NASA partners with PHL institutions to improve weather forecasts, climate projections

US space agency NASA will be working with research institutions in the Philippines in the next two months to improve weather and climate forecasting.

A press release from the US Embassy on Wednesday said that NASAhas partnered with the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Manila Observatory, PAGASA, and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to pave the way for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2Ex)—a study that aims to delve into the dynamics between aerosol particles and clouds in the Southeast Asian region.

"We know aerosol particles can affect clouds and precipitation, but we don’t yet have a quantitative understanding of those processes," said Hal Maring, Radiation Sciences program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

“Our goal is to improve satellite products and numerical models to help scientists better predict weather and climate," he added.

Experts said that Southeast Asia houses "some of the most complex atmospheric phenomena on the planet," underscoring that the world's strongest typhoons usually form just east of the Philippines.

"CAMP2Ex is being conducted in the lion’s den of tropical meteorology," said NRL research meteorologist Jeffrey Reid.

NASA’s P-3B science aircraft was deployed to the Philippine skies last Sunday to start studying fundamental aerosol and cloud physics.

It has a maritime counterpart in the Pacific Ocean—the research vessel Sally Ride, operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California in San Diego—that will monitor how the clouds in the region are evolving in time.

“The Southeast Asia region is experiencing significant industrial growth. We’re emitting more and more particulates into the atmosphere, which means that a lot of the aerosol interactions we’re studying now will be most likely further enhanced in the region in the future," said James Simpas, an atmospheric scientist and professor of physics at the Ateneo de Manila University.

"The wealth of data from CAMP2Ex will be analyzed for years to come and will shine more light on how our ways of life affect not only us but also the rest of the planet," he added. — Dona Magsino/BM, GMA News