Manila Observatory scientists to fly with NASA on Metro Manila air quality study

Atmospheric scientists from the Manila Observatory will join experts from the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in a series of four research flights to study the air quality around Metro Manila and surrounding areas this month.

The flights are part of a partnership called Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA – AQ), a collaboration between NASA, DENR, the Philippine Space Agency, Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The Philippine leg of the partnership also involves the Manila Observatory, the University of the Philippines (UP), and Ateneo de Manila University. 

Joining the team from the Manila Observatory's Air Quality Dynamics Laboratory are Dr James Bernard B Simpas, Dr Maria Obiminda L Cambaliza, and Dr Melliza T Cruz. The rest of the Philippine contingent will be composed of engineers from the DENR - Environment Management Bureau (EMB). These are Engr Brix Faustino, Engr Billy William Franco, Engr Zeur Aragones, and Engr Chadbert Nikko Aquino who leads the team.

Meanwhile, the continent from NASA are Dr James Crawford, ASIA-AQ Lead Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center; Dr Louisa Emmons, ASIA-AQ Forecasting Team Lead at the National Center for Atmospheric Research; and team lead Dr Barry Lefer, NASA Tropospheric Composition Program Scientist.

The four flights are scheduled to take place between 11 and 15 February aboard two aircraft employed by ASIA-AQ: a Gulfstream III and a Douglas DC-8 that NASA will be operating out of Clark, Pampanga.

In a press release, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga stated that the flights "will help improve air quality models, provide accurate forecasts, and develop effective policies to ensure better air quality in the future."

Yulo-Loyzaga, who graduated from Ateneo with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, previously served as Executive Director of the Manila Observatory from 2007 until 2016 and is currently part of its Board of Trustees.