ASIA-AQ Mission: A Multidimensional Approach to Understanding Air Pollution

ASIA-AQ Mission: A Multidimensional Approach to Understanding Air Pollution
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2024

In a significant stride toward enhancing global air quality understanding, NASA has embarked on a collaborative mission with Korea's National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) and other international partners. The initiative, known as the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ), aims to collect and analyze atmospheric data across several Asian locations. This mission underscores the concerted effort by global scientific communities to address the complexities of air pollution and its broader implications on human health and ecosystems.

The ASIA-AQ mission integrates a variety of observation methods, including aircraft, satellites, and ground-based instruments, to provide a comprehensive view of the region's air quality. This integrated approach allows for the collection of detailed atmospheric data, which will be shared with air quality and government agencies worldwide. The data are expected to contribute significantly to the research and understanding of air quality dynamics on a global scale.

Jim Crawford, the principal investigator for ASIA-AQ at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, highlighted the mission's objectives, stating, "Our purpose is to improve the understanding of the factors that control air quality." Crawford emphasized the necessity of multi-perspective observations, explaining that satellites, ground sites, and aircraft each provide unique insights into air quality, which, when combined, offer a comprehensive understanding of atmospheric conditions.

The mission will leverage a pair of NASA science aircraft to augment air quality observations. The DC-8, stationed at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is equipped with 26 instruments and will conduct low-altitude flights to gather data from the atmosphere's lower layers, directly impacting human and environmental health. Simultaneously, the G-III aircraft from NASA's Langley Research Center will operate at 28,000 feet to map pollution distribution with high-resolution accuracy and monitor how it varies throughout the day. These efforts will be complemented by Korean aircraft from NIER, enhancing the mission's capability to cross-reference and validate observations from different platforms.

Laura Judd, the platform scientist for NASA's G-III aircraft, articulated the mission's holistic approach, stating, "Science missions for air quality [like ASIA-AQ] take a holistic approach of multiple perspectives to better understand our pollution issues." Judd further noted the potential of improved air quality models to enhance pollution forecasts and enable the dissemination of actionable information to the public, aiding in informed decision-making.

The ASIA-AQ project represents a pivotal moment in the collective scientific endeavor to quantify and understand pollution changes, especially those influenced by shifts in population, economic activities, and industrial evolution. By fostering collaboration among scientists, aircraft, and instruments from across Asia and beyond, ASIA-AQ exemplifies the global nature of scientific advancement in addressing environmental challenges.

Barry Lefer, NASA's program scientist for air quality research, outlined the collaborative framework of ASIA-AQ, mentioning the involvement of international entities like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Philippines (DENR), the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency Thailand (GISTDA), and the Ministry of Environment Taiwan (MOENV). Lefer emphasized the role of scientists and agencies in each participating country in steering the mission towards addressing critical air quality questions and facilitating improvements in forecast models and policy advocacy.