S - U
SCAR-B
The Smoke, Clouds, and Radiation - Brazil was one of several planned SCAR experiments conducted on August 13 - September 11, 1995 in Central Brazil. The objective of the SCAR-B project was to study the radiative effects of burning biomass smoke and aerosols on clouds and the climate. The Smoke/Sulphate Clouds And Radiation (SCAR) experiments are a series of field experiments whose main goal is to better understand the impact of biomass burning and urban/industrial aerosol on the atmosphere and therefore climate. During each SCAR experiment in situ and remotely sensed data are measured simultaneously with the objective to characterize most of the physical and chemical components of the atmospheric aerosol, trace gases and clouds, the Earth's surface, the radiation field and the properties of fires. The SCAR series of experiments is designed to try to narrow some of the uncertainties associated with the affect atmospheric aerosols have on climate, either directly or indirectly, as well as to generate information and prepare data for the evaluation of algorithms for remote sensing from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on the Earth Observing System (EOS), planned for launch in 1998. There are three planned SCAR experiments with the main experiment to focus on the tropical biomass burning environment which took place in Brazil during August/September 1995. The first two SCAR experiments were conducted in the Eastern United States Atlantic region (SCAR-A) in 1993 and in California and the Pacific Northwest (SCAR-C) in 1994. SCAR-A was designed to measure the properties of urban and industrial pollution dominated by sulfate particles. SCAR-C measured the properties and radiative effects of smoke aerosol and trace gases emitted from wild and prescribed fires in the Pacific Northwest of the US. The SCAR series of experiments have been a collaborative effort between United States and Brazilian scientists and future collaborations between the two countries is expected to continue for the long-term monitoring of trace gas and particle emissions and their impact on the Earth's atmosphere and climate. [This summary was derived from the MODIS Airborne Simulator Field Experiment Data home page] Additional Information: "http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/MODIS/MAS/scarbhome.html"