Undergraduate Research at a Minority University: Studying the Atmospheric Conditions in Urban vs. Rural Areas

A grant from the National Science Foundation (NFS) funded a three year atmospheric science program known as the Minority University Consortium for Earth and Space Science (MUCESS) that supports undergraduate research programs devoted to studying ozone (O3) profiles. MUCESS institutions are represented by the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York (MEC), and South Carolina State University (SCSU). The primary strength of the program lies in the fact that it provides a venue for students from the participating minority institutions to build bridges of dialogue and strengthen research capabilities. A secondary strength of MUCESS is that the collaborative institutions are widely separated geographically but they have excellent communications and the ability to coordinate launches and support annual workshops. MUCESS supported a series of ozonesonde launches from multiple sites between April and July 2009. Both urban and rural sites were chosen based on their proximity to the three participating minority universities. Balloon and ozone monitoring technology facilitated data acquisition from cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and reproducible experiments. Payloads consisting of an ozonesonde, Vaisala® radiosonde, and GPS receiver provided information on dynamic atmospheric conditions that exist from ground level through altitudes up to one hundred thousand feet. Preparations for the collaborative launch included an initial calibration phase where identical calibration procedures prepared all three payloads. This calibration phase was performed five to seven days in advance of the launch. An additional calibration was performed the day of launch to verify communications between in-flight and ground radio transmitter and receiver, as well as to validate partial pressure and O3 concentration output from the ozonesonde. Each payload was tethered to a 600 gram weather balloon which was then carried up to the stratosphere. The onboard instrumentation telemetrically transmitted data to the ground receiver providing real-time information on partial pressure and ozone concentrations for both the troposphere and stratosphere. The students analyzed the data and critically interpreted the troposphere fluidity, the periodic downward mixing of stratospheric ozone with tropospheric ozone, the effects of weather on ground level ozone, the formation of pockets of ozone in the troposphere, and the impact of anthropogenic pollutants on the troposphere. The results of this series of launches will be discussed in our poster. We will also discuss the problems and successes resulting from coordinated joint launches when the locations are widely separated geographically.