Russell Schnell explains importance of monitoring Earth's air
Today we're speaking with Russell Schnell who oversees atmospheric observatories for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. He says what humans put into the air has a big impact on our atmosphere.
Russell Schnell: There's not much air. So we are affecting the atmosphere very dramatically. The atmosphere on the Earth is extremely thin.
Dr. Schnell explained that five atmospheric observatories stretch across the Pacific region to monitor Earth's air. They each take 300 to 400 different types of measurements, daily. Schnell spoke about the observatory at Mauna Loa, Hawaii:
Russell Schnell: The air that comes to this observatory is very well mixed, meaning that it doesn't have any local pollution. So it's kind of the background, the purest, the most stable air that you can measure.
He said this stable background helps in monitoring the global changes happening now in our atmosphere. For example, increased carbon dioxide concentrations -- known to be responsible for driving climate change. Schnell added that if countries set requirements to cut carbon dioxide emissions, the measurements of these observatories will help see if these cuts are effective.
Our thanks today to NOAA Pacific Services Center.
I'm D.B. Earth&Sky, a clear voice for science. We're at .
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