Development of a Programme of Remote Sounding in Argentina
Development of a Programme of Remote Sounding in Argentina
Project Objectives:
Argentina has a climate similar to
that of Canada, but is located in the Southern Hemisphere. Its geographical
location is of great interest to environmental scientists as it is in one
of the most unpolluted regions of the world. As such, it is an ideal
location from which to try to detect global climate and environmental change.
Unfortunately, for various reasons (primarily economic constraints), there
have been very few scientific measurements of the atmosphere above Argentina.
The overall objective of this project
is to initiate a program within Argentina to measure environmentally important
atmospheric trace gases using remote sounding techniques. This will
allow Argentinian scientists to undertake a long-term program of atmospheric
measurements to assess changes in the climate.
Within the South American community,
it is hard to obtain funding for such an enterprise. Groups find
themselves in a classic “Catch 22” situation, they cannot obtain funding
until they have demonstrated the ability to do the science, and they cannot
do the science without the funding.
Within Canada, we have several groups
of scientists involved in remote sounding measurements of the atmosphere
from satellites. These teams require validation measurements to be
made in many regions of the world in support of these experiments.
It has proven relatively easy to obtain such measurements in various parts
of the Northern Hemisphere by informal and semi-formal collaborations with
other scientific groups. In the Southern Hemisphere, the situation
is quite different and, with the exception of Australia and New Zealand,
there is an almost complete lack of capacity for such measurements.
Thus half of the global validation is missing - a serious drawback for
a comprehensive validation program. This initiative proposed below
has the potential to start to rectify this situation.
Methodology:
To initiate a program of remote sounding
measurements, we plan the following methodology.
a) We will hold a scientific workshop at
the University of Buenos Aires for the purpose of teaching the principles
of atmospheric remote sounding, with particular attention to the theory,
operation, and data analysis relevant to available instruments.
b) We will loan a remote sounding instrument to
the University of Buenos Aires.
c) The instrument will be operated at a field site
in southern Argentina by Argentinian scientists. Data analysis and
interpretation will be an Argentinian lead activity, in cooperation with
Canadian researchers.
Project Participants:
Prof.
Boyd Tolton, Canadian Principal Investigator, Dept. of Physics, University
of Toronto
Prof. Pablo Canziani, Argentinian
Principal Investigator, Departmento de Ciencias de la Atmosfera, Universidad
de Buenos Aires
Prof.
Jim Drummond, Dept. of Physics, University of Toronto
Prof.
Kim Strong, Dept. of Physics, University of Toronto
Dr.
Leoind Yurganov, Dept. of Physics, University of Toronto
Mr. Oscar Frumento, Environmental
Physics Area, Centro Nacional Patagónico - CONICET (National Council
of Science) Puerto Madrin, Argentina
Ms. Diana Mielnecki, Departmento de
Ciencias de la Atmosfera, Universidad de Buenos Aires
Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank the NSERC
(Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) IOF
(International Opportunity Fund) for funding of this project.
Updates:
