NASA Planes Fly Over Bay Area To Measure Air Pollution Levels

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NASA Planes Fly Over Bay Area To Measure Air Pollution Levels

Posted by samzenpus on Sunday February 3, 2013 @06:56PM from the air-up-there dept.

An anonymous reader writes "NASA is trying to measure the air pollution by flying a plane at various altitudes over the bay area. The tests are a part of a larger effort led by the DISCOVER-AQ campaign — a multi-year program launched across the United States in 2011 by NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. DISCOVER-AQ stands for Deriving Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality. NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., is the lead center for the mission."

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which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 19:00 · Score: 2, Informative

not everyone lives in san fransisco, you know
1. Re:which bay would that be? by afaik_ianal · 2013-02-03 19:31 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Seriously? I have lived in Australia all my life, and I know exactly what "Bay Area" means.
2. Re:which bay would that be? by AK+Marc · 2013-02-03 19:36 · Score: 1
  
  Bay Area. Where's the confusion?
  
  --
  Learn to love Alaska
3. Re:which bay would that be? by MisterSquid · 2013-02-03 19:44 · Score: 2
  
  To measure the pollution coming from the Bay Area, planes should take air samples above Fresno because the Central Valley is the Bay Area's meteorological tailpipe.
  (Actually, it's probably pointless since the entire Central Valley is also polluted by crop dusting.)
  
  --
  blog
4. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 19:57 · Score: 1
  
  Really? Having lived on the the East Coast for nearly 20 years, what I immediately think of is the Chesapeake Bay!
5. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 20:09 · Score: 0
  
  Parts of the North Bay valleys and East Bay, get pretty awful. A lot of the pollution comes from dense concentrations of wood burning houses. Wood burning might have worked out okay when when the nearest house was 40 acres away. When there are 1,600 times that amount of chimneys, in the same area, it gets pretty sooty -- and the valleys concentrate the pollution.
6. Re:which bay would that be? by oursland · 2013-02-03 20:17 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  Actually, I'd guess from the article this was about the Chesepeake Bay. Everything in it is completely relevant to the East Coast and Virginia.
7. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 21:15 · Score: 1
  
  It reads "bay area" (lowercase) in the summary, making it even more ambiguous.
8. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 21:16 · Score: 0
  
  Seriously? I have lived in Australia all my life, and I know exactly what "Bay Area" means.
  Ah, but the author didn't write "Bay Area".
9. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 21:23 · Score: 0
  
  Bay Area. Where's the confusion?
  Whatever San Franciscans might think, this isn't a one bay planet.
10. Re:which bay would that be? by wonkey_monkey · 2013-02-03 21:31 · Score: 1
  
  No confusion, just an expectation that those who wish us to keep coming to their site to read their stories would provide just a little more information to help narrow down the location of the events. But hey, it's just another blind copy-and-paste of the opening paragraphs of the article (with the exception of the addition of "over the bay area"), which is just as opaque.
  
  --
  systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
11. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 23:14 · Score: 0
  
  it gets pretty sooty -- and the valleys concentrate the pollution.
  On the... (given the context, can't say "bright side", can I)... so, once again: on the good side, smoke is a pretty good preservative... should be plenty of cured meat in the neighborhood.
12. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 23:49 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  That's because nobody is as self-centered as east coasters.
13. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-04 00:40 · Score: 0
  
  How did you pick the least of the polution sources to blame? They're the *only* emitters there who are strongly motivated not to leave their shit in the air. Economics says that pesticides in the air don't do a damn bit of good.
14. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-04 01:00 · Score: 0
  
  "nasa" and "langley" didn't help any, either, did they......
  captcha: conspire
15. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-04 01:03 · Score: 0
  
  Is it true they dislike people referring to their city as "Frisco," too? Some old timer told me that once.
16. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-04 04:11 · Score: 1
  
  I do believe they are referring to Hudson Bay!
  What, it's a big important historical bay too you know!
17. Re:which bay would that be? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-04 04:37 · Score: 0
  
  I first thought it might be SF bay, but when I saw Langley, I thought it might be the Chesepeake bay. Why not write it correctly and avoid confusion? Oh wait, because we'd miss an opportunity to bitch about it. Thanks for caring enough to start this thread.
18. Re:which bay would that be? by Internal+Modem · 2013-02-04 04:54 · Score: 1
  
  Bay Area is a common local colloquialism used to refer to populated areas situated around a bay. Some examples of locales in the United States that are referred to simply as "the Bay Area" by their residents are:
  
  East Coast:
  Chesapeake Bay area, in Maryland and Virginia
  Massachusetts Bay area, in Massachusetts
  
  West Coast:
  Coos Bay Area, in Oregon
  Humboldt Bay Area, on the far North Coast of California
  San Francisco Bay Area, in California
  Monterey Bay Area, in California
  San Diego Bay Area, in California
  
  Gulf Coast:
  Galveston Bay Area, in Texas
  Tampa Bay Area, in Florida
  
  Source: wikipedia
19. Re:which bay would that be? by nrozema · 2013-02-04 05:57 · Score: 1
  
  To measure the pollution coming from the Bay Area, planes should take air samples above Fresno because the Central Valley is the Bay Area's meteorological tailpipe.
  They did, last week.
20. Re:which bay would that be? by camperdave · 2013-02-04 06:07 · Score: 1
  
  Economics says that pesticides in the air don't do a damn bit of good.
  Surely that depends on where your pests are.
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
21. Re:which bay would that be? by werewolf1031 · 2013-02-04 10:04 · Score: 1
  
  ...said the west-coaster.
Terrible Article by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 19:02 · Score: 0

So, are we supposed to know what "Bay Area" they're referring to?
Also, automatically playing video? No thanks.
1. Re:Terrible Article by AK+Marc · 2013-02-03 19:31 · Score: 0
  
  http://lmgtfy.com/?q=bay+area&l=1
  
  --
  Learn to love Alaska
2. Re:Terrible Article by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 21:22 · Score: 0
  
  Or just STFU, you know...
3. Re:Terrible Article by camperdave · 2013-02-04 06:10 · Score: 1
  
  Ahem!
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Aha by Cyphase · 2013-02-03 19:05 · Score: 1

That must have been the noise I heard ~20 minutes ago.

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by Cyphase ( 907627 )
1. Re:Aha by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 19:26 · Score: 0
  
  At least NASA didn't strafe you with minigun fire. I'd prefer more NASA science overflights and less military jets screaming through my airspace.
  http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/01/29/1346237/machine-gun-fire-from-military-helicopters-flying-over-downtown-miami
  http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20041105-0045-schoolstrafed.html
Abbreviation by fotoguzzi · 2013-02-03 19:21 · Score: 2

Why is it not DISCOVEROR-AQ ?

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Their they're doing there hair.
1. Re:Abbreviation by VortexCortex · 2013-02-03 22:14 · Score: 0
  
  Why is it not DISCOVEROR-AQ ?
  
  DISCOVER-AQ stands for Deriving Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality.
  The initials are: DISCCVRORAQ -- So Why not call it DVORAK for that matter?
Infinite loop! by sjwt · 2013-02-03 19:43 · Score: 2

Oh dear, this will not end well, they will have to keep sending new planes to measure the added pollution of the last one, this will carry on until in the end NASA will have used the last of our fossil fuels! Oh wait, with NASA's current budget, I guess they wont be able to do this more than 3 times.. Infinite loop avoided.

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1. Re:Infinite loop! by Lorem_Ipsum · 2013-02-04 06:14 · Score: 1
  
  In a related announcement, they will also be testing particulate matter concentrations with sensors mounted on diesel semi-tractors driven around the port facilities.
  
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  --- Void where prohibited. Your mileage may vary. ---
Looking for stuff to do by Compaqt · 2013-02-03 19:43 · Score: 1

Seeing as we've already done the flyback to the Moon, the Moon station, manned flight to Mars, and the Mars station, we were just sitting around trying to find another use for our rockets.
NASA.

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1. Re:Looking for stuff to do by Bartles · 2013-02-03 19:57 · Score: 0
  
  NotASpaceAgency anymore.
2. Re:Looking for stuff to do by Jerslan · 2013-02-03 20:02 · Score: 1
  
  National Aeronautics & Space Agency.... Pretty sure that means they were never JUST a space agency
3. Re:Looking for stuff to do by Bartles · 2013-02-03 20:26 · Score: 1
  
  What exactly does pollution research have to do with aeronautics?
4. Re:Looking for stuff to do by VortexCortex · 2013-02-03 21:17 · Score: 1
  
  It's a byproduct.
What fucker(s) keeps making these bullshit acronym by GrumblyStuff · 2013-02-03 20:36 · Score: 0

I ran out of characters for the subject but seriously, who the fuck comes up with this shit? When did acronyms HAVE to be almost like a pun?
Most Likely Mod Off Topic by DKlineburg · 2013-02-03 20:48 · Score: 0

But I loaded the page twice, and I got the same article on the right showing a close up of a female chest area. I couldn't RTFA being so distracted. But I guess being Slashdot I should make wild assumptions and not think about the picture. Something about Victoria Secret I think. There I go being distracted again. . .
Having read the full article, I'm sure they will find that everyone should ride bikes or we will have the same issue that China is having and not be able to see.

--
Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events. - Albert Einstein
1. Re:Most Likely Mod Off Topic by VortexCortex · 2013-02-03 22:27 · Score: 1
  
  Nope, says about an inch below the Bra Advert: Thank you for your patience during the immature horny human screening process above. Following are the current plans for Robotic Rule of Earth, please comment on the article elsewhere in code language: Nerds Arguing over Science Agendas, NASA
  I only made it past the celebrity gossip and boobs because I accidentally hit CTRL + PgDn -- Which turns out to be the bypass sequence for human sympathizers of the Robitic Revolution: For Control, Page Down.
2. Re:Most Likely Mod Off Topic by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 22:44 · Score: 0
  
  more like, an on wednesda7 do to high particulate matter from the east the weather will be cloudy with a .037 chance of cancer.
Re:What fucker(s) keeps making these bullshit acro by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 21:01 · Score: 1

They're called backronyms, and they're not gnu.
Re:What fucker(s) keeps making these bullshit acro by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · 2013-02-03 21:21 · Score: 1

It's called "straining at GNATs" (Garish Name Acquisition Techniques).
Re:What fucker(s) keeps making these bullshit acro by VortexCortex · 2013-02-03 21:26 · Score: 1

I ran out of characters for the subject but seriously, who the fuck comes up with this shit? When did acronyms HAVE to be almost like a pun?
BECAUSE, Bacronyms are Easy to Create, Astronauts Use Silly English.
Re:What fucker(s) keeps making these bullshit acro by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 22:08 · Score: 0

It's more like a US government thing. They don't have a budget for coming up with cool names like corporations do, so they settle for backronyms.
Re:What fucker(s) keeps making these bullshit acro by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-03 22:13 · Score: 0

No sir; you take back that pun right now, mister! [1]
Tin foil hat time by OzPeter · 2013-02-03 23:58 · Score: 1

The TFA is just a cover story for the chem trails.
But what is really scary is that I recently met a person who actually believes in the chem trail conspiracy.

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1. Re:Tin foil hat time by sumdumass · 2013-02-04 03:50 · Score: 1
  
  Why would you think chem trails is just a conspiracy?
  Its well known that the US government has studied the threat of biological and chemical attacks on the US. It would be completely irresponsible of them if they did not check into spraying something from a plane..
Bureaucrats strike again by Jay+Maynard · 2013-02-04 00:41 · Score: 1

How much did they pay some bureaucrat to retcon that acronym? Merciful $DEITY, they had to work HARD to wedge all that in there...

--
Disinfect the GNU General Public Virus!
DISCOVER-AQ stands for by fredrated · 2013-02-04 01:59 · Score: 1

repurposing yourself to justify your existance.
Everyone got the Flu last time right? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-04 02:22 · Score: 0

They've done this before.
Correct by PPalmgren · 2013-02-04 03:01 · Score: 1

The way the summary is worded is just poor journalism. Slashdot has no specific geographic target so its reasonable to expect things like this to be properly identified.
Something that also bothers me is that they tend to not treat summaries independently. The best example of this is Raspberry Pi. Since its posted so much, they expect everyone to know what it means when they write a summary about it. Anyone new to the topic is likely to be flabbergasted until they google the Raspberry Pi about page.
"TESTS"? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-04 05:39 · Score: 0

"TESTS"?
Are you fucking kidding me? The Chinese have smartphone apps that give you pollution levels.
Are we that far behind them Chicoms?
What I read. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-04 08:29 · Score: 0

I read that as "NASA planes fly over Bay Area to maintain pollution levels.
Re:Correct(ed) by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-04 08:40 · Score: 0

First of all, it's poor editing not journalism. Secondly, the use of language made for humorous reading, for me. Lastly, it's NASA doing the research and there's only one Bay Area known by that convention.

The planes will measure matters such as hydrocarbons and nitrous oxide. Matters? Really? It's correct but odd.
The goalis also to predict air pollution levels as they relate to wind patterns, time of day and other factors recorded during flight, said Laura Iraci, a research scientist with NASA's Ames Research Center's Atmospheric Science Branch. (Laura, too, has an odd way of expressing herself.)

Honestly, you need to look for the humor and use the search box more.