Our NASAEarth EMIT mission will help us better understand how mineral dust clouds affect our climate. Currently, we don’t have a firm answer on whether they're heating or cooling our planet. '5 Things to Know' before launch:
Each year, strong winds carry more than a billion metric tons – or the weight of 10,000 aircraft carriers – of mineral dust from Earth’s deserts and other dry regions through the atmosphere. While scientists know that the dust affects the environment and climate, they don’t have enough data to determine, in detail, what those effects are or may be in the future – at least not yet.
From its perch on the space station, EMIT will map the world’s mineral dust source regions. The imaging spectrometer will also provide information on the color and composition of dust sources globally for the first time. This data will help scientists understand which kinds of dust dominate each region and advance their understanding of dust’s impact on climate and the Earth system today and in the future.
EMIT will provide a detailed picture of how much dust comes from dark versus light minerals. That information will allow scientists to determine whether dust heats or cools the planet overall, as well as regionally and locally. Officials from NASA and JPL oversee vibration testing of the EMIT science instrument, including its telescope and imaging spectrometer.
EMIT will collect information on 10 important dust varieties, including those that contain iron oxides, clays, and carbonates. With this data, scientists will be able to assess precisely what effects mineral dust has on different ecosystems and processes. Color and composition information gathered by EMIT will change that. When the instrument’s data is incorporated, the accuracy of climate models is expected to improve.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Let's Get to Know Jamie Campbell Bower From 'Stranger Things'You might recognize the British actor from the 'Twilight' or 'Harry Potter' franchises.
Read more »
5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens FridayStock futures were lower Friday morning ahead of the May jobs report.
Read more »
Texas senator: School police chief didn’t know of 911 callsThe commander at the scene of a school shooting in Texas was not informed of panicked 911 calls coming from inside the school building, a Texas state senator said Thursday.
Read more »
Track and field: Previews, picks & what to know for all 32 sectional championshipsHere's a complete preview of sectional weekend for both the boys and girls.
Read more »