NASA researchers will join more than 350 scientists
from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Iceland,
Japan, Norway, Poland, Russia and Switzerland this winter to
measure ozone and other atmospheric gases using aircraft,
large and small balloons, ground-based instruments and
satellites.

This second SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment
(SOLVE II) campaign will be conducted in close collaboration
with the European Commission, sponsored by the VINTERSOL
(Validation of International Satellites and Study of Ozone
Loss) campaign. (SAGE III stands for the third Stratospheric
Aerosol and Gas Experiment.) SOLVE will take place in
Kiruna, Sweden, the site of the first international effort
during the winter of 1999-2000.

“The primary goals of the joint SOLVE II-VINTERSOL campaign
are to further understanding of ozone loss processes in the
Arctic, and verify that satellite observations of the ozone
layer are accurate from space,” said Michael Kurylo, SOLVE
II co-Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

Ozone studies are important because the ozone layer prevents
the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching the
Earth’s surface. Ultraviolet radiation is a primary cause of
skin cancer. Without protective upper-level ozone, there
would be no life on Earth.

The Arctic campaign will run from Jan. 8 through Feb. 6,
2003. Flights of large balloons will augment the aircraft
campaign, extending the measurement period from late
November 2002 to late March 2003.

During the campaign of 1999-2000, record ozone losses of 70
percent were observed at altitudes around 18 kilometers (11
miles) and a great deal was learned about the processes
leading to the rapid ozone loss in the Arctic. The SOLVE II
campaign will add to that body of knowledge.

During the coming winter, scientists in SOLVE II-VINTERSOL
also will work toward ensuring the accuracy of measurements
from current Earth observing satellites. Scientists will
take measurements of the stratosphere using a large suite of
instruments aboard NASA’s DC-8 aircraft and the European
high-flying aircraft M55 Geo-physica, the German DLR Falcon.
An instrument from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, Calif., will also fly on the M55 Geophysica. These
planes will be based in Kiruna.

Research balloons, carrying payloads weighing up to several
hundred pounds will be launched from Kiruna by teams from
the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (France’s National
Center for Space Studies) and NASA. A network of over 30
stations of ground-based instruments will take atmospheric
readings over a wide area, which will show how the chemical
composition of Arctic stratosphere evolves through the whole
winter.

VINTERSOL is a pan-European campaign involving researchers
supported by the European Commission and national research
agencies. NASA’s SAGE III satellite instrument is being used
to quantitatively assess ozone loss in the higher latitudes.
SAGE III was launched onboard a Russian Meteor-3M spacecraft
on December 10, 2001. The validation of the SAGE III
observations is a principal goal of SOLVE II.

SOLVE II is sponsored by NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise,
dedicated to better understanding and protecting our home
planet.

For more information and images see:
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020930solve.html

http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/stories/solve/

For information about the SOLVE 2 Mission see:
http://cloud1.arc.nasa.gov/solveII/index.html

For information about SAGE III see:
http://www-sage3.larc.nasa.gov/

For information about the VINTERSOL program see:
http://www.ozone-sec.ch.cam.ac.uk

NOTE TO EDITORS:

The SOLVE campaign will hold a media week beginning Monday,
Jan. 27, 2003. During that week, members of the media may
schedule appointments for interviews with specific
researchers. Also, a “Media Day” open house will be held at
the Arena Arctica Hangar on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2003.
Researchers will be available throughout Media Day to answer
questions and provide tours of the hangar and operations.

All media visiting Arena Arctica must coordinate their visit
during media week or the open house with NASA Public Affairs
and Kiruna Airport Security. More information on media week
is available at:
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020930solveinfo.html