Tag Archives: ozone

Dean Morris Serves as Delegate at 2016 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium

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The Edinburgh Castle, near the Edinburgh International Conference Center, site of the 2016 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium.

The Edinburgh Castle, near the Edinburgh International Conference Center, site of the 2016 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium.

Once every four years, scientists from around the world gather to discuss the state of ozone in the atmosphere:  the Quadrennial Ozone Symposium (QOS for short).  This year’s event is being held 4 – 9 September in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.  You can learn more about the symposium here.  This year’s symposium follows a long tradition of such gatherings, organized by the International Ozone Commission, dating back to 1929!

St. Edward’s connection to the event is provided by the Dean of Natural Sciences, Gary A. Morris.  When not performing administrative duties or teaching, Dr. Morris continues his work studying ozone pollution via three funded projects:

  • Austin ozone profiling and surface ozone measurements – funded by the Capital Area Council for Governments
  • Houston, TX and Idabel, OK ozone profiling as part of the Tropospheric Ozone Pollution Project – funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
  • Ozone and Sulfur Dioxide profiling as part of the TICOSONDE project in Costa Rica – funded by the NASA Division of Earth Science.

Dr. Morris, attending his second QOS, presented two posters at the meeting:  one on the Houston profiling record and the other TICOSONDE project at the QOS.  He also is a co-author on another TICOSONDE presentation given by NASA scientist, Dr. Henry Selkirk.

“I hope that 4 years from now, I’m able to bring my students to show their research results at the next Quadrennial Ozone Symposium Meeting.  All of the top ozone scientists from around the world attend, and it’s a great meeting to catch up on all the latest ozone science,” said Dean Morris at this year’s event.

You can read Dr. Morris’ posters online here (links coming soon).

Dr. Gary A. Morris presented two posters at the 2016 QOS Meeting.

Dr. Gary A. Morris presented two posters at the 2016 QOS Meeting.

The stage at the Edinburgh International Conference Center, home of the 2016 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium

The stage at the Edinburgh International Conference Center, home of the 2016 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium

Third Weather Balloon Launched from St. Ed’s

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The Tropospheric Ozone Pollution Project (TOPP) team conducted its third successful balloon flight from campus on Wed., 24 August 2016.  The flight lifted off around 1:40 pm CDT from in front of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre.

Funding for this research comes from the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) with additional support from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

Below is a plot of the ozone profile data.  You can see the ozone layer near 25 km altitude.  Also is a Google Map of the balloon flight trajectory.  Finders receive a $30 reward for returning instruments to us at St. Edward’s.  Contact us for details.

 

Ozone (blue) and temperature (red) profiles for weather balloon flight on Wed., 24 August 2016.

Ozone (blue) and temperature (red) profiles for weather balloon flight on Wed., 24 August 2016.

 

Google Earth image of flight path for AT003 -- a weather balloon launched from St. Edward's on Wed., 24 August 2016.

Google Earth image of flight path for AT003 — a weather balloon launched from St. Edward’s on Wed., 24 August 2016.

Austin Area STEM Teachers Attend Second Weather Balloon Launch

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Weather balloon inflated with helium in front of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre at St. Edward's University prior to its release around 1:30 pm CDT on Thurs., 4 Aug. 2016.

Weather balloon inflated with helium in front of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre at St. Edward’s University prior to its release around 1:30 pm CDT on Thurs., 4 Aug. 2016.

A dozen Austin area STEM middle and high schools teachers participated in the second weather balloon launch from St. Edward’s University on Thursday, 4 August.

The teachers were attending a workshop entitled, “Air Quality in Austin,” as part of the larger Austin Area STEM Teachers Conference, hosted at St. Edward’s University 2 – 5 August.

The air quality workshop is sponsored by a grant from 3M, while the data are provided courtesy the Tropospheric Ozone Pollution Project (TOPP), which has been funded by TCEQ, NASA, Fulbright, and the Shell Center for Sustainability at Rice University.  Our current project at St. Edward’s University is funded by the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG).

Dr. Steven Fletcher (Assoc. Prof. of Education), Dr. Bill Quinn (Prof. of Biological Sciences), Dr. Paul Walter (Visiting Asst. Prof. of Physics), Ms. Ashley Moreno (undergraduate student), and Dr. Gary A. Morris (Dean of Natural Sciences and Prof. of Physics) led the workshop at St. Edward’s University.

Launch team finishing tying off the balloon and attaching the payload immediately before launch.

Launch team finishing tying off the balloon and attaching the payload immediately before launch.

As part of the workshop, attendees participated in a weather balloon launch around 1:30 pm in front of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre at St. Edward’s.  Another glorious day made for good viewing as the balloon ascended on its journey through the ozone layer to an altitude of 28 km before bursting and descending back to Earth, landing somewhere near Northeast of Johnson City, Texas around 3:30 pm.

You can eventually find all of our project data on the St. Edward’s University Institutional Repository.  A few plots from today’s flight are below.

Ozone (blue), temperature (red), and potential temperature (orange) data from the weather balloon flight of 4 August 2016.

Ozone (blue), temperature (red), and potential temperature (orange) data from the weather balloon flight of 4 August 2016.

 

Google Earth images of the flight path for the Thurs., Aug. 4 weather balloon from St. Edward's Univ. Green are the ascending data and red are the descending data.

Google Earth images of the flight path for the Thurs., Aug. 4 weather balloon from St. Edward’s Univ. Green are the ascending data and red are the descending data.

First Weather Balloon Launch from the Hilltop!

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Preparing to release the balloon in front of Main Building with Austin in the background.

Preparing to release the balloon in front of Main Building with Austin in the background on Saturday, 30 July 2016 – the first flight from St. Edward’s University.

The Tropospheric Ozone Pollution Project (TOPP) has come to the Hilltop!  The project, started by Dean of Natural Sciences Gary A. Morris in Houston in 2004, has since coordinated >750 flights  from Beaumont, College Station, Ft. Worth, Galveston, and Nacodoches in Texas; Valparaiso and Ft. Wayne in Indiana; University Park, PA; Cumberland, MD; St. Louis, MO, and Hastings, MI, as well as Las Tablas, Panama; San Jose, Costa Rica, and Sapporo, Japan.

Now we add Austin, Texas to the list.  With funding from the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the St. Edward’s University team will fly 16 weather balloons to measure ozone along with meteorological data over the next two ozone seasons (2016 and 2017).

Ace Manning (SEU undergraduate) prepares an ozonesonde for flight while Physics Professor Paul Walter supervises.

Ace Manning (SEU undergraduate) prepares an ozonesonde for flight while Physics Professor Paul Walter supervises.

The project’s initial Austin flight occurred on Saturday, 30 July.  The launch team prepped and calibrated the instrument in the John Brooks Williams South Building, then assembled in front of historic Main Building to fill and release the balloon around 2:15 pm CDT.  The balloon ascended past 30 km at a rate of ~ 5 m/s before popping.  Members of the launch team were able to see the balloon (a small white dot) overhead for the entirety of the ascending portion of the flight.

The balloon came down near Spicewood, TX about 2 and a half hours later.  The initial ozone profiles can be found on the project website.

The second weather balloon launch has been scheduled in conjunction with the Austin Area STEM Conference for Thursday, 4 August at around 1:30 pm CDT, weather permitting.  Given the start of the construction project at Main Building, our next launch will occur on the North side of the Mary Moody Northen Theatre Building.  All are welcome to come watch.

Filling the balloon with Austin in the background

Filling the balloon with Austin in the background

Filling the balloon with historic Main Building of St. Edward's University in the background.

Filling the balloon with historic Main Building of St. Edward’s University in the background.

Flight trajectory based on GPS data for 30 July 2016 ozonesonde from St. Edward's University. Map courtesy Google Earth.

Flight trajectory based on GPS data for 30 July 2016 ozonesonde from St. Edward’s University. Map courtesy Google Earth.

Initial ozone (blue), temperature (red), and potential temperature (orange) data over Austin, Texas from ozonesonde flight of 30 July 2016.

Initial ozone (blue), temperature (red), and potential temperature (orange) data over Austin, Texas from ozonesonde flight of 30 July 2016.  The ozone layer is visible near 25 km (the peak of the blue curve), while the tropopause appears near 15 km (minimum of the red temperature curve).