Next week, NASA will begin using several planes across the metro area to monitor air pollution. The data collected will be used to create models, which will help satellites track air pollution.
KUSA- For Littleton resident Virginia Havel, the health of her lungs is a top priority.
'I do worry about it,' Havel said.
Several years ago a blood clot damaged her lungs, making them more susceptible to what she breathes in. She said it is most noticeable when the weather gets colder and the so-called 'brown cloud' moves into the Denver skyline.
'Normally, during the wintertime I wheeze a lot. I cough a lot,' she said.
Now, NASA is trying to get a better handle of exactly what is in the air around Denver through a pollution study called DISCOVER-AQ or air quality. It's a project NASA is working on with the Center for National Atmospheric Research and the National Science Foundation.
'That region often experiences ozone levels in the summer that exceed national standards,' said Michael Finneran, news chief for the NASA Langley Research Center, located in Hampton, Virginia.
It's a multi-year study that's already looked at three other areas in the country with air pollution problems: Houston, the Baltimore-Washington, DC area, and the San Joaquin Valley in California. The region surrounding Denver will be last.
A map from NASA shows where three planes, including a C-130, will crisscross the skies from Fort Collins south to Castle Rock and from the mountains east to Greeley.
The planes will measure everything from car exhaust to refineries to oil and gas extractions and even agricultural emissions. It is all data that will be collected and used to create models that will let satellites high above the Earth help scientists monitor what is happening in the atmosphere far below.
'Our long-term goal there is to eventually use all this data to improve our ability to diagnose air quality from space,' Finneran said.
Not all of the NASA planes will be noticeable, because they will be flying at 27,000 feet. However, several smaller ones will fly as low as 1,100 feet. The flights will all take place during the day. This will go on for month starting next Wednesday, July 16 through August 16.
(KUSA-TV ©2014 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
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