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- The Ozone and Atmospheric Quality Processing Team website provides the results and ongoing data studies for the study of ozone and other gases, aerosols, radiances, and ultraviolet radiation, and what has been learned about atmospheric pollution and air quality from the international science missions making these measurements.
Over 30 years ago scientists first realized that man-made CFCs being released into the atmosphere could destroy large amounts of ozone in the stratosphere through a previously unrecognized catalytic reaction. In recognition of the importance of understanding such atmospheric perturbations, Congress directed NASA in June 1975 to "develop and carry out a comprehensive program of research, technology, and monitoring of the phenomena of the upper atmosphere so as to provide for an understanding of and to maintain the chemical and physical integrity of the Earth's upper atmosphere."
More recently, scientists at institutions including NASA and NOAA have developed the capability to measure tropospheric composition from space using ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy. These measurements include atmospheric pollutant gases. They help to develop the capability to predict air quality for the U.S. and globally.
[Summary provided by NASA.]
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- Ozone and Atmospheric Quality Processing Team, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Branch, Laboratory for Atmospheres, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA
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