New problems delay study of clouds, haze

SEATTLE – Researchers hope to use a satellite to study clouds and haze to gain a better understanding of global warming, but battery problems and a Boeing Co. strike have delayed the satellite’s launch.

“There is a great deal at stake, and we really need to get this satellite launched,” said Robert Charlson, a University of Washington scientist working on the project. “We’re going to find surprises, and that’s an exciting thing.”

The $200 million instrument will circle the globe at a height of 435 miles to create high-resolution, three-dimensional images of clouds and haze, documenting how they form, dissolve and affect climate.

The launch was first set for April 2004. That was bumped first to April of 2005, then to Sept. 29. Embossed invitations were mailed for that date, which was pushed back by a Department of Defense launch that took priority, followed by the battery problem and a strike by 1,500 Boeing machinists in California, Alabama and Florida that began Nov. 2.

Even if the strike ended this week, the earliest the satellite could be launched is February because of a backlog of launches and maintenance at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, the launch site.

The batteries are being rechecked this month to make sure they’re working correctly, said Steve Volz, NASA’s program executive for the project, named CALIPSO.

Although it’s typical for such unique instruments to have technical problems that delay launch, “the last six months have been incredibly unusual,” Volz said. “It is upsetting.”

Charlson, a chemist and atmospheric scientist, has been studying the nature of airborne particles for more than 40 years. He and UW colleague Tad Anderson received an ongoing grant from NASA in 1998 to undertake a project allowing the first direct observations of clouds and haze reflecting solar radiation.

In all, 25 scientists are involved in CALIPSO’s research from multiple universities, as well as multiple NASA centers and French institutes. The French government has agreed to contribute up to $75 million.

Smoke, desert dust, pollution from burning fossil fuels and volcanic ash all can reflect the sun’s radiation, helping cool the planet. Some particles, such as soot or airborne soil dust, can absorb heat and contribute to global warming.

The cooling or warming effect of the particles depends on where they are in the atmosphere, their substance, and how they mix with other clouds and haze. They can also change the density and reflection of clouds

“We should understand the reflectivity as well as we do the greenhouse effect – and we don’t,” Charlson said.