Research ship, airplane join study of Northeast air pollution

DURHAM, N.H. – Scientists on land, on the sea and in the air will be studying air pollution in the Northeast for the next month.

A large research ship and an airplane are joining scientists from the University of New Hampshire and other schools to find out why the Northeast has some of the dirtiest air in the country.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s largest research ship, the 274-foot Ronald H. Brown, will be based in New England waters this summer to monitor air pollutants and how they travel through the region. NOAA said they’ve assembled the most complete package of atmospheric instruments ever on the ship for the monthlong project.

Organizers say understanding sea breezes and what pollutants are being blown into New England is essential to understanding air pollution in the region and where it comes from.

“This is a rare opportunity,” said Robert Talbot, a professor at the university’s Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space. “You don’t get a large research vessel situated off the coast like this very often.”

NOAA’s Environmental Technology Laboratory will set up a Doppler LIDAR at Rye Harbor State Park to observe sea breezes. Additional equipment will be set up around New York and New England to measure wind and temperature.

Organizers say the study will enhance current research on New England’s air quality.

For the past three years, an institute between the university and NOAA has measured pollutants from monitoring stations located in three rural New Hampshire sites.

The ship and plane will be used as additional monitoring sites.

“We have been sitting in a stationary area measuring what is coming to us,” Talbot said. “With the ship, aircraft and additional ground instrumentation, we’ll be able to go upwind and tell what is in the air coming our way.”