Scientists launch Southern Ocean voyage to track human impact on cleanest air

CANBERRA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A team of scientists has set out on a research voyage to the Southern Ocean to study how human activity is changing the atmosphere, Australia's national science agency said on Wednesday.

The three-week mission aboard the research vessel Investigator of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia's national science agency, departed Hobart, capital of the island state of Tasmania, on April 29 and will return on May 18.

The team will track air quality up to 1,500 km off Tasmania's northwest coast, comparing it with data from the renowned Kennaook/Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station, a remote Tasmanian station operated since 1976 as a key global site for monitoring atmospheric composition and "baseline" air, some of the world's cleanest air unpolluted by land contact.

"The Southern Ocean absorbs a lot of the world's carbon dioxide and heat, so any changes can influence our weather and climate," said CSIRO atmospheric scientist Ruhi Humphries.

Using advanced instruments to measure trace gases, aerosols, cloud microphysics, and solar radiation, the voyage will collect detailed atmospheric data, focusing on changes caused by human activity such as bushfire smoke and greenhouse gas emissions, Humphries said.

The CSIRO atmospheric expert added that the scientists aim to better understand how aerosols and cloud formation affect climate patterns in the Southern Hemisphere.

Associate Professor Robyn Schofield from University of Melbourne who is on the voyage said much of today's climate science is biased toward Northern Hemisphere conditions, making this research vital for improving Southern Hemisphere climate forecasting.

Both Investigator and the Cape Grim station are part of the World Meteorological Organization's Global Atmosphere Watch. Enditem