Hello Everyone, Did you know that NOAA has an Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), part of the Global Monitoring Division, just outside of Barrow, Alaska? The Global Monitoring Division conducts observations and research related to the ozone layer, air quality, and climate change. Barrow is just one of many observatories scattered around the world in places like the South Pole, Samoa, and Hawaii. We got a behind the scenes tour from technician Ross Burgener.
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The observatories measure things in the air such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, nitrous oxide, halogenated compounds including CFC replacements, hydrocarbons, sulfur gases, aerosols, and in this really cool dome to measure ozone,
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It was a really cool tour and I couldn't leave Barrow without getting my own sample of air to take back to phoenix. The original air samples were taken using these glass vacuum tubs but I thought I'd take my sample in a more travel friendly way.
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