Thursday, September 28, 2006

Ozone and carbon monoxide pollution in Earth's atmosphere is being mapped from space, providing unique insights into the sources of these pollutants and how they are transported around the world. The observations of carbon monoxide and ozone were obtained from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer instrument onboard NASA's Aura satellite. The instrument, built and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., uses new methods to measure ozone and carbon monoxide in the troposphere -- the part of Earth's atmosphere between the surface and up to approximately 6.2 miles altitude. Images of both the instrument and a map of Ozone over the Atlantic ocean are provided at this link.