Charles Rankin
Salina Journal
July 28, 2021
You may see an unusual plane flying in and out of Salina over the next few weeks after Salina Regional Airport was chosen by NASA as the base for a research project.
The Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere (DCOTSS) project began flights from Salina Regional Airport about two weeks ago and sees an aircraft travel upwards of 70,000 feet to look at strong thunderstorms in the stratosphere.
The project uses a NASA ER-2, a variant of the Lockheed U-2, equipped with 12 different scientific instruments to collect data in flight.
Kenneth Jucks, the project manager for NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Program, said the majority of the agency's scientific work is done with space-based data, but aircraft are used to enhance the science NASA conducts.
"Often the space-based data tell us about what's on in the earth's surface or the atmosphere, ocean, etc. that we can't quite tell what's going on with the satellite data alone," Jucks said. "NASA will often do aircraft campaigns to try and go attack those particular questions."
This project comes from what Jucks called Earth Venture Suborbital solicitations, put out about every four years to scientists and organizations to address these questions.
"We tell people to write proposals, put together a good idea that can be done, that's important to do and shows that you have a good approach for addressing that question," Jucks said.
Jucks said this time around, NASA selected a proposal led by Ken Bowman of Texas A&M University.
"They put together a very compelling program that reviewed very well," Jucks said. "We're excited to go and do it."
Looking at intense thunderstorms
The DCOTSS team includes researchers from seven universities, four NASA centers, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Bowman said the DCOTSS study is designed to look at the effects of intense thunderstorms on the stratosphere.
He said the study is looking particularly in the United States and during the summer as that's when intense thunderstorms tend to happen.
While most thunderstorms happen in the lower troposphere, Bowman said stronger storms can raise higher.
"When we get particularly intense thunderstorms, the updrafts, the rising air in the storm, can actually overshoot into the layer above, which is the stratosphere," Bowman said.
The stratosphere contains things such as the earth's ozone layer, which protects humans from the sun's ultraviolet radiation.
"We're interesting in how these storms might effect the ozone layer, among other things," Bowman said.
As these types of storms are more common than once realized, Bowman said this is the first research project specifically designed to investigate their effect on the stratosphere.
Bowman said the ER-2 research aircraft is suited well for this project as it is designed to operate at very high altitudes.
"For DCOTSS, the ER-2 is carrying a payload of 12 state-of-the-art scientific instruments to measure meteorological perimeters, gases and particles that come out of the tops of these storms into the stratosphere," Bowman said.
Storms common in this region
The choice for Salina as the base for this project was a strategic one.
Bowman said these types of storms are common in the central part of the contiguous United States and historical weather radar and data prove that.
"We've looked at many years of data and by far the greatest collection of these overshooting storms is right in the center of the U.S. in the plains," Bowman said.
Salina being close to the middle of the region is good for the project as it puts the projected storms close to here.
Proximity to these storms isn't the only reason Salina was chosen though and Bowman said the facilities at the airport are great for what the project needs.
"The runway is wide enough for the very long wings on the ER-2, and (also) long enough," Bowman said. "They also have great hangar facilities for both the aircraft and also for all the scientists for lab and office space."
In all, Bowman said there are at least 50 people who are already based in Salina while the project is going on, including scientists, pilots, management and logistics staff and aircraft crews. He said including people rotating in and others who will arrive later there are around 100 to 125 people total as part of the team.
"We'll be operating from Salina this summer and next...flying two to three times per week," Bowman said.
So far, Bowman said the team has completed four flights from Salina and the team is just beginning to see some of the results and data from those flights.
The DCOTSS team is hoping to make eight or nine more flights before the end of next month. Next year, the team is looking at arriving earlier in the year to study the storms beginning in late spring and into early and mid summer.
