WEBVTT FILE

1
00:00:01.270 --> 00:00:05.460
This mobile laboratory has been deployed for a very specific reason.

2
00:00:05.460 --> 00:00:08.310
The Shady Fire is burning nearby,

3
00:00:08.310 --> 00:00:15.160
and this team is gathering data that you can only get at night.

4
00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:16.330


5
00:00:16.330 --> 00:00:20.550
NASA Explorers

6
00:00:20.550 --> 00:00:21.530


7
00:00:21.530 --> 00:00:22.460
Episode Two

8
00:00:22.460 --> 00:00:25.000
Follow That Plume!

9
00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:27.330
Fires

10
00:00:27.330 --> 00:00:28.710


11
00:00:28.710 --> 00:00:32.420
Over the next several weeks NASA and NOAA are teaming up

12
00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:36.920
in the field to studying smoke from wildfires and agricultural burning.

13
00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:42.170
Here’s what 24 hours looks like in the life of these fire chasers.

14
00:00:42.170 --> 00:00:45.130
The team’s been keeping a close eye on the Shady Fire,

15
00:00:45.130 --> 00:00:49.620
burning just four hours northeast of the base of operations.

16
00:00:49.620 --> 00:00:50.390
Gowen Field, Idaho Air National Guard

17
00:00:50.390 --> 00:00:54.770
After several days of watching the fire grow, the forecasting team decides

18
00:00:54.770 --> 00:00:59.150
to deploy the mobile laboratory and the NASA and NOAA planes.

19
00:00:59.150 --> 00:01:02.320
The ground crew and pilots are already preparing the plane

20
00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:05.970
by the time the forecasters give their daily briefing.

21
00:01:05.970 --> 00:01:09.600
The more we learn about smoke, the better we'll understand health.

22
00:01:09.600 --> 00:01:11.980
My name is Amber Soja and

23
00:01:11.980 --> 00:01:16.700
my role here is to determine what fires we should target.

24
00:01:16.700 --> 00:01:17.260


25
00:01:17.260 --> 00:01:24.850
Smoke is related to respiratory illness, heart attacks and even death.

26
00:01:24.850 --> 00:01:28.000
For some of our scientists, understanding pollution

27
00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:30.960
has defined the course of their life’s work.

28
00:01:30.960 --> 00:01:31.460


29
00:01:31.460 --> 00:01:33.410
I’m a physical chemist

30
00:01:33.410 --> 00:01:40.610
but I’m also from what 60 Minutes called the most polluted city in America - Anniston, Alabama.

31
00:01:40.610 --> 00:01:43.380
When the opportunity came along to do this type of work,

32
00:01:43.380 --> 00:01:45.850
I really resonated with it.

33
00:01:45.850 --> 00:01:50.380
Dr. Bruce Anderson is the Langley Aerosol Research Group Lead,

34
00:01:50.380 --> 00:01:54.630
and a seasoned veteran when it comes to doing fieldwork in remote places.

35
00:01:54.630 --> 00:02:02.030
By 3pm, both the NASA DC-8 and the Mobile Laboratory are about ready to go.

36
00:02:02.030 --> 00:02:06.200
Bruce and his team begin with a five hour drive to reach the fire.

37
00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:08.230
We’ll catch up with them later.

38
00:02:08.230 --> 00:02:12.480
While the ground crew, pilots and safety techs prepare for what will

39
00:02:12.480 --> 00:02:16.740
likely be six hours of flying through smoke plume after smoke plume,

40
00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:22.110
the scientists ready their instruments to capture data from the notorious Shady Fire.

41
00:02:22.110 --> 00:02:24.010


42
00:02:24.010 --> 00:02:28.050
Thirty minutes into the flight and the team has already reached the fire.

43
00:02:28.050 --> 00:02:30.380
Here’s where the work begins.

44
00:02:30.380 --> 00:02:37.080
These flights are rare opportunities for scientists, so not a moment is wasted.

45
00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:38.380


46
00:02:38.380 --> 00:02:42.940
I think that studying fire and chemistry,

47
00:02:42.940 --> 00:02:47.340
it only comes together when you have a diverse team of scientists

48
00:02:47.340 --> 00:02:51.850
As the sun starts to set, the plume is harder for the pilots to see

49
00:02:51.850 --> 00:02:56.760
and around 10pm, the plane heads home after a successful flight.

50
00:02:56.760 --> 00:03:02.520
Smoke sinks lower to the ground at night and sometimes accumulates in valleys

51
00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:06.620
which is exactly where Bruce and his team are waiting for it.

52
00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:08.330


53
00:03:08.330 --> 00:03:13.610
We'll set out, drive up there, find a place to position the van

54
00:03:13.610 --> 00:03:19.120
then start cranking up instruments. I takes about a half hour to an hour

55
00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:21.740
to get everything running and calibrated.

56
00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:27.570
It's a guaranteed bad night's sleep, but you know, you can tolerate anything for a day or two.

57
00:03:27.570 --> 00:03:32.570
This team of five scientists will be up almost every half hour checking measurements,

58
00:03:32.570 --> 00:03:35.380
replacing filters and at one point,

59
00:03:35.380 --> 00:03:39.450
repositioning the van to capture emissions more effectively.

60
00:03:39.450 --> 00:03:39.990


61
00:03:39.990 --> 00:03:46.420
It’s a long, cold night, but eventually it’s dawn and time to head back to town.

62
00:03:46.420 --> 00:03:51.240
By 7:30, the forecasters have already been awake for at least two hours

63
00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:54.630
selecting which fires the science team should target that day

64
00:03:54.630 --> 00:03:58.600
- including a scheduled return to the Shady Fire.

65
00:03:58.600 --> 00:04:02.690
In about two hours, the plane will be bustling with scientists

66
00:04:02.690 --> 00:04:06.750
preparing their instruments for the day’s flight

67
00:04:06.750 --> 00:04:10.390
and the whole cycle will start all over again.

68
00:04:10.390 --> 00:04:14.550


69
00:04:14.550 --> 00:04:16.620
On the next episode of NASA Explorers

70
00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:17.830


71
00:04:17.830 --> 00:04:23.720
I feel like the work that I do, the knowledge that I’m trying to pull together

72
00:04:23.720 --> 00:04:29.150
Is important for the human race, for our country.

73
00:04:29.150 --> 00:04:31.940


74
00:04:31.940 --> 00:04:35.030
Episode Three: The Carbon Problem

75
00:04:35.030 --> 00:04:38.699