Welcome to the Tropospheric Ozone Pollution Project, a research project funded in part by Valparaiso University and in part by NASA.

Use the links at left and above to find information on ozone pollution, our funding sources, launch plans, and ozone data. You can even find trajectories predicting the path of our balloons.

Fulbright project studies the impact of China's pollution on Japan

With funding from the Japan-U.S. Educational Commission through the Fulbright Program and from NASA's Earth Science Division, we will be investigating the impact of pollution from China on air quality in Japan. With the occurance of the Olympic games in Beijing during August 2008 and the pollution control measures that China is implementing to meet air quality requirements, this summer presents an unprecidented opportunity to examine the impact of China's pollution on regional and global pollution budgets. Using Aura satellite data, balloon and surface data from Japan, trajectory models, we will be investigating these questions in 2008 and 2009. From July - Septmeber each year, we will work at Hokkaido University with colleagues in the School of Environmental Science taking data. Then from October - November each year, we will work with scientists in Japan at the Frontier Research Center for Global Change analyzing the data. Thanks to Fulbright, NASA, and our hosts in Japan at Hokkaido University and FRCGC. Follow along on the Olympics data link.

Launches from VU continue intermittently

We continue to launch ozonesondes from the VU campus to investigate regional pollution and to help validation instruments aboard NASA's Aura satellite. You can find all of our data by following the "Our Data" link.

Want to hear what our instruments sound like?

Click here to hear the data stream picked up on by our ground antenna. The instruments transmit in the reserved weather-band of 400 - 406 MHz. This sound is music to our ears! (Sound file courtesy of John Dimmick.)

Find One of Our Instruments?

If you find a balloon payload, do not be afraid. They contain nothing dangerous, although the battery may be smelly. Just store it in a dry, outdoor location until you can return it. We'd like to know where and when you found it. Just email us. Also, if you mail the payload back to NOAA in Boulder, CO, you can earn a $30 reward.

Left: Undergraduate Stephen Holcomb prepares to launch a weather balloon.
Right: The payload includes a radiosonde (blue box) that measures pressure, temperature and humidity and a larger styrofoam box that contains the ozone-measuring instrument.

Today's Launch Info
TC-4 Data
Olympics Data
PCCI Data
Valpo Data

Met Data:
-- lower level winds
-- upper level winds
-- upper level alt.
-- NWS surface obs.
-- surface O3 obs.
-- EPA AirNow

Missions:
-- NASA INTEX-B
-- NASA IONS-06
-- NASA TC-4
-- NASA Aura
-- NASA AVDC