DC3: Chemistry of Thunderstorms
The DC3 mission is to study the chemistry of thunderstorms.
The team is using an airport in Kansas
as there spot to explore the impact of large thunderstorms on the concentration
of the ozone in the upper troposphere.
The troposphere is the lowest part of the atmosphere; it has about 80 percent
of the atmosphere's mass and 99 percent of its water vapor. The troposphere is
important because water vapor, ozone, cirrus clouds and particles make
contributions to the amount of heat that is aloud in and out of the atmosphere.
This experiment is being lead by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. James Crawford
who is one of the team members said that, “thunderstorms provide a mechanism
for rapid lifting of air from the surface to higher altitudes in a matter of
minutes to hours.” A possible solution to this research is to figure out what
cause such large thunderstorms to occur. Barriers that could occur are that not
enough strong thunderstorms will occur so the team can collect an accurate
amount of data.
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