WASHINGTON, July 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Media are invited to a behind-the-scenes tour of a joint field campaign led by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study the impacts of U.S. wildfires and agricultural fires on air quality and climate. The media event will take place Tuesday, July 23 in Boise, Idaho.

Smoke from wildfires in the western U.S. and agricultural fires in the southern U.S. have become an increasingly significant air quality issue affecting the public. The Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) airborne campaign will bring together scientists from around the world to collect measurements from aircraft, satellites and ground-based instruments of emissions from wildfires and prescribed fires.

Scientists will use data from FIREX-AQ to understand how fuel and fire conditions at the point of ignition influence the chemistry of smoke, what happens to smoke as it enters the atmosphere, and how the chemical transformation of smoke affects air quality and – to a lesser extent – weather downwind.

The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. MDT at Gowen Field, 4474 De Havilland St. in Boise. Highlights include:

• A briefing by NASA and NOAA mission scientists
• Interviews with U.S. Forest Service experts on smoke and prescribed fires
• A tour of NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory and the NOAA Twin Otter, with an opportunity to meet the pilots
• Optional afternoon tour of the National Interagency Fire Center (advance request required)

Media interested in attending must contact Kate Squires no later than 5 p.m. EDT Tuesday, July 16, at 661-276-2020 or [email protected]. International journalists must submit a photo copy of their passport, the name of their media organization, and a point of contact to confirm their affiliation.

For more information about FIREX-AQ, visit:

https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/projects/firex-aq/

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SOURCE NASA