collected from the Colorado flight. Eventually the information could be used to develop better models for forecasting air quality, NOAA said.
That information could help Colorado officials with a plan to reduce emissions after the Environmental Protection Agency found the Denver area in violation of federal ozone limits last year.
Since then, the EPA has tightened air quality standards even more, limiting the amount of ozone that air can contain over a certain period to 75 parts per billion from the previous 80 to 84 parts per billion.
Ground-level ozone, a prime ingredient in smog, can cause breathing problems, particularly for asthmatics, the elderly and children.
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