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> June 2, 2006, Launching Balloons
Kevin_McMahon
post Jun 4 2006, 03:50 PM
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High Temperature: -18 degrees Celsius
Low Temperature: -28 degrees Celsius

Launching Balloons


Have you heard of the ozone layer? The ozone layer is located high in Earth’s atmosphere and acts as a thin shield to block out a lot of the ultraviolet rays from the sun. Scientists have been afraid that the ozone layer has been going away. If it goes away or gets a hole in it, more ultraviolet light can hit Earth’s surface. My 6th grade students know the effect that ultraviolet light can have on them. 6th graders, if you already have forgotten about ultraviolet light, think about our energy bead experiments to refresh your memory.

How do scientists monitor the ozone layer? They ask Katie and Jeff to help. Katie and Jeff are Summit’s science technicians. Every Friday, Katie and Jeff launch a balloon carrying sensitive instruments. The balloon soars into the air at about 5 meters per second. As the balloon rises, the instruments record data about air temperature, the ozone level, and the altitude of the balloon. The instrument box sends this data to Katie and Jeff’s computer. This information is then sent to a scientist studying the ozone levels in the atmosphere.


I was fortunate to be able to help Katie and Jeff attach the instrument box to the balloon.



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Mr. McMahon holds the instrument box while Jeff attaches it to the balloon.

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After the box was attached, Katie took three steps back and launched the balloon. It quickly soared into the air.

On this launch day, the sky was so clear that we could still see the balloon when it was 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) in the air. Once the balloon reaches an altitude of 30 – 40 kilometers, the balloon will pop. As the instrument box falls back to Earth, a small orange parachute opens up to slow its descent. The instruments continue to record data on the way back to Earth.

These balloons usually travel very far away and the scientists are not able to retrieve them. However, our launch day was an unusual day because there was little to no wind at Summit. Katie and Jeff thought they could find the fallen balloon. They hopped on a snowmobile and headed 26 kilometers outside of our camp. Amazingly, they found it just where they predicted. Way to go, Katie and Jeff, for finding the weather balloon and instrument box. The instrument box can now be used again. Sadly, the balloon cannot be reused.


Do you want to see what a popped balloon looks like?

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The popped balloon and instrument box that were recovered on the ice sheet.


Katie and Jeff are not the only people launching these balloons. Scientists all over the world launch these balloons. By sharing the information collected, scientists are getting a better idea about the health of Earth’s thin shield of protection from ultraviolet light.

To learn more about the ozone layer and what humans are doing to help repair it, visit the following web sites:

EPA Kids Ozone Web Site,
http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/kids/kids_ozone.html

EPA Ozone Comic Book,
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/missoz/index.html

Arctic Fact of the Day: The sparse population of Greenland is confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk.
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