Specialists from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) – Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) will join National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists to study Metro Manila’s air quality.
The DENR said it is sending engineers and air specialists on research flights with NASA scientists to conduct the study from Feb. 11 to Feb. 15.
The DENR said leading the team is ambient air quality monitoring specialist Chadbert Nikko Aquino, and joining him are fellow engineers and air specialists Paul Vallar, Brix Faustino, Billy William Franco, and Zeus Aragones.
DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Loyzaga said this assignment aims to build technical capacity and expertise for the agency.
Loyzaga earlier stated that the collaboration with NASA is a first for the Philippines and “will help improve air quality models, provide accurate forecasts, and develop effective policies to ensure better air quality in the future.”
The official said NASA will be conducting scientific research flights that are specifically designed to study the atmosphere of Metro Manila and its surrounding regions, with engineers and air quality specialists of the DENR boarding the flights and learning from the NASA scientists on board.
Their mission is to study the atmosphere in Metro Manila and its surrounding regions from space to the surface of the Earth.
The Philippine leg of the airborne field campaign is part of the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ), a partnership that brings together experts from NASA and DENR, in collaboration with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), Manila Observatory, Ateneo de Manila University, and the University of the Philippines.
The DENR team will be joining lead scientists from the US with NASA Tropospheric Composition Program Scientist Dr. Barry Lefer at the helm. He is supported by Dr. James Crawford (ASIA-AQ Lead Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center) and Dr. Louisa Emmons (ASIA-AQ Forecasting Team Lead at the National Center for Atmospheric Research).
They will be collaborating with Atmospheric Scientists from the Manila Observatory’s Air Quality Dynamics Laboratory composed of Dr. James Bernard Simpas, Dr. Maria Obiminda Cambaliza, and Dr. Melliza Cruz.
Within the week, the DENR-EMB team will go on four research flights aboard two aircrafts employed by ASIA-AQ, the NASA G-III and NASA DC-8, which are both based in Clark, Pampanga.
The campaign will also serve as a platform for the Philippines to understand its local air quality issues, improve its interpretation of satellite observations, and develop better air quality models.