S3|EP2: Follow that Plume!

S3|EP2: Follow that Plume!

Narration: LK Ward

Transcript:

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This mobile laboratory has been deployed for a very specific reason.

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The Shady Fire is burning nearby,

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and this team is gathering data that you can only get at night.

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NASA Explorers

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Episode Two

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Follow That Plume!

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Fires

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Over the next several weeks NASA and NOAA are teaming up

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in the field to studying smoke from wildfires and agricultural burning.

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Here’s what 24 hours looks like in the life of these fire chasers.

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The team’s been keeping a close eye on the Shady Fire,

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burning just four hours northeast of the base of operations.

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Gowen Field, Idaho Air National Guard

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After several days of watching the fire grow, the forecasting team decides

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to deploy the mobile laboratory and the NASA and NOAA planes.

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The ground crew and pilots are already preparing the plane

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by the time the forecasters give their daily briefing.

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The more we learn about smoke, the better we'll understand health.

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My name is Amber Soja and

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my role here is to determine what fires we should target.

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Smoke is related to respiratory illness, heart attacks and even death.

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For some of our scientists, understanding pollution

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has defined the course of their life’s work.

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I’m a physical chemist

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but I’m also from what 60 Minutes called the most polluted city in America - Anniston, Alabama.

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When the opportunity came along to do this type of work,

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I really resonated with it.

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Dr. Bruce Anderson is the Langley Aerosol Research Group Lead,

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and a seasoned veteran when it comes to doing fieldwork in remote places.

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By 3pm, both the NASA DC-8 and the Mobile Laboratory are about ready to go.

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Bruce and his team begin with a five hour drive to reach the fire.

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We’ll catch up with them later.

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While the ground crew, pilots and safety techs prepare for what will

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likely be six hours of flying through smoke plume after smoke plume,

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the scientists ready their instruments to capture data from the notorious Shady Fire.

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Thirty minutes into the flight and the team has already reached the fire.

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Here’s where the work begins.

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These flights are rare opportunities for scientists, so not a moment is wasted.

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I think that studying fire and chemistry,

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it only comes together when you have a diverse team of scientists

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As the sun starts to set, the plume is harder for the pilots to see

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and around 10pm, the plane heads home after a successful flight.

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Smoke sinks lower to the ground at night and sometimes accumulates in valleys

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which is exactly where Bruce and his team are waiting for it.

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We'll set out, drive up there, find a place to position the van

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then start cranking up instruments. I takes about a half hour to an hour

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to get everything running and calibrated.

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It's a guaranteed bad night's sleep, but you know, you can tolerate anything for a day or two.

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This team of five scientists will be up almost every half hour checking measurements,

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replacing filters and at one point,

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repositioning the van to capture emissions more effectively.

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It’s a long, cold night, but eventually it’s dawn and time to head back to town.

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By 7:30, the forecasters have already been awake for at least two hours

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selecting which fires the science team should target that day

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- including a scheduled return to the Shady Fire.

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In about two hours, the plane will be bustling with scientists

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preparing their instruments for the day’s flight

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and the whole cycle will start all over again.

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On the next episode of NASA Explorers

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I feel like the work that I do, the knowledge that I’m trying to pull together

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Is important for the human race, for our country.

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Episode Three: The Carbon Problem

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